Brooke Leith Counseling

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Using a love of the fantasy genre as a therapeutic tool

Brooke Leith

For children and teens who avoid the “tough stuff” in counseling, appealing to their interests is a well-known technique. But what if their passion is the wondrous world of fantasy literature? From Harry Potter to Shadow and Bone, if magic, dragons, and epic quests light you or your client up, fantasy world-building might be the key to unlocking their emotional barriers. 

This is the topic I had the pleasure of presenting on at the Association for Creativity in Counseling’s 2023 Conference, based on work I did with a client while in graduate school.

While presenting the case study of my pre-teen client, I shared tips and tricks to foster imagination and promote healing in these passionate young clients. Other objectives for the presentation included:

  • Master the basics of the fantasy genre, including plot, characters, and setting

  • Explore the various story-building media, including sand tray, visual arts, puppets, written word, or performance

  • Learn tricks for successful story-building through telemental health

  • Become familiar with research on the efficacy and ethics of story-building in counseling, particularly regarding how to ensure the activity remains client-led and culturally sensitive for the most empowering outcome

  • Learn how to extract therapeutic insights from the client’s created story

What is fantasy world-building?

Fantasy world-building as a therapeutic tool has been around in some form for a long time. Some call it “co-storying,” “collaborative story writing,” “therapeutic storytelling,” or “writing therapy,” but I chose the name “fantasy world-building” as it conjures feelings of control and autonomy. Additionally, “world-building” is a common term used in fiction writing to describe the process of conceptualizing a made-up world, usually one full of magic and other fantastical elements.

For my purposes with my clients, fantasy world-building is a process where the client creates their own made-up world with no interference from me, the counselor. They can talk it out while I take notes, they can write it down themselves, they can draw it – whatever venue allows for the most creative freedom for the client. A kingdom of half humans-half wolves who are at war with the neighboring half humans-half rabbits kingdom? A horror story where a demonic doll haunts a family? I don’t put any limits on what the client comes up with. 

Sometimes this is a one-session process and sometimes it spans weeks or even months, depending on the client’s interest and engagement. Sometimes they just come up with the setting and characters and leave it at that, while others want to write out full scenes and dialogue.

What are the benefits?

In my experience, this intervention serves to give the client a venue for whatever themes are prevalent in their mind at that time. It’s my belief that whatever is going on in there – whether conscious or not – may come out in their fantasy world. They can then explore those themes (bullying, strained relationships with siblings, parent’s divorce, for example) with some distance. Instead of sharing their sadness at having to split time at each parent’s house if they’re not comfortable disclosing that, the client can communicate this via their story. They can experience the catharsis of releasing these emotions without the vulnerability of revealing their inner worlds. 

Important elements of fantasy worlds

Whether you want to explore this yourself or with a client, it’s important to know the main elements and types of fantasy stories:

  • Setting: where and when? Middle-earth 6,000 years ago, inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and more.

  • Characters: main character, allies, and villains. Harry Potter, his best friends Ron and Hermione, and the villain Voldemort.

  • Conflict: what’s the problem? Alice is lost in Wonderland and can’t find her way home and instead meets bizarre and confusing creatures.

  • Plot: inciting action, rising action, climax, and falling action

  • Subgenres:

    • High fantasy: story takes place in a setting very unlike Earth and deals with world-threatening forces.

    • Low fantasy: magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world.

    • Magical realism: presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.

    • Dark fantasy: incorporates disturbing and frightening themes.

    • Fables: short story, usually conveying a moral.

    • Fairy tales: written for children and usually involves imaginary creatures and magic.

  • Common themes: 

    • Good vs. evil

    • Quest for knowledge

    • Man vs. nature

    • Man vs. self

    • Coming of age

    • Epic journey

    • Unlikely hero

    • Love

    • Honor

    • Friendship

    • Courage

    • Vengeance

    • Sacrifice

Digital tools to assist in fantasy world-building

Want to try it out? Download my presentation materials and free printable to help build out your fantasy world.