Welcome to the Geek Therapy Movement

[GeekTherapy]

Originally published at: Welcome to the Geek Therapy Movement -

 

By Josué Cardona

A friend and colleague recently referred to Geek Therapy as a movement. This is a person who shares many of my passions and who I admire greatly so hearing her say this meant a lot. I thought it was a very bold statement but if she called it a movement, then it's officially a movement. (Throughout all of this I'm assuming she was being serious when she called it a "movement"...)

The statement made me think about what Geek Therapy is and helped me put it into perspective.

I am not the first person to use the phrase. I’ve seen and heard people use the word to refer to just doing something Geeky that feels good, like watching a few episodes of your favorite show or getting that new game. Along those same lines, I refer to Geek Therapy as a clinical application of Geek Culture in therapy. I am a licensed psychotherapist so a lot of content on this site will likely lean toward a mental health perspective.

In general, I am just a guy who loves to see video games, comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, and technology applied in creative and innovative ways to help others. That’s how GeekTherapy.com came about. Some examples of the type of things that I get excited about and I think define the movement include:

• Two of the most viewed TED Talks ever are by someone promoting the application of gaming concepts to make the world a better place.
• A clinical psychology professor teaching a class called Geek Culture in Therapy.
• The Games for Health movement, which combines gaming concepts and health care.
• A licensed therapist in San Francisco running workshops on monster movies as a path to personal growth.
• Ongoing research supporting that video games improve cognitive and other skills.
• The use of LEGO blocks as treatment for children on the autism spectrum.
• Using comic books to improve literacy in schools.
• and many more, including the personal stories I increasingly hear from people who have been positively affected by geeky things or are actively working on making the world a better place through their geeky and nerdy passions.

Those are examples of the growing trends I'm seeing. That's the Geek Therapy movement. GeekTherapy.com is its own thing. Ultimately, GeekTherapy.com is what me and my colleagues make it. So here are some of my hopes for GeekTherapy.com:

• Promote the work of professionals in all fields who are using aspects of Geek Culture to do some good.
• Share the stories of people whose lives were saved or changed by their geeky pursuits.
• Advocate for everyone who identifies as a Geek or unashamedly loves what they love. That includes geeks, nerds, cosplayers, gamers, bronies, sherlockians, trekkies, hackers, and fans and superfans of anything and everything.
• Fight against the negative stereotypes associated with Geek culture and the negative stereotypes associated with video games, comic books, and any and all other geeky/nerdy pursuits.
• Advocate for the positive aspects of Geek culture, video games, cosplay, comic books, cons, new technology, etc.
• Promote and encourage greater research on the use of Geek culture in a variety of applications.

That's a lot... and I'm missing a few things on that list.

So join the growing movement! Join our tribe! Join me and my colleagues in combining Geek culture with other fields, share your stories, let us know if you want to learn more, and/or if you want to participate in any way. We’ll do our part by appearing at cons, presenting, podcasting, blogging, curating, and talking to anyone and everyone who wants to discuss this topic further.

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