How Minecraft Therapy Is Transforming Child and Teen Mental Health Care
Two leading practitioners discuss how they do individual and group therapy that children want to take part in, using Minecraft, the most popular video game in the world. A MindSite News webinar.
Click above to view the recording of our webinar.
During the pandemic, many clinicians faced a growing challenge: how to meaningfully connect with children and teens in virtual settings. Out of this challenge emerged an unexpected and powerful tool: Minecraft therapy, a digital adaptation of play therapy that meets young people where they already feel comfortable.
In this webinar, held in December, we explored how Minecraft can function as a therapeutic medium for emotional expression, symbolic play, social connection, and healing, particularly for youth who are often difficult to engage in traditional talk therapy.
You’ll hear from two leading practitioners at the forefront of this work:
Ellie Finch, Founder and Director of PlayMode Academy (UK)
Braulio Rivera, therapist at WellPower, Colorado’s largest community mental health provider
The conversation is moderated by Rob Waters, Founding Editor of MindSite News, and was produced by Diana Hembree and Tiffany Raether.
As Rivera notes, “The people most enthusiastic about Minecraft therapy are exactly who therapists struggle to reach — pre-adolescent boys. They’re often the least engaged and most likely to miss appointments, but they never miss a Minecraft session.”
What this webinar covers:
- Why Minecraft is uniquely effective for therapeutic engagement
- How symbolic play and role-based interaction support emotional processing
- Best practices for safety, including invite-only servers and clinician moderation
- Group norms, containment, and integration with offline therapeutic resources
- Early pilot data showing faster engagement and positive outcomes
- Training pathways for clinicians interested in ethical and effective implementation
This approach has shown promise across diverse populations, including neurodivergent youth, refugees, and adolescents who struggle with engagement in traditional therapy settings.
Whether you’re a clinician, educator, parent, or mental-health advocate, this conversation offers a hopeful look at how creativity, technology, and play can open new pathways to healing.
Read our story on Minecraft Therapy here.
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The name “MindSite News” is used with the express permission of Mindsight Institute, an educational organization offering online learning and in-person workshops in the field of mental health and wellbeing. MindSite News and Mindsight Institute are separate, unaffiliated entities that are aligned in making science accessible and promoting mental health globally.
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