Fight Your Dad in New D&D: Therapy Edition

In a surprise collab you didn't know you needed, Dungeons & Dragons has released a new Therapy Edition in partnership with BetterHelp. This new "never-ending campaign" costs $250 per session and allows players to explore the dark depths of their personal trauma. In a sneak preview, this reporter was able to see parts of quests that had players exploring their sexuality, confronting their fear of change, and fighting their fathers.

We spoke with Ffej Netrig, VP of Branded Partnerships at BetterHelp about the collaboration:

What made BetterHelp decide to get into the world of branded tabletop gaming?

"We've always found role-playing to be an effective form of treatment for patients who are dealing with a variety of personal challenges, Therapy Edition just gives therapists a structure and set of rules to guide their patients through their own mental health adventure."

Why Dungeons & Dragons specifically though and not, say, Pathfinder or Gloomhaven?

"We tried other game systems during our preliminary trials and found patients needed a certain amount of cognitive distance from their issues in order to really work through them. If you think about it, confronting your dad directly can be really intimidating for a lot of people, but beating the shit out of a dragon that happens to share your dad's name is much more manageable."

Tell me more about that specific adventure. What made you choose it?

"One of the game designers at Wizards of the Coast had been running it during their lunch break for years, and when we tested it during clinical trials 'Fight Your Father' had 800% more sign-ups than any of the other adventure modules. We actually had to stop accepting trial patients after the first three days."

That many people wanted to fight their dad?

"You would not believe how many people have unresolved issues with their father and love to play D&D. Our market research indicates the market cap for this adventure is somewhere in the two to seven billion people range."

And this really worked for your patients?

"It was incredible. Our staff would conduct a follow-up appointment with patients four weeks after their adventure session and you wouldn't believe the positive results these patients were seeing: getting promoted at work, improved relationships with their own children, better sex lives, you name it. It turns out Dungeons & Dragons: Therapy Edition is sort of a miracle drug."

Right, but that's kind of messed up, isn't it? Do you really want to promote the idea that slaying a demon in a Margaritaville Hawaiian shirt is the key to better mental health?

"That's the thing. We don't even have to promote it. People just kind of know instinctively that it's for them. We're reasonably certain this adventure will sell itself based on word of mouth alone."

This reporter sat down to try Dungeons & Dragons: Therapy Edition and can confirm that it is the real deal. I tried the Your Childhood Dog is Alive and in Icewind Dale adventure and found all three hours of crying to be extremely therapeutic. 

Disclaimer: Dungeons & Dragons: Therapy Edition is considered a homeopathic remedy and not eligible for coverage by any major insurance company.