Two people being instructed as to how to play a board game called boop.

The Bodhana Group advocates the use of tabletop games as a unique technique of therapy and treatment. Therapeutic use of tabletop games is an approach that is rooted within a foundation of other research validated modalities, such as CBT, REBT, DBT, narrative therapies and drama therapy. Board, card, dice, and role playing games all inherently provide the opportunity to build skills such as reading, writing, arithmetic, socialization, manual dexterity, deductive reasoning, etc. The list goes on. The use of games can provide an innovative and approachable way to work on valuable skills that youth need for growth and development.

Every year states perform research and gain surveys from youth themselves as to what they feel are the problems facing them in the modern day. Some of these surveys also have been measuring the impact of living in a social media obsessed culture. And most of these surveys as well as research specifically geared to assess the impact of the pandemic have found key areas that face predominantly youth, but also society as a whole. These areas are not only problematic to the individual, but they also contribute to issues such as violence, self-harm and difficulties with interpersonal relationships and life skills. Several key behaviors have been noted to be areas of needed improvement for youth. These areas have been correlated with youth’s struggles and at risk situations. The main eight areas identified were:

Problem solving - child’s ability to take information and make educated guesses and conclusions to be able to manage problems and dilemmas. Can be demonstrated through the use of either creative or critical thinking skills.
Perseverance - The ability to continue within the face of adversity and difficult situations. This might be demonstrated by not giving up or by the individual continuing to try new approaches and solutions.
Adaptation - Altering behaviors and actions within changing situations. Also the ability to apply specific concepts to more generalized scenarios and vary the way we act and respond that fits the current environment.
Conflict resolution - Managing interpersonal and emotional situations that have experienced a rift or have created an environment of discomfort. This also involves common dynamics seen when interacting within groups.
Self-regulation - Identifying and managing various emotional states coupled with the ability to change and alter these emotional states to the situation within acceptable limits and levels of “normal” response.
Self-advocacy - The act of gathering your ideas and intentions and being able to communicate those to another person. This includes sharing your ideas in larger group settings as well as being able to identify what you need emotionally and be confident and assertive in stating your position with occasional flexibility.
Cognitive skills - This area can include critical thinking and the ability to assess and interpret information around you as well as core critical skills like mathematics, reading, comprehension and how to integrate this information into challenges of daily living.
Communication strategies - This area covers our ability to not only offer our perspective and ideas but also the collaborative process of listening to others and sometimes counter perspectives and working at compromises. This also involves baseline social interactions and skills like partnering, developing and maintaining relationships.

Current statistics on youth mental health available on the Anne E. Casey Foundation website (YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH give us the following information:

About 20% of U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17 indicating they experienced symptoms of anxiety (e.g., being bothered by persistent worrying or nervous/anxious feelings)
2 in 5 (40%) high schoolers report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with rates particularly high for girls (53%) and LGBTQ+ youth (65%) in 2023.
Suicide remains a leading cause of death among adolescents. In 2023, 1 in 5 (20%) U.S. high schoolers reported seriously considering suicide, and 9% reported attempting suicide in the past year.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that nearly half of young people under age 18 have experienced community violence, abuse, natural disasters or other traumatic events in early childhood. Studies estimate the prevalence of PTSD by age 18 at about 8%
A majority (54%) of U.S. youth ages 12 to 17 still have difficulty getting needed mental health care.
Just over half (53%) of public schools reported a rise in the share of students seeking school-based mental health services compared to the previous year. But only 52% of public schools said they are effective in providing mental health services to all students in need.

A Bodhana training where support workers are being taught how to play games with clients to encourage creativity and expression as well as social skills.

Bodhana offers a unique two day in-person training that provides the resources, training and support organizations need to launch game based programs targeting the above identified areas of need. Our training focuses on helping organizations select, learn, teach and then augment games based on their unique needs for the persons they support. This offering is packaged to include a set of starter games that help kickstart their game library and enhance their reach. We also build within this system a year’s worth of monthly consultation calls where the organization can receive ongoing support as they transition what they learned into meaningful action and address possible issues. Additionally Bodhana offers during these training sessions a selection of board games that have been donated to Bodhana to further enhance and grow their library allowing for more options as their program grows. We have run this training for about four years and have helped agencies in PA and OH start their own gaming based programs. Through this they have seen great results.

Our goal is to provide this training for 10 organizations in the York, PA area as a pilot program that with additional funding can reach even more people and change lives by strengthening needed skills in our youth. We have offered this training for about four years to organizations, but smaller organizations do not have the budget to acquire such services. So we are seeking community funding for the purpose of providing this training to them for free. For the funding goal of $7,200 for this project we will provide the following:

A two day 16 hour in-person training for 2 individuals from 10 different local organizations working with youth
Small group instruction during the training with practical experiential learning
Training for staff on how to select, teach and augment games that focus on fundamental skill development through play
A starter library of 8 games to each agency, each selected to represent an area of goal development
Advice on how to craft and monitor programs utilizing games and how to customize them for their organization and clients
One year of monthly consultation to help the agency as it engages in game based programs which also helps ensure they are using the training
Training materials
Additional games provided in kind from The Bodhana Group from donations they have received

If this program is funded and successful, future drives will be started to fund training series in other counties to reach more agencies and clients through the power of gaming.

Support workers at a Bodhana training teaching a game that develops communication skills and critical thinking.

Tabletop Board Game Training Fundraiser

Helping local organizations bring innovative approaches to their client through board games.