Minecraft to be Used in Children's Therapy Sessions

Mental health charity seeks to combine Minecraft play with counselling to support children's mental health.

18:31 22 June 2021

Mental Health charity North East Children is seeking to combine Minecraft play with traditional counseling sessions for children and young people with mental health problems. 

 

The initiative called Tech for Good will see trained councillors facilitating sessions that combine talk therapy and Minecraft to help children better manage their mental health challenges and support positive emotional wellbeing. 

 

The move follows a study by researchers from Glasgow University showing that future higher education success was linked to playing Minecraft. It found that children who played the game demonstrated increased communication, adaptability and resourcefulness skills. 

 

Counselor Ellie Finch said: “Minecraft is a vast and creative space and I, along with a number of other therapists, have been developing ways to provide boundaries and structure within the session,”

 

“That way, it offers children a safe place to make sense of their feelings and difficulties, while also making good use of the game’s amazing resources and opportunities for adventure and discovery.”

 

“With a sand tray, the counsellor invites the child to choose from a selection of miniature figures and items and arrange or move them around the tray. The child uses the sand tray to create stories or scenes that might show the counsellor what is going on in the child’s internal and external world. Minecraft can be considered a virtual version of these tools.”