Geek Therapy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Geek Therapy is part of the wonderful world of helping professionals integrating Geek culture into their work, often referred to as Therapeutic and Applied Geek and Gaming (TAGG). Think psychologists using comic books, social skills group using D&D, recreational therapists using anime, or teachers using video games to teach history.
The term Geek Therapy was coined by Josué Cardona in 2011 and refers to a specific model of integrating Geek culture into practice. He was inspired by the Geek culture and mental health work of Lawrence Rubin, Robin Rosenberg, Patrick O’Connor, and others, and his clinical training in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City, to develop his model further.
Since 2011, Geek Therapy has grown from a website celebrating how to use Geek culture for good to becoming a nonprofit organization in 2020.
Geek Therapy’s Mission
We advocate for the effective and meaningful use of popular media in therapeutic, educational, and community practice. We provide education and resources so helping professionals, educators, and community leaders can better understand the communities they serve, through media that matters.
Geek Therapy’s Origin Story
On June 24, 2011, Josué Cardona was working as a mental health counseling intern and asked to use video games with his clients.
His supervisor said “no” and Josué went home and created a curated news website about the positive applications of video games and other staples of Geek culture. He called it Geek Therapy.
He then went on to develop Geek Therapy as a mindset and model for integrating Geek culture into mental health practice, education, and more.
About Our Research Tools
Thanks to QuestionPro for providing us free survey templates for running multiple types of surveys. It aids in strengthening our nonprofit family.