Part 2: Clients Show Us What They're Battling: Inside & Outside

Minecraft can be a powerful therapeutic tool, especially once we've established rapport with a client. It is also beneficial while building rapport with new clients, particularly during times of quarantine-induced social isolation. These virtual worlds exponentially magnify our ability to help children navigate the complex pathways of development, guiding them toward socially and individually beneficial outcomes. Future case studies may even show that these interactions are as effective as in-person play therapy.

Interactive virtual play in Minecraft allows for an immersive translation of a child’s internal world into a shared experience. We can explore their entire landscapes, dreams, and concerns presented vividly before us.* We can journey through their idealized imaginative homes and fantastical relational dramas, experiencing their towering mountains, treacherous rivers, and imposing villains as if they were our own. These elements stand as metaphors for the child’s fears and worries, sometimes appearing insurmountably large and daunting.

These larger-than-life themes, both bellicose and beautiful, emerge during play through the game's actions (such as fighting zombies or avoiding lava pits) and the conversations that arise during gameplay ("Someone at school did _____ and it made me feel _____"). Many readers may already be familiar with this process, while others will soon discover its profound impact.**

For caregivers and professionals willing to enter the child’s virtual creations, there is a valuable diminishing of the distinction between adult and child, between powerful and powerless, between adept and novice. The client’s imaginative world becomes our shared reality. By suspending our disbelief and relaxing our adult circumspection, we can find their digital pathways as tangible as the ground we walk on offline. Their virtual sunsets can be as meaningful as those we witness at the end of a long day. More than once, in a child’s virtual universe, I’ve lost track of time, suddenly realizing that day had turned to dusk. The virtual world, already in a new phase, transforms into carnelian hues, creating an incredible dimension of relief as the client labors in the distance, the moon rising with its companion stars. All of this surrounds us like a masterful work of art, a genius’s painting through which we walk in three dimensions, fully alive.

Our shared experiences in Minecraft offer a depth of communion across diverse landscapes and extended journeys, arguably beyond what our physical offices alone could ever provide. Engaging with clients in these powerful positions of imaginative and creative strength, in experiences akin to real life, provides uniquely therapeutic venues: 1) for personal learning in diverse yet consistent bio-environmental terrains; 2) for increased behavioral responsiveness and adaptability to novel incidents; 3) for enhanced interpersonal relationship skills, navigating challenges and conflicts alongside someone else; 4) for integrated psychic functioning as they process unfamiliar and familiar experiences, and innovative responses; 5) for restructured schematic understandings, realizing their competence, creativity, and cooperative problem-solving abilities; and 6) for intrapsychic paradigmatic growth, building a deeper, richer, more enduring inner happiness—with our help—making them increasingly resilient to external losses and more present outside virtual worlds.

One important addendum

In these remarkable visions, we do more than witness the children reveal their struggles. As we journey alongside them, we observe their adaptive coping mechanisms. By being present for their challenges, we can help bolster, augment, and nurture their resilience.***

We also witness the incredible moments of revelation they experience. At these quiet, reflective times, we can highlight their strengths, which they deeply desire to be seen and validated. As virtual dawns and dusks frame their long-labored and hard-won victories, our shared journeys make these successes even more meaningful.**** They feel a profound sense of achievement because we've seen them emerge from their struggles, renewed and victorious, under a fresh sun.*****

To use a funny syntax, our clients don't just show us what they're battling, they show us what they're winning, too

....continued in part three of Seven Therapeutic Benefits for Clients in Virtual Worlds: In Here, Clients Are The Leader; In Here, Clients Make The Rules; In Here, Clients Show Their Mastery

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*In Minecraft, players have the ability to construct entire worlds, placing each element brick by brick, one square block at a time. These blocks can represent various aspects of reality, from eggs that spawn dozens of sentient beings (such as cows, bees, marauders, dolphins, villagers, zombie villains, giant spiders, banshees, pet wolves, etc.) to different types of grass on a mountain (like walking grass, planting grass, bare dirt, etc.) to the diverse stones and materials used for building homes, castles, and skyscrapers (including gold, diamond, mossy cobblestone, multicolored terracottas, various woods with and without bark, etc.). A key aim of this part of the article is to demonstrate that even villainous characters posing a fatal threat to our client's avatar can be intentionally placed by the clients themselves, filled with implicit and explicit meanings to be uncovered as sessions progress. Whether the world is all-night and treacherous, placid and peaceful, or filled with social interactions and conflicts, these choices can hold significant therapeutic value. In my experience, it is beneficial to remain open to latent meanings and to recognize that seemingly chaotic circumstances may be purposefully designed and only become apparent upon closer examination.

**please consider reaching out to us to share any related experiences (connect@virtualworldsvideogamesandconnection.com)

***We can collaborate with them to cultivate key intrapsychic and interpersonal skills within the ever-expanding zones of proximal development that virtual worlds offer.

****Interestingly, an essential part of this process involves allowing them to encounter failure within these zones of development. This means resisting the urge to solve problems for them, even when it's challenging to watch them struggle and attempt solutions repeatedly.

*****Minecraft uniquely offers an external representation of children's internal yearning for control. This sense of control can help create a world where they feel safe and empowered, particularly in contexts of bullying, parental conflict, sibling rivalries, social awkwardness, and other challenges. The following poem (italics added) resonates deeply with this experience, capturing a sense of alienation that mirrors the profound exile our clients often feel. Through our therapeutic companionship and guidance in virtual worlds, we aim to alleviate and heal this sense of isolation.

In Minecraft, we witness our clients arriving at their virtual home—their figurative estate, their literal peace of mind. They navigate familiar roads or tenaciously rebuild the path back, conjuring a prodigal return or discovering a new way to an uncanny, pristine place. This place embodies the home they always hoped for but had never experienced until now. With their toes in the tall grass, they gaze at their sun and, more importantly, find what they've yearned for: its illumination, its warmth, and the hearty nourishment and sustenance it brings.