Articles are categorized by topic. Within each topic, they are organized chronologically.
Books and journals are at the bottom of this page.
Acting
Mindfulness and Acting (Thalia R. Goldstein, Ph.D, 2017)
Breaking Down the Elements of Acting (Thalia R. Goldstein, Ph.D, 2017)
Connecting Role-Playing, Stage Acting, and Improvisation (Sarah Lynne Bowman, Analog Game Studies, 2015)
What, Cognitively, Does an Actor Actually Do? (Thalia R. Goldstein, Ph.D, 2014)
How Actors Create Emotions: A Problematic Psychology (Judith Ohikuare, 2014)
Alchemical Gaming & Positive Bleed
The Butterfly Effect Manifesto (Kjell Hedgard Hugaas & Sarah Lynne Bowman, 2019)
Larp is a Chrysalis (Chance J. Kallisti, 2019)
How Two Video Games Altered the Course of My Life (Leah McKelvey, 2018)
The Power of Positive Bleed (Ericka Skirpan, 2018)
Why Tabletop Role-Playing Games? (Game to Grow, 2018)
Let’s Play with Fire! Using Risk and its Power for Personal Transformation (Bettina Beck & Aaron Vanek, nordiclarp.org, 2018)
Heroes of the Game (The Bodhana Group, 2018)
Breaking the Alibi: Fostering Empathy by Reuniting the Player and Character (Brown & Morrow, WyrdCon Book 2015)
The Art of Steering – Bringing the Player and the Character Back Together (Markus Montola, Jaakko Stenros, Eleanor Saitta; 2015)
Bleed: The Spillover Between Player and Character (Sarah Lynne Bowman, nordiclarp.org, 2015)
Gaming: The Magic Avatar (Part 1) (Satyros Phil Brucato, 2014)
Gaming: Serious Fun (Part 2) (Satyros Phil Brucato, 2014)
About Alchemical Gaming (Jason Feldstein, 2013)
Aspecting: Song of My Selves (Satyros Phil Brucato, 2013)
I See What You Did There… (Or: Why Dystopia Rising Rules) (Jason Feldstein, 2013)
Prismatic Play: Games as Windows on the Real World (John Tynes, WyrdCon Book 2012)
Through A Mask, Darkly: Connecting players and roles (James Wallis, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1995)
Bleed (Negative) and Safety
We Are Not Therapists: Gaming and Trauma (Kate Bullock, 2018)
Method Acting vs. LARPing: A Dangerous Mix (Ericka Skirpan, 2018)
(Negative) Bleed & You (Ericka Skirpan, 2018)
Psychological Effects of Method Acting (Wikipedia)
We Need to Talk: A Literature Review of Debrief (Brodie Atwater, International Journal of Role-Playing, 2016)
The Dangers of Chasing Catharsis (Peter Woodworth, 2016)
Maybe It’s Us: Larp Safety and Larper’s Munchausen Syndrome and Maybe It’s Us: Clarification (Lizzie Stark, 2016)
A Primer on Safety in Role-Playing Games (Lizzie Stark, 2014)
The Therapy Game: Nordic Larp, Psychotherapy, and Player Safety (Kevin Burns, WyrdCon Book 2014)
How to Run a Post-Larp Debrief (Lizzie Stark, 2013)
How-To Guides & Tips
Alchemical Gaming: A New (Old) Vision for Positive Bleed (Chance J. Kallisti, 2019)
Five Hidden Benefits of LARP: Education (Anna Sharpton, 2017)
Five Hidden Benefits of LARP: Networking (Anna Sharpton, 2017)
Five Hidden Benefits of LARP: Health (Anna Sharpton, 2017)
Five Hidden Benefits of LARP: Social Skills (Anna Sharpton, 2017)
Five Hidden Benefits of LARP: Creative Outlets (Anna Sharpton, 2017)
The Surprising Benefits of Role-Playing Games (and How to Get Started) (Patrick Allan, 2015)
6 Leadership Tips I’ve Learned From LARP (Tara M. Clapper, 2015)
How To Become a Better Larper (Lizzie Stark, 2014)
Social Justice in Larp: A practical approach (Lizzie Stark, 2014)
The Alchemical Gaming Manifesto (Jason Feldstein, 2013)
Leaping into Cross-Gender Role-Play (Sandy Antunes, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1995)
Learning & Education
How Dungeons & Dragons Primes Students for Interdisciplinary Learning (Paul Darvasi, 2019)
One Way to Create Educational Games (Graham MacLean, International Journal of Role-Playing, 2016)
Educational Larp in the Middle School Classroom: A Mixed Method Case Study (Sarah Lynne Bowman and Anne Standiford, International Journal of Role-Playing, 2016)
At This Danish School, LARPing Is the Future of Education (Mike Pearl, 2015)
Experiential Learning for Youth Through Larps and RPGs (Mark Hoge, WyrdCon Book 2013)
Needs Met Through Role-Playing Games: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Dungeons & Dragons (Aubrie S. Adams, Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research, Vol. 12, 2013)
Why Do Players Larp? Motivations for Larping in Germany (Rafael Bienia, WyrdCon Book 2012)
The self perceived effects of the role playing hobby on personal development – a survey report (Mikko Meriläinen, International Journal of Role-Playing, Issue 3, 2012)
Invoking the Avatar: Gaming Skills as Cultural and Out-of-Game Capital (Heather L. Mello, Gaming as Culture, 2006, p. 175)
Culture Club: playing as a means of experiencing different modes of thought (Paul Mason, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1995)
Immersion as a Prerequisite of the Didactical Potential of Role-Playing (Myriel Balzer, International Journal of Role-Playing, Issue 2, 2011)
Gaming in My Classroom (David Millians, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1994)
Mythic Themes
Playing with Myth: Applying Mythic Imagination to Live Action Role-Play (Craig Page, WyrdCon Book 2014)
Shadow Work: A Jungian Perspective on the Underside of Live Action Role-Play in the United States (Whitney “Strix” Beltran, WyrdCon Book 2013)
Yearning for the Hero Within: Live Action Role-Playing as Engagement with Mythical Archetypes (Whitney “Strix” Beltran, WyrdCon Book 2012)
Playing with Identity: Unconscious Desire and Role-Playing Games (Michelle Nephew, Gaming as Culture, 2006)
Dancing Fictions (David A. Lambert, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1995)
Freud and Campbell: Myth, Archetype, and Role-Playing (Andrew Rilstone, Greg Stafford, and James Wallis; Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1994)
Personal Accounts
Has LARP Improved Any Aspects of Your Life in Any Way? (Reddit discussion, 2018)
How LARP Made Me a Badass at Work (Tara M. Clapper, 2017)
How LARP Taught Me I Am a Bit of an Asshole (Shoshanna Kessock, 2017)
My First LARP & Social Anxiety (Reddit thread, 2017)
Donning medieval dress for Larp helped me overcome anxiety (and I met my future husband) (Kate Townshend, 2016)
Everything I Ever Needed to Know, I Learned LARPing at Wizard’s College (Bob Macauley, 2015)
How I Became an Accidental Artist Through Larp (Quinn D, WyrdCon Book 2015)
Psychology and Therapy
Why D&D Is a Popular Form of Communal Therapy (Malek Samman and Christopher Porzenheim, 2019)
Therapeutic Gaming (The Bodhana Group, 2018)
How Tabletop Games Like Dungeons & Dragons Can Be Therapeutic For Players (Lisa Granshaw, 2018)
Dungeons & Dragons is now being used as therapy (Catriona White, 2017)
The Psychological Effects of Fantasy Games on Their Players (Andreas Lieberoth and Jonas Tier-Knudsen, The Role-Playing Society: Essays on the Cultural Influence of RPGs, 2016)
Dungeons and Dragons: The Use of a Fantasy Game in the Psychotherapeutic Treatment of a Young Adult (Wayne Blackmon, Psychology Today, 1994)
Uses of Role-playing Within Psychology and Psychotherapy (Keith Hurley, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1994)
Role-Playing and Dyslexia (Andrew P. Malcolm, Interactive Fantasy Magazine, 1994)
Therapy is Fantasy: Roleplaying, Healing and the Construction of Symbolic Order (John Hughes, 1988)
Additional psychological articles on role-playing games can be found here.
Spiritual Alchemy & Chaos Magic
The 7 Stages of Spiritual Alchemy(Mateo Sol, 2017)
Spiritual Alchemy – Casting Light on a Secret Science (Valda Roric, 2017)
The Complete Psychonaut Field Manual (Archtraitor Bluefluke, 2015)
POP MAGIC! (Grant Morrison, 2014)
Oven-Ready Chaos (Phil Hine, 1997)
Path of the Sacred Clown (Peggy Andreas, 1995)
Path of the Shaman (Peggy Andreas, 1995)
Path of the Warrior (Peggy Andreas, 1995)
Books
1
Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World1
2
The Functions of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems and Explore Identity1
3
Transforming Your Self: Becoming Who You Want to Be1
4
SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully1
5
Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility1
6
Gaming as Culture: Essays on Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games1
7
Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations1
8
Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games1
9
Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds1
10
Wizards, Warriors, and Wellness: The Therapeutic Application of Role-Playing Games1