Industry Consulting & Workshops

We provide training and consulting to game companies

We address a range of mental health topics and how they relate to the unique cultural and business needs of the game industry.

What We Cover

We provide a culturally-informed approach to employee wellness and success for the game industry addressing harassment and gender-based harm, retention, burnout prevention, resilience, and mental health literacy.

Resilience and Wellness
Leadership and management through crisis
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Community Mental Health

“Take This recently provided their Mental Health 101 workshop to our team. The session was informative and engaging, and our facilitator, Dr. B, did an excellent job leading the conversation. The team was fully engaged throughout the session, and one of our team members was later able to apply the information learned to support an industry colleague in a time of mental distress. Thank you, Take This and Dr. B!”
Past Workshop Client

Our Approach

Trained mental health professionals and researchers conduct all workshops. Our non-judgmental approach to these topics is approachable and constructive across a range of experiences and perspectives.

Our workshops can be offered to different audiences, including separate spaces for various protected classes, in order to support a sense of safety and adequately address the different experiences and needs of different groups.

Our Workshops

Stand-Alone Workshops

These 60 minute workshops cover a variety of mental health topics that impact the ability of studios to function effectively.

Understanding and Addressing Burnout

Burnout is a common problem in the game industry today, impacting developers at studios of all sizes, lowering staff productivity and increasing staff turnover and distress. Addressing systemic causes of burnout may feel insurmountable, but research has found that implementing meaningful change in a few areas can have system-wide impacts. Drawing on the most current research, Understanding and Addressing Burnout will equip developers with the knowledge, skills, and best practices for crafting processes and policies to help your studio tackle burnout.

Online Harassment: Community and Creators

For over a decade, online harassment has remained a persistent problem facing our industry. In a 2021 survey of games professionals by Take This, almost 60% reported they’ve experienced harassment related to their work via social media. Worse, these incidents continue to have serious consequences including impacts to mental health and job loss. This Online Harassment workshop will equip staff with knowledge, skills, and best practices for crafting processes and policies to help your studio increase player and developer safety from harassment.

Autism, ADHD, and Team Dynamics

Individuals with autism and ADHD abound in the creative and fast-paced world of the games industry, and are a valuable asset to studios. This workshop explores the strengths individuals with autism and ADHD bring to teams, as well as common challenges they face. Participants will gain insights into common workplace accommodations that support neurodivergent colleagues, and learn practical strategies for engaging in meaningful, goal-oriented conversations with coworkers and management.

*This workshop can be tailored for management-only or full-team audiences.

Designing for Psychological Safety Series

This series of workshops include two 60-minute presentations and a hands-on 90 minute workshop. Any of these three sessions can be given individually, but they are designed to build on one another.

Mental Health Representation in Games

Mental Health Representation in Games provides a solid foundation of the intersection of games and mental health from player and developer perspectives. This lecture-based talk begins with essential information about mental health basics and the role developers can play in addressing mental health challenges. The presentation identifies common mental health tropes in games, explores the cultural relevance and impact of these representations, and provides recommendations for game developers on how to ditch stereotypes and create better representations of mental illness in games.

Designing for Psychological Safety

Designing for Psychological Safety deepens developer understanding of design strategies for prioritizing player well-being. We leverage research in discomfort design and fluency in ethical design to provide game designers with the tools to share difficult (i.e. traumatic, distressing) stories in an authentic way while remaining mindful of the safety and well-being of the players. This talk encourages designers to think critically about the power they hold over players, to use that power ethically, and to always keep the psychological safety of players at the forefront – from ideation and design to marketing and community.

Content Warning Deep Dive

Content Warning Deep Dive provides an in-depth and hands-on experience around developing and implementing effective content warnings. This workshop provides historical and psychological background on the use and importance of content warnings, identifies essential components of effective warnings, highlights current games that utilize content warnings, and invites participants to practice crafting their own content warnings.

Game Consultation and Specialty Services