Telehealth Activity: Minecraft

I’ve talked before about the therapeutic benefits of Roblox, a popular online game among my clients. A similar game that a lot of kids love is, of course, Minecraft. Initially I didn’t talk about Minecraft on this blog because I am trying to stick to interventions that you can access for free, and I was previously only aware of the paid version of Minecraft for multiplayer.

Of course, you can engage therapeutically through narration and working together with a single account in these games, but many therapists like to actually join their clients in the world of the game. Well, Crazy Games offers Minecraft Classic, basically the original Minecraft game that we all know and love, as a multiplayer game!

When the game loads, you get the option to create a room as the host. Choose a nickname, and send the link to your client via whatever platform you are using for telehealth. You can use this activity with groups as well, as rooms can hold up to 10 people total, including the host.

By following the link, your client(s) enter your private room, and strangers can’t join your room unless they have the link.

Once the game begins, you point your mouse in the direction where you want to look and move around with the W, A, S, and D keys. Space bar is jump, and clicking destroys blocks. 1-9 selects blocks, Enter saves, B opens the menu, T is chat, and F is toggle. This was a little confusing for me at first because I’m used to using arrow keys, but after a few minutes I got used to it.

With telehealth on the rise, many child therapists have spoken about the therapeutic benefits of Minecraft for problem solving, social skills, and creative expression. You can even complete this free training to learn how to use Minecraft in your sessions.

I love this free version of Minecraft because it lets you drop into the Minecraft world without an account and use many of these interventions in your telehealth sessions.