It’s been a year of transition at Take This, and it is with bittersweet sentiment that we share that Dr. B, Take This’ clinical director, will be leaving at the end of this year. We want to express our heartfelt appreciation for Dr. B’s decade of dedication to Take This. His kindness, insight, and knowledge has been invaluable, and his impact on the Take This team and community will not be forgotten. Below is a heartfelt letter from Dr. B about the upcoming change.
As the title of my favorite George Harrison album goes, “All things must pass.”
At the end of 2024, I’ll no longer be with Take This as a staff member. It’s surreal to think about. I’ve been with Take This as either a volunteer or staff member since the first AFK Room in Seattle in 2014. There’s so much I’m proud to have done with the org. However, the truth is that nonprofit life is hard. Since I became a dad earlier this year, I find my focus is more on my family. I can’t commit to all the extra hours required of being a director at a small nonprofit organization while maintaining the focus on my family that they deserve. I’d end up underserving everyone on both sides of that coin. As my schedule allows, I’d eventually like to find ways to support the org in a more limited capacity, but for now I need to focus on me and my family.
The good news is that the folks remaining at Take This have the drive, energy, commitment, and passion to make sure the mission not only continues, but that it grows and expands! I can’t wait to see what they do with it!
When I started my doctorate, I couldn’t have imagined I’d get to both meet and work with some of the people I admire in both the video game industry and psychology world. On top of that, I got to meet and work with so many more wonderful and amazing people, many of whom I’m now privileged to call friends.
I don’t entirely know what’s next for me, other than focusing on my family and the psychology practice I run. I’d like to keep at least one toe dipped in games. If you might need a psychologist with a decade of experience working within the game industry on things like burnout, mental health representation in media, content creator mental health, tabletop roleplaying games, crunch culture, and other things, I’ll be around, and I’d love to hear from you.
It’s been an honor and a blessing. Thank you, all!
R. Boccamazzo, PsyD – “Dr. B”
