ttrpgs – Dr Susannah Emery

The Wire: Beyond the TableTop

Posted on March 4, 2024October 13, 2025 by Susie

Last week I was lucky enough to speak with Emma Wotzke from The Wire about the benefits of TTRPGs for social and emotional wellbeing. This year is the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons and it’s really great to see the popularity of the game and TTRPGs in general so high in 2024!

We chatted about the use of TTRPGs for social growth and the research in this space. I also got to talk about how TTRPGs can work towards bridging the “double empathy problem”, allowing neurodivergent and neurotypical people to promote social growth and strengthen cross neurotype communication! Emma also spoke to Michael Keady who is a counsellor using D&D in their work.

You can listen to the full story here: https://www.thewire.org.au/story/beyond-the-tabletop-can-d-and-d-support-social-and-emotional-wellbeing/

PAX Australia Panel!

Posted on October 10, 2023October 13, 2025 by Susie

I was super privileged to be part of a panel discussion at PAX last week, on the benefits of Tabletop RPGs for social growth alongside some other amazing panelists and wonderful people!

Panelists were:

Host: Miek Nelligen

-Dwayne Fernandes – Ambassador of Engagement, Minds at Play (He/Him)

-Ian Bennett – Senior Adventure Guide, Dice 4 Diversity Gaming (He/Him)

-Daniel Machuca – Dan the GM, Teacher, Podcaster, Game Developer (He/Him)

-Dr. Susannah Emery from UniSA (University of South Australia) (She/They)

During the panel I got to speak about the white paper that I recently wrote with my colleague Dr Michele Jarldorn and the support of Minds at Play! It was a great panel and an awesome experience! If you’re interested in this area you can read the white paper here: https://mindsatplay.com.au/2023/05/14/how-can-tabletop-roleplaying-games-ttrpgs-promote-social-growth-in-their-players/

ABC News Riverland: How Dungeons & Dragons is helping neurodivergent kids be themselves

Posted on August 30, 2023October 13, 2025 by Susie

Recently I chatted to ABC Riverland about the role of Dungeons & Dragons to promote social growth in those who are neurodivergent (ND) and those who are neurotypical (NT). Our research suggests that playing TTRPGs like D&D can help both ND and NT individuals grow socially as they learn to more deeply understand how our different brains work through playing the game.

It was lovely to hear about the great work that Jay Green is doing in the Riverland to promote and run D&D sessions that are inclusive and engaging!

You can read an ABC News article about the story here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-30/dungeons-and-dragons-riverland-neurodiverse-kids-connect/102672520

WIN News Hobart Interview

Posted on July 28, 2023October 13, 2025 by Susie

This week I was lucky enough to chat with Hayden Cornes at WIN News in Hobart about Dungeons & Dragons for Social Growth. I commented on the very cool social D&D sessions ran by Knights of the Shed in Hobart. These sessions are run online and in person in Hobart and promote social growth in their players – very cool!

ttRPGs for social growth – UniSA partners with Minds at Play

Posted on November 28, 2022October 13, 2025 by Susie

I’m really excited to be involved with a research project that explores how Tabletop RPGs (like Dungeons and Dragons) can help promote social growth in their players.

For this project we have partnered with Minds at Play, one of the leading social gaming companies in Australia. I’m really looking forward to learning from Minds at Play and exploring this great area!

You can read the full media release here