How a Mental Health Game Is Creating Connection and Healing in Group Therapy
It started with a question and a single pair of dice.
During my internship, one of the clients expressed a desire to play a game that involved reflective questions. We were in the middle of preparing for a move, and most of our resources had already been packed away. There were no question-based games available at the time. In response, I grabbed a blank sheet of paper, sketched a basic game board, found a pair of dice, and quickly wrote down five prompts across three simple categories: make a card, journal, and talk about it.
That day, something shifted in the room. The client did not just enjoy the activity; she asked if we could play it again during her next session. I went home that evening and began turning that rough idea into something real. I created a more complete version of the game and brought it back to her the following week.
Before returning to work, I asked a friend to try the game with me to see if the concept was truly effective. What unfolded was one of the deepest conversations we had ever experienced. Through the prompts, we connected in a new way and discovered things about each other that we might never have thought to ask otherwise.
That was the moment I realized I had created something meaningful. Something that could offer connection, reflection, and healing. Something that was worth sharing.
The Game: Six Paths to Self-Expression
The game is built around six color-coded sections, each one designed with a specific intention to guide the conversation and reflection. Players roll a dice to land on a color, then choose a card from that deck. There is also a seventh category focused on mindful grounding. Every section serves a different emotional or cognitive purpose, encouraging players to connect with themselves and others in meaningful ways.
The red section is called Check In With Yourself. The intention for this category is to support self-understanding and personal awareness. The questions guide players inward, helping them reflect on their thoughts, emotions, and patterns. For example, one of the prompts asks, "What is an idea, thought, or belief you have been holding on to lately? Is it something you need to release or embrace?"
The orange section is called Say What You Needed to Hear. The purpose of this deck is to give players the opportunity to send messages of encouragement, not only to others who may be struggling, but also to parts of themselves that still need healing. These prompts invite empathy, compassion, and hope. One card asks, "If someone told you they were giving up, what would you write to make them stay?"
The yellow section is called Let’s Talk About It. The goal of this section is to practice saying hard things out loud, in order to normalize conversations around mental health and emotional experiences. Speaking the words helps remove stigma and create a sense of safety. One prompt reads, "How has your understanding of mental wellbeing changed over the years?"
The green section is titled Dear Me. The intention here is to write a letter from your current heart to your future self. This encourages reflection, hope, and emotional processing. One of the most meaningful prompts we used recently was, "Dear me, please remember..." Many responses centered around reminders to keep going or affirmations of worthiness.
The blue section is called Protect Your Peace. The objective is to help participants identify and verbalize self-care practices, coping skills, or boundaries that support their wellbeing. Speaking them out loud creates a sense of accountability and encouragement. A question from this category asks, "How can you choose to protect your well-being today, so that you can show up as your best self tomorrow?"
The purple section is called What Matters Most. The purpose of this category is to help players explore their personal values, goals, and guiding principles. These reflections often serve as a grounding force—a reason to keep going. A sample prompt might be, "What kind of impact do you hope to make in this world? What legacy do you want to leave behind?"
The pink category is a gentle invitation to Set Your Intention. This section does not include a reflection prompt but instead offers a moment of grounding. The card guides participants to take a deep breath, place their hand on their heart, and follow a simple breathing pattern: inhale slowly for the count of four, hold for the count of four, and exhale slowly for the count of four.
Each of these sections contributes to a different part of the healing process. Together, they invite curiosity, compassion, connection, and the belief that every part of you is welcome here.
What I’ve Learned From Facilitating It
I have now brought the game into DiDi Hirsch’s Excelsior House for three consecutive weeks of art therapy groups. Each session has taught me something new about the participants, connection, and myself. The experience continues to evolve, and with each group, the space we create together becomes more meaningful.
Yesterday, there was a moment that stayed with me. One of the participants responded to a prompt by saying, “I want to feel better about myself, but I do not know where to start.” I gently invited him to try saying it again, using the word “and” instead of “but.” He paused, then repeated, “I want to feel better about myself, and I do not know where to start.” With that one small shift, the energy in the room changed. It allowed space for both his hope and his uncertainty to exist at the same time. That is the power of language. That is the kind of moment this game is designed to hold.
Later in the session, we explored a prompt focused on guilt and shame. These are subjects that participants often avoid, choosing silence over vulnerability. However, this time, I remembered something a friend recently shared with me: shame grows in secrecy. It is secrets and silence that allow it to thrive. With that in mind, I asked the group to write their responses anonymously on sticky notes. They passed them to me, and I read each one aloud without names or identifiers.
What happened next was powerful. We began to build a plan together, one focused on releasing shame. Each participant offered a piece of the solution, responding to what they had heard, expanding on someone else’s idea, and supporting one another. What began as an individual reflection became a shared, collaborative healing experience.
Tangible Metaphors: Hearts and Stars
In each session, I like to use tangible metaphors. For the “Dear Me” prompt—where participants write a letter from their current heart to their future heart—I used heart-shaped cutouts. This week’s version was:
“Dear me, please remember…”
Most responses were reminders to hold on, to keep going, or simple truths like:
“You are enough.”
For the “What Matters Most” section, I brought star-shaped cutouts and asked everyone to write their core values and goals—their North Star. These symbols become keepsakes. Something they can hold, revisit, or take with them as an anchor.
Some participants even brought notebooks this week, wanting to write down the questions that resonated with them so they could keep checking in with themselves after discharge. That alone felt like proof of impact.
Holding Space And Taking Up Space
This game is not about answering questions. It is about creating space:
Space to speak what is hard to say.
Space to understand yourself without judgment.
Space to connect to others with more empathy.
Space to feel like you can take up space and that you deserve to.
I never set out to design a therapeutic tool. I just wanted to give someone something she asked for. And now, it’s turned into a game that is bringing healing, reflection, and connection into every room it enters.
And honestly? It is teaching me just as much as it teaches them.
Bringing the Game to Your Space
If you are interested in bringing this game into your organization, classroom, or clinical groups to create spaces where reflection, conversation, and healing are needed, please reach out. I would love to connect.
