Rolling for Connection
How Collaborative Storytelling Creates Protective Spaces for Belonging
Ben Boruff | Indiana Suicide Prevention Summit | 45 minutes plus Q&A
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What this workshop is about
• How tabletop roleplaying games create structured spaces for participation and belonging, which is vital for mental well-being.
• Why D&D is useful as an example, even for people who will never run D&D.
• How collaborative storytelling can support protective connection without pretending to be therapy.
• How to build safer, inclusive, practical versions of these spaces in Indiana communities.
Sources: Action Alliance Framework; CDC, 2024; Merrick, Li, & Miller, 2024.
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Who I am
• English teacher at Munster High School
• 2025 Munster High School Teacher of the Year and district Secondary Teacher of the Year
• Sponsor of student extracurricular spaces including Dungeons & Dragons Club, Mental Health Club, GSA, Philosophy Club, Film Club, and Poetry Club
• Believer in the power of stories and spaces where students feel seen
Sources: BenBoruff.com, Teaching page; Chalkbeat Indiana, 2024.
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Why mental health is personal to me
• I have experienced diagnosed depression and anxiety.
• I have played D&D since high school.
First character: Octavio Warchild
Current character: Bonk Ba-Bonkerton
• I participated in This Is My Brave Chicagoland in 2016.
• I have spoken publicly about mental health because stigma isolates people.
• Storytelling gave me language. Teaching helped me turn that language into community.
Sources: This Is My Brave, 2018; BenBoruff.com, Other page.
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Dungeons & Dragons is, at its core, a game that fosters belonging through collaborative storytelling.
Source: MHS Crier, 2024.
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Session Roadmap
Start with belonging
Why connected- ness matters in prevention.
Learn the game
A beginner- friendly introduction to D&D.
Study the table
DM facilitation and collaborative storytelling.
Build the space
Protective design,tips, and pitfalls.
Take it home
Primary takeaways and practices.
Session plan: 45 minutes of content plus 10 to 15 minutes of Q&A.
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Part 1: Why Belonging Matters
Before we talk about games, we need to talk about connection.
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The youth mental health context
Persistent sadness or hopelessness among U.S. high school students, 2023
40%
Poor mental health among U.S. high school students, 2023
29%
Seriously considered attempting suicide, 2023
20%
Attempted suicide, 2023
10%
These are our reasons to build better spaces.
This applies to adults too.
Source: CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023 data summary and MMWR, 2024.
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Loneliness is a public health issue
• The U.S. Surgeon General described loneliness and isolation as a public health concern.
• Approximately half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, with high rates among young adults.
• Social connection is associated with better mental and physical health outcomes.
• The prevention question becomes: where and how can people practice connection?
Sources: Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2023; Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010.
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Isolation has become more common among all age groups (especially those under 34).
…and even less time spent with friends.
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Humans need frequent, positive interactions within stable relational bonds.
Baumeister & Leary summarize belonging as a fundamental human motivation.
Source: Baumeister & Leary, Psychological Bulletin, 1995.
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Building spaces for connection is both preventative and healing.
Protective connection can include
In a storytelling group, this can look like
• Family connectedness
• School connectedness
• Peer connectedness
• Trusted adults
• Community belonging
• Positive group norms
• Recurring attendance
• Shared norms
• Being expected and missed
• Roles that matter
• Cooperative goals
• Low-stakes social practice
Sources: CDC, 2024; SPRC, Preventing Suicide Through Connectedness; Whitlock et al., 2014.
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A solid D&D or tabletop group is a consistent and meaningful protective space, which can have a massive impact on mental health.
Core claim for today
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; Action Alliance Framework; CDC, 2024.
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Part 2: What Is a TTRPG?
A beginner-friendly guide to D&D, character creation, and roleplay.
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A tabletop roleplaying game is...
• A shared story created through conversation, imagination, rules, and chance.
• Players make choices as fictional characters.
• One facilitator describes the world and helps resolve what happens next.
• Dice add uncertainty so the story is not fully controlled by any one person.
• The point is not to win. The point is to create a memorable shared experience.
Sources: D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast; Merrick et al., 2024.
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How D&D works in one loop
DM describes
The setting, situation, and stakes.
Players choose
Characters attempt actions.
Dice resolve
Uncertain outcomes become visible.
Story changes
Success, failure, and surprise create the next moment.
Sources: D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast; Walsh & Linehan, 2024.
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The two main roles at the table
Players
Dungeon Master
• Create and portray characters
• Make choices
• Share attention
• Support other players
• Help shape the story
• Describes the world
• Portrays non-player characters
• Facilitates rules and pacing
• Protects table norms
• Invites everyone into the story
Sources: D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast; Merrick et al., 2024.
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There are usually no winners or losers
• A game can include monsters, puzzles, conflict, and danger.
• But the table succeeds when people are engaged and contributing.
• A “failed” roll can still create a great story. (And often it’s even more entertaining than a mediocre roll.)
• Mistakes become shared plot, not public humiliation.
Sources: Merrick et al., 2024; D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast.
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The character sheet offers structure and safety
• A character sheet organizes a fictional person into choices, strengths, limits, relationships, and goals.
• It gives players a structured way to participate.
• For beginners, the sheet can reduce social ambiguity: “What can I do?” becomes visible.
• Participants do not have to disclose themselves to explore courage, fear, loyalty, humor, conflict, or change.
Sources: D&D Beyond Character Sheets, 2024; Walsh & Linehan, 2024.
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Sources: D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Your Scenario: Day 1 with Prof. Blueberry
Sources: D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Dice make uncertainty shared instead of personal.
A failed roll is not “you are bad.” It is “the story just got interesting.”
Sources: D&D Basic Rules; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Part 3: The Dungeon Master
The DM is not just a narrator. The DM is a facilitator of belonging.
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The DM is a facilitator
• Host: makes the table feel navigable.
• Narrator: describes the shared world.
• Referee: applies rules consistently and flexibly.
• Coach: helps beginners know what is possible.
• Mediator: repairs conflict before it becomes exclusion.
• Community builder: protects attention, norms, and trust.
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; D&D Basic Rules; Walsh & Linehan, 2024.
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A DM designs both story and climate
The DM builds engagement through invitation
Notice
Who is quiet? Who is dominating? Who is uncertain?
Invite
Offer a clear, low-pressure way in.
Validate
Treat contributions as meaningful.
Connect
Tie choices to other players and the story.
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; Vygotsky, 1978; Bandura, 1997.
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A welcoming DM does not only ask “what happens next?”
Who has not had a meaningful choice yet?
Who needs the rules translated into plain language?
What table behavior is quietly pushing someone out?
How do we repair when the story or the group goes sideways?
How can I make participation easier without making it childish?
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; Action Alliance Framework; trauma-informed facilitation principles.
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Part 4: Collaborative Storytelling
The story works because no one owns it alone.
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Narrative identity: we make meaning through story
• Narrative identity research examines how people construct a sense of self through internalized life stories.
• Collaborative stories let participants experiment with motives, values, choices, failures, and change.
• The story is fictional, but the skills are social: perspective-taking, reflection, communication, repair.
• The goal is not to force personal revelation. The goal is to make meaning-making social and shared.
Sources: McAdams, 2001; Bruner, 1991; Walsh & Linehan, 2024.
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“Participants described increased confidence in social situations, particularly with boundaries or making mistakes. Secondly, the skills practiced in the game were transferred into real-world experiences.”
Author Neil Gaiman on escapism:
“If you were trapped in an impossible situation, in an unpleasant place, with people who meant you ill, and someone offered you a temporary escape, why wouldn’t you take it? And escapist fiction is just that: fiction that opens a door, shows the sunlight outside, gives you a place to go where you are in control, are with people you want to be with; and more importantly, during your escape, books can also give you knowledge about the world and your predicament, give you weapons, give you armour, real things you can take back into your prison. Skills and knowledge and tools you can use to escape for real.”
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The table can become a third space
• Third spaces are informal gathering places outside home and work or school.
• D&D tables can function as micro third spaces when they are recurring, accessible, and socially welcoming.
• Libraries, classrooms, community rooms, and homes can all host this kind of belonging.
• The space matters less than the social pattern: welcome, contribution, return.
Sources: Oldenburg, 1999; Konieczny, 2019; Merrick et al., 2024.
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What emerging TTRPG research suggests
• A 2024 community sample study found significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and stress and increases in self-esteem and self-efficacy after eight weeks of D&D.
• Qualitative work on D&D players identifies themes including escapism, exploration of self, creative expression, social support, and routine.
• A 2024 scoping review found TTRPG research is promising, but still limited and varied in design.
• The responsible claim: D&D can be a connection-rich wellbeing practice, not a standalone treatment.
Sources: Merrick, Li, & Miller, 2024; Walsh & Linehan, 2024; Yuliawati, 2024.
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Part 5: Protective Spaces
The psychology behind why some groups feel safer than others.
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Collaborative Storytelling Encourages (and Requires) a Safe Space
• Play creates a protected frame: the dragon is not real, but the cooperation is real.
• Participants can attempt, fail, revise, and try again.
• Rules hold the space so imagination does not become chaos.
• For youth, this can turn social risk into shared experiment.
Sources: Huizinga, 1949; Vygotsky, 1978; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Psychological safety: the group feels safe for interpersonal risk
• Researcher Amy Edmondson defines team psychological safety as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.
• At a D&D table, interpersonal risk includes speaking up, trying an idea, asking a rule question, being silly, and failing in front of peers.
• Good table culture makes these risks survivable and even enjoyable.
• The result is more participation, not perfect comfort.
Sources: Edmondson, Administrative Science Quarterly, 1999.
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Self-efficacy: “I can do something here”
• Self-efficacy refers to beliefs about one’s ability to act effectively in specific situations.
• D&D gives repeated moments of choice, attempt, feedback, and adjustment.
• Players can experience mastery through problem-solving, social choices, creativity, and cooperation.
• Merrick et al. found increases in self-efficacy and self-esteem after an eight-week D&D program in a community sample.
Sources: Bandura, 1997; Merrick, Li, & Miller, 2024.
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Design principles for protective storytelling spaces
Make belonging explicit
Make safety practical
• Use welcome language
• Name norms early
• Teach the game patiently
• Invite return
• Design roles for every player
• Use session zero
• Set content boundaries
• Offer opt-out tools
• Know referral pathways
• Repair harm quickly
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; Action Alliance Framework; TTRPG safety tool literature and practice.
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Part 6: Practical Implementation
How to create D&D groups and D&D-like opportunities in real places.
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Start small and make it easy to enter
• Begin with 3 to 6 players if possible.
• Use pre-generated characters for the first meeting.
• Run a short one-shot before a long campaign.
• Keep rules explanation just-in-time.
• Choose a regular schedule and protect consistency.
• Make the invitation sound welcoming, not exclusive.
Sources: D&D Basic Rules; community TTRPG practice; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Where this can happen
Formal youth settings
Community and home settings
• School clubs
• English or social studies classrooms
• Advisory or SEL periods
• Libraries
• Youth centers
• College groups
• Faith community youth nights
• Community centers
• Family evenings
• Neighborhood game nights
• Mental health awareness events
• Coalition-building activities
Sources: CDC connectedness literature; Oldenburg, 1999; Action Alliance Framework.
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Session zero: the most important meeting
1. Clarify the purpose: fun, story, connection, and respectful participation.
2. Set expectations for attendance, communication, phones, side conversations, and table respect.
3. Discuss content boundaries before story content appears.
4. Decide how players can pause, redirect, or step away.
5. Create characters in relation to one another, not as isolated strangers.
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; Action Alliance Framework; TTRPG safety practice.
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Simple safety tools
• Lines: content that will not appear.
• Veils: content that can exist off-screen or without detail.
• Pause cards or signals: a way to stop and recalibrate without explaining publicly.
• Open door: participants can step away without punishment.
• Debrief: a short check-out after emotionally intense sessions.
Sources: TTRPG safety practice; Action Alliance Framework; trauma-informed facilitation principles.
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Low-budget setup
• One set of dice or a shared dice app.
• Free basic rules or simplified starter rules.
• Printed character sheets or index-card characters.
• Pencils, scratch paper, and a simple map.
• Snacks if allowed. (Snacks always help!)
Sources: D&D Basic Rules; D&D Beyond resources.
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Inclusion is a design choice
• Use plain-language explanations and visual supports for new players.
• Offer multiple ways to participate: speaking, writing, drawing, mapping, rules tracking, music, notes.
• Avoid assuming everyone enjoys acting, fantasy, combat, or long sessions.
• Build characters and worlds that do not turn race, culture, gender, disability, or religion into stereotypes.
• Ask what helps people participate instead of asking them to prove they belong.
Sources: Walton & Cohen, 2007; Action Alliance Framework; culturally responsive and trauma-informed facilitation principles.
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How you might know it is working
• Participants return voluntarily.
• New players are taught without embarrassment.
• Quiet participants begin taking safe risks.
• Players refer to “our group” or “our story.”
• Conflict is repaired instead of ignored.
• Participants know where to find support outside the table.
Sources: Edmondson, 1999; CDC connectedness literature; Action Alliance Framework.
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Part 7: Pitfalls to Avoid
Good intentions do not automatically create safe spaces.
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Pitfalls to Avoid
• treating D&D as therapy
• forcing vulnerability
• gatekeeping and exclusion
• tone and content mismatch
• DM or facilitator burnout
Sources: Action Alliance Framework; SPRC; Rosenblad et al., 2025; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Part 8: Takeaways
What to remember and what to practice.
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Primary takeaways
1. Belonging is not soft. It is protective.
2. D&D works because it combines structure, choice, imagination, recurrence, and shared attention.
3. The DM role gives us a practical model for facilitation: notice, invite, validate, connect, repair.
4. Collaborative storytelling can help people practice agency and connection without requiring personal disclosure.
5. The responsible frame is community-building, not treatment.
Sources: Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Edmondson, 1999; CDC, 2024; Merrick et al., 2024.
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Practice takeaways
1. Run a short, low-barrier one-shot before committing to a campaign.
2. Use session zero when you create a new group.
3. Create characters with built-in reasons to need and value one another.
4. Use safety tools casually and proactively.
5. Watch for belonging uncertainty, especially among new and marginalized participants.
6. Know your referral pathway before you need it.
Sources: Action Alliance Framework; Edmondson, 1999; D&D Basic Rules.
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Q&A
Questions, implementation ideas, and concerns
Rolling for Connection
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Selected references, part 1
• Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Framework for Successful Messaging.
• Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong. Psychological Bulletin.
• CDC. (2024). Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report, 2013 to 2023.
• Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly.
• Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk. PLOS Medicine.
• Merrick, A., Li, W. W., & Miller, D. J. (2024). Dungeons & Dragons, mental health, and self-concepts. Games for Health Journal.
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Selected references, part 2
• Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.
• Walsh, O., & Linehan, C. (2024). Roll for Insight. International Journal of Role-Playing.
• Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2007). A question of belonging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Whitlock, J., Wyman, P. A., & Moore, S. R. (2014). Connectedness and suicide prevention in adolescents. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.
• Yuliawati, L. (2024). A scoping review of tabletop role-playing game research. Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
• Wizards of the Coast and D&D Beyond. D&D Basic Rules and Character Sheets.
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Helpful resources for implementation
• D&D Beyond: free basic rules and character sheets.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: use for crisis support and resource planning.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center: connectedness and safe messaging resources.
• Action Alliance: Framework for Successful Messaging.
• Your local school, library, youth organization, or faith community safeguarding policies.
Sources: D&D Beyond; 988 Lifeline; SPRC; Action Alliance.
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