Growing Together, Around the Table: Reflections on Our Open Table Sessions

Over the past year, I’ve watched something shift.

What began as carefully structured, facilitator-led sessions has evolved into something more collaborative. More shared. More owned by the young people themselves.

Our recent “open table” sessions represent the next stage in the development of Tabletop Therapies—and, if I’m honest, they have challenged a few of my assumptions along the way.

What “Open Table” Means Here

In this context, open table means two hours given over to young people to run their own games for their peers within a supported, emotionally safe space.

They are not arriving to play something I have prepared. They are arriving to lead. The stories are theirs. The preparation is theirs. The creative risk is theirs.

My role shifts. I am still the responsible adult in the room—holding emotional safety, modelling good practice where needed, offering scaffolding if requested—but I am no longer the default Game Master.

This felt like a logical next step. I had watched this community grow in confidence and competence. And yet, outside our sessions, many still faced logistical and emotional barriers to running their own games: securing space, inviting peers, managing the vulnerability of leadership.

I assumed there would be quiet weeks where no one wanted to step forward.

Instead, they created a rota.

They organised themselves. They planned ahead. They negotiated fairly. The leadership gap I had anticipated simply didn’t materialise.

Leadership Under Real Conditions

What has impressed me most is the maturity shown by those running games.

Each week they do not know:

• Who will turn up.
  

• How many players they will have.
  

• What level of experience those players will bring.
  

And yet, they adapt.

Encounters are reshaped. Narratives flex. Tone shifts to meet the room. There is calm, visible problem-solving in real time.

The preparation has been equally striking. I’ve seen hand-drawn maps, original artwork, printed handouts, carefully structured one-shots. This is not homework. It is not assessed. It is intrinsically motivated effort in service of a shared story.

When young people are given genuine ownership, engagement changes. The quality of attention changes. The pride changes.

The Developmental Value

The open table format strengthens a range of transferable skills:

• Communication and literacy – summarising narrative, explaining rules, improvising dialogue.
  

• Executive functioning – planning, sequencing, time management, tracking mechanics.
  

• Flexible thinking – adapting to unpredictable choices and fluctuating group size.
  

• Confidence – taking up space as a leader within a supportive environment.
  

Because each session is structured as a contained one-shot, participants practise concise narrative construction: beginning, development, resolution. There is discipline in that. It mirrors strong storytelling pedagogy and demands organisational clarity.

Games so far have included Dungeons & Dragons, Quest, and Vaesen. Each lends itself well to self-contained stories while still allowing depth and creative ambition.

Interestingly, the changing attendance—often seen as a weakness in youth provision—has become an asset. Young people practise onboarding new players quickly. They learn to integrate different personalities. They relinquish rigid control over “how it was meant to go.”

That flexibility matters.

Lowering Barriers Without Removing Structure

One of the aims of this model was to lower the barrier to entry for young people curious about running their own games.

Outside of a supported setting, running a session requires solving multiple social and logistical problems at once:

• Finding a space.
  

• Gathering players.
  

• Managing expectations.
  

• Navigating social dynamics.
  

For many, those are the real obstacles—not the storytelling itself.

The open table removes much of that friction. The space is secured. The community exists. The norms are established. Young people can focus on creative leadership without having to build the infrastructure from scratch.

Importantly, this is not an absence of structure. I remain present. I monitor group dynamics. I ensure emotional safety. I step in if needed. Autonomy sits within containment.

For practitioners, that balance is crucial.

The Ongoing Challenge

The primary barrier so far has not been internal—it has been outreach.

Most participants have come from current or previous Tabletop Therapies groups. While this continuity speaks to the strength of the community, it also highlights the need to widen the circle.

Encouragingly, when new players have joined, they have been met with warmth and generosity. Experienced participants scaffold naturally—explaining mechanics, sharing resources, modelling inclusive behaviour.

The culture is ready for growth. The invitation simply needs to travel further.

An Evolving Model

The open table format marks another step in the evolution of Tabletop Therapies.

What began as facilitator-led intervention has grown into a community capable of shared leadership. My role recalibrates—not disappearing, but redistributing power thoughtfully.

For colleagues in education and mental health, this model may offer a bridge:

• Between structured intervention and independent practice.
  

• Between skill development and authentic leadership.
  

• Between safeguarding and autonomy.
  

At its best, it is good practice. It reflects a belief that young people grow when trusted, supported, and surrounded by peers who are growing too.

That has always been the vision:

Growing together, around the table.