This time of year, the requests start pouring in: “Can I get a Nintendo Switch?” “The New Call of Duty Black Ops Just Came Out, Can I have it for Christmas?” “Everyone else is getting an Xbox 1X, Why Can’t We Get One.” At the same time, parents are watching the news, with its’ daily stories of terrorist attacks and mass shootings, and wondering, “Is there a connection between these video games and violence?” And even if there isn’t, how will I ever get my kid to come to dinner on time without turning our house into a live version of Battlefield 4?
Mike Langlois is here to say, remain calm; and to help us put things in perspective. He’s been working with children and adolescents for a quarter century, and although the news may tell you otherwise, his clinical experience and social analysis is that video games are a net gain rather than the end of civilization as we know it.
This episode we will talk a little about how, when and even if, you should set limits on video games with youth. How do we screen them and decide what our family limits are, rather than just rely on experts and ratings? Mike will share his general experience as a gamer-affirmative psychotherapist and his take on how to approach both healthy and problematic video game use.
Perhaps most importantly though, Mike will help us take a deep dive into games like Minecraft and talk about how they can be instrumental in increasing mindfulness, anger management, and creating a shared language with parents and their player offspring. All that and Creepers—Boom!
ABOUT MIKE LANGLOIS
Early adopter, enterprise social media platform co-founder, psychotherapist; Mike Langlois, wears many hats, from clinical social worker to public speaker to corporate consultant for Fortune 500 companies & non-profits. He is committed to applying principles of play & game design to psychology & education to maximize fun & learning.
A gamer-affirmative psychotherapist & educator, Mike is interested in team-building between the video game industry, consumers & mental health. He wrote a book about it, called Reset: Video Games & Psychotherapy and has conducted workshops at SXSW, PAX East, Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, SUNY-Buffalo, & dozens of other organizations.
Mike received his BA from Connecticut College in 1991, and my MSW from Smith College School for Social Work in 1994. He is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience counseling adults, children, adolescents and families.
A few of his notable achievements are:
- Supervisor at Harvard Medical School
- Faculty member at Boston College, University at Buffalo & Harvard Medical School teaching graduate classes on Technology & Social Practice, Diversity, & Psychodynamic Theory
- Contributor, Tauren Think Tank, GamerTherapist & Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
