Clients in the University of New Mexico Hospital’s Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) program are participating in weekly sessions of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as part of their outpatient mental health treatment. The program, based in Albuquerque’s South Valley, serves adults in Bernalillo County who have a qualifying mental health diagnosis.
Andrew Lucero, a community support worker and dungeon master at PSR, leads the sessions where clients take on fantasy roles such as barbarians, clerics, and druids. Lucero explained that the game provides a safe environment for clients to try out different coping skills and behaviors. “You’re able to experiment with different coping skills, different behaviors, different emotions in a safe and controlled environment, so that way you can kind of use those in the outside world,” he said.
Lucero incorporates clients’ treatment goals into the game’s storyline when possible. He noted that sometimes these goals emerge during gameplay: “And to me, that’s what’s at the forefront of their mind. And since it’s disguised as play, they can kind of work around all the scary parts of it and experiment with the feeling itself.”
The game also helps develop practical skills. For example, some players practice basic math by rolling dice and adding numbers representing their characters’ abilities—a skill Lucero says is valuable for employability.
Emilia Vigil, LPCC and clinical manager at PSR, supports integrating roleplaying games into therapy. She stated: “What I saw in it was an opportunity for safety, because I think there’s a lot of safety when we’re playing a game, when we’re having fun.” Vigil also highlighted how creative activities like D&D can help people build new identities and recognize strengths they might not have noticed before. “It creates a ton of movement and growth and a place for people to create possibilities in their future that maybe they hadn’t experienced until that moment,” she said.
Jessica Jones has been attending PSR for 15 years and recently joined Lucero’s D&D group as Jess the druid. She described her experience learning from other players and recounted an ongoing storyline involving her character acquiring a magical mustache named “The Cryptic Curl.” Jones said she appreciated being encouraged by fellow participants to return to the game to continue exploring this narrative.
Lucero uses story elements as metaphors for real-life challenges such as trauma or addiction. In one session he described an ancient gold dragon helping player characters find inner strength against overwhelming odds—an allegory for overcoming personal struggles with support from both internal resources and external help.
The PSR program is free for community members aged 18 or older with qualifying mental health diagnoses; no referral is necessary. It operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 2001 El Centro Familiar Blvd S.W., Building B in Albuquerque.
