a group of people sit at a table with tablets playing the game minecraft

Exploring the World of Minecraft in Counselling with Children and Young People.

17th April 2025

Since introducing Minecraft as a therapeutic tool for children and young people, our team of Counsellors have embraced this digital tool for creating a connection with those they support.

Since introducing Minecraft in Counselling at KEMP, it’s become a significant way for our team of counsellors to connect with the children and young people they support.

Here KEMP Counsellor Cliona tells us more about her experience.

“As a KEMP counsellor working with children and young people (CYP), I’m always seeking that crucial in; a way to truly connect, understand, and step into their world. In today’s digital age, it makes sense to explore therapeutic tools that speak the language of the young people we support. One such tool which has opened a new opportunity to connect with younger clients is Minecraft.”

Minecraft is a computer game which is globally popular with over 204million monthly active players. It’s a virtual world, which encourages creativity and is one of the most popular ‘sandbox’ video games.

The term sandbox refers to a virtual environment where children can create nearly anything they want, allowing them to share and express their thoughts and feelings in a creative way.

focus on a computer tablet with the back of a child's head infront with their hands on the keyboard and cuddly toys in the background

There are no set goals in the game, it simply encourages the use of imagination and exploration.

Meeting Them Where They Are

Meeting a counsellor for the first time can be daunting for a child or young person. The unfamiliar setting, the pressure to talk, and the emotional weight they may be carrying can make those first steps incredibly hard. That’s why offering something familiar, like a game they recognise, can create an immediate sense of ease and curiosity.

Gaming platforms like Minecraft are a huge part of many young people’s daily lives. And with the release of the new live action movie A Minecraft Movie in April 2025, the impact and importance of the game continues, with over $550million in global tickets sales in the first two weeks since the movie’s release.

“Whatever our own personal opinions on screen time or gaming culture might be, we cannot ignore the power of these digital spaces to offer comfort, connection, and creativity,” said Cliona.

The Power of Play: My First Client Experience

Cliona tells us more about her first experience with a client using Minecraft:

“Interestingly, in my first session using Minecraft, neither of us had used the platform before, so we went on a shared journey of learning. The joy on their face when they realized they knew more than I did was priceless! That sense of understanding gave them a huge boost of confidence and helped to reinforce our therapeutic alliance.

Together, we built, explored, teleported, and even created a memory garden for a loved one they had lost.

Minecraft became a safe, creative outlet for their grief, and by the end of our work, we had taken a gallery of screenshots of their favourite in-game places, a visual representation of their therapeutic journey. It was incredibly moving.”

Endless Possibilities in the Minecraft World

“Since that first experience, I have used Minecraft with many of my CYP clients. The ways in which they engage with it are as unique as they are. From building personal safe spaces to designing memorials or exploring emotional regulation through metaphors like the anger iceberg or virtual rollercoaster rides. Minecraft offers a depth of therapeutic potential that continues to amaze me.

Minecraft also removes the pressure of direct eye contact, which can be overwhelming for children. It allows for symbolic and creative expression of feelings like grief or anger – emotions that may be too difficult to verbalise. One client, for instance, used TNT and fire to “blow things up” in their Minecraft world. Afterwards, we talked about how that made them feel. They said it gave them a sense of power – something they rarely felt in real life. That moment was profound.”

Final Reflections

When thinking about how introducing Minecraft, alongside other therapeutic techniques to support children and young people, Cliona tells us, “Minecraft has become a significant tool for us at KEMP Hospice. For some, putting strong emotions of grief into words can be challenging. Using Minecraft enables us to understand and explore these emotions with the child or young person and gives them another avenue to express how they are feeling.

The game also helps us to build trust, working in collaboration with them. Free play in Minecraft means you can get to know them in their world, building that therapeutic alliance that is so important.

Finally, Minecraft helps us to explore the adaptive process of grief, to help the child or young person understand that life has changed but can still be full of hopes and dreams. Finding a balance between the grief they are experiencing, with optimism for the future.”

Find out more about KEMP Family Support & Bereavement Services and the support available to people across the Wyre Forest.