A groundbreaking gameplay style that slams traditional education for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy right into the exciting realm of entertainment!
Right from the title, Vampire Therapist piqued my interest. I have gone to school for addiction counseling and practiced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for a short time under a supervisor, so I was curious how a game would adapt the experience.
While Vampire Therapist does not claim to be an actual educational source for CBT, the developers did consult real counselors.
Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly simple, alternating between story sections with choices and counseling sessions. During counseling sessions, you are given up to 5 cognitive distortions that you can ascribe to a client’s statements. I enjoyed how natural this felt to a real counseling session. Sometimes distortions could pass by if I wasn’t paying attention and just letting the client talk. If you make a mistake, the supervisor vampire gives you a nudge in the right direction.
In addition to counseling sessions, the game also had a few skippable mini-games including neck-biting and meditation.
Story
Vampire therapist focuses on a vampire from the wild west named Sam seeking a mentor in therapy. It had a unique setting in a European night club where you can meet employees and patrons after your sessions. The client’s all have an interesting backstory that is revealed through their sessions.
Rough Edges
The story sections between clients could feel like they lacked any meaningful decisions. There were a few therapy ethics that would have been nice to bring up. Sam could have wondered if it was ethical to receive a gift from a client and maybe have this clarified with his mentor.
The setting got a bit stale after a while. Even just changing the background between clients would have helped. I understand the clients would meet in a counseling office, but there could have been multiple rooms or meeting a client on Zoom.
Where it Shines
The game went above and beyond incorporating not just CBT skillsets, but counseling ethics as well. The game emphasized practicing consent in therapy practices and there were consequences for not following this. It also walked through intake to termination.
The client backstories were also great. They all felt fresh and unique from each other. The main character also had a great story that I really wanted to follow through with.
The game made great use of public domain writing, movies, and art that really brought the game to life!
Would I Recommend?
Overall, I would definitely recommend vampire therapist. There is tons of content for the money and the experience is educational as well as entertaining!
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