I'm a forever DM, as a favor to all DMs out there, please don't use DND for therapy. We're not therapists, we're storytellers. We're just as likely to make things worse.
this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
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Ttrpg's can definitely be used by therapists (e.g.see https://gametogrow.org/ ) but people in general should not underestimate the skill and training professional therapists bring to the table. Just playing an rpg is not therapy.
I'm a forever GM too, and I made this meme referring to a player in my groups. She's an amazing player and I include her as often as possible. The point of the meme was not really to highlight that people use TTRPGs as a therapy replacement, though I definitely know that some might try that and I agree with you that it's not a good idea.
I’ve never played a TTRPG, but I noticed that the first person said DM and you said GM. Are they interchangeable? Or is DM specifically only for D&D because of dungeon? Is there bad blood between people who say GM vs DM? Is it like crips and bloods?
The phrase "Dungeon Master" is a registered trademark[1] by the rights holders of Dungeons and Dragons. DM is the abbreviation of that, and most likely safe to use. Game Master (GM) is used as a generic (and game agnostic) term.
[1] https://trademarks.justia.com/742/64/dungeon-74264094.html
Edit: I have (twice) edited this now after additional information from others (thank you Kichae for the link to the Dungeon Master trademark) was posted on this thread.
Some other games use other terms. Like wod uses "storyteller".
GM is the generic term
I don't think DM is a trademark, but if you have other information feel free to provide it. Looking through older discussion forums on this topic, the only semi-definitive answer I've found is in this 2021 thread where somebody referred to a now-defunct US gov't trademark search link, where they said they found a lot of "DM"s registered but none related to D&D. I'm inclined to believe it was a working link at that time and they weren't just making shit up.
Personally I use the term DM because I've mostly played D&D, so to me it's more natural.
"DM" is not a trademarked term, because it's a pair of letters. "Dungeon Master" is absolutely a trademarked term, though, and has been since the TSR days.
Thank you for this information, I have added it to my original comment.
My primary source at the time of posting was a sentence in the Wikipedia[1] but I have added the link to the trademark[2] that was provided by Kichae and rephrased my text now.
Thank you for reminding me that I should always properly check my sources and provide all information.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dungeon_Master&oldid=1185015796 [2] https://trademarks.justia.com/742/64/dungeon-74264094.html
Generally yes. DM and GM are interchangeable, with the small caveat that the term Dungeon Master is owned by Wizards.
But if it's not for therapy why are there two ts in ttrpg :D
brennan lee mulligan making a new character
"TTRPG players" includes Brennan, yes.
Trauma Trauma Role Playing Game.
Double the trauma, double the… fun?
Double the trauma, double the drama
“Mmm, just like dad used to make.”
You sure it's a linear corelation? Maybe it's double the trauma four times the fun!
My characters almost always gain 90% of their trauma from the adventure itself.
Nothing wrong with a little bit of projection every now and then. It seems some people take it too far as a coping mechanism sometimes taking it to unhinged/unsafe degrees.
I consider it an ethical and moral responsibility to hide the darker aspects of my life from other people in general unless they are closely loved family or get paid to deal with such things as a career. If were just weekend night game buddies theres no reason you should be able to guess anything about my shitty life or internal suffering through poorly veiled character back story allusions. Its not your responsibility, its more personal that most are casually comfortable with, and its wrong for me to try to burden you with knowledge like that.
Revealing your deep traumas / "venting" to other regular people who only know you as a friend or passing aquanitence simply adds onto their psychological burden and likely makes further interaction weird or even secretly unwanted by complicating the relationship. Likely without improving your emotional situation any long term.