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Gamification of Group Therapy and Psychoeducation

by | May 12, 2026

Psychoeducational groups can be boring. Adults learn best when they are having fun and understand how the information applies to them.  In this article series I will present multiple activities for group that you can use for a variety of topics.

Most of these “activities” take a minute to get prepared, but once you have the core set of questions you can use them cohort after cohort.  For example, creating 10 weeks of jeopardy boards is a big task, but once it is done, you have a ready-made activity.

Players

  • Jeopardy is a great game for IOP and residential groups.  Break groups into teams.
  • If you are doing an online group, you can have up to 10 players, but with that many people playing, it is better to ensure your Jeopardy board is larger than usual.

Jeopardy Game Board

You can choose how many categories to have and how many questions to have in each category.

Pro Tip:  After the person answers the question correctly, I have them give an example of how it applies to them, how they could use it or what it would look like. This gives them the chance to get an additional 200 points.  If they can’t think of something, open it up to the group.  The first person in the group to give an example gets 200 points and control of the board.

Methods

  • Jeopardy Labs is a great place for a quick start and offers limited free use.  The lifetime membership is only $20, and opens up more settings and the ability to make your boards private.  You need a laptop that can connect to a TV display to play the game which can be a problem
  • Card stock with magnetic tape so you can stick it to the whiteboard easily.  I recommend laminating the cardstock to make it last longer.  It is a bit costly for start up, but you can use it anywhere there is a magnetic surface.

 

Questions

When choosing what to make into questions, I typically start by making an outline.  Example:

Overall Group Topic: Pharmacology

Category 1: Stimulants

  • Types of prescription stimulants
  • Types of OTC stimulants
  • Main effect of stimulant use
  • Long term impact of stimulants on organs, blood sugar

Category 2: Alcohol 

  • How alcohol can trigger cravings for other drugs
  • Long term impact of alcohol use
  • Drugs that exhibit cross tolerance with Alcohol
  • Side effects of alcohol detox

Category 3: Cannabis 

  • And so on…

Once the outline is made and I have identified what I think is important for clients to know to support their recovery process, then I go back and write the handout that educates clients on the concepts.  Once I have the handout, I make Jeopardy questions.  (These days you can use AI to help you generate them.)

Pro Tips

  • Make sure categories are descriptive.  For example: Recovery capital; Vulnerabilities; Drugs/Pharmacology; Cognitive Distortions; PTSD/Anxiety/ADHD/Depression symptoms; Acronyms; DBT skills; Interpersonal Skills; Improving Sleep; the gut microbiome; Downregulation skills; Impact of trauma, Motivational Interviewing skills; stages of change; Phases of recovery; Mindfulness benefits and skills; Goal Setting; Behavior Modification; the addicted family; 12 Steps; 12 traditions; Brain fog; Spirituality… and more…
  • Remember the people playing need successes.  You may choose to give them handouts for each of the categories which they can review ahead of time.

Do not put the exact questions and answers on the handout or in the same order as on the board.  Paraphrase the information.

Example Decisional Balance Handout 

  • Decisional Balance exercises are used to increase awareness of the benefits and drawbacks to change and staying the same
  • Decisional balance exercises are used to help clients evaluate their options and make an informed decision
  • To increase motivation it is important to enhance the benefits of change and the drawbacks of staying the same and minimize the drawbacks to change and benefits of staying the same.
  • Motivation is specific to every behavior.  You may want to be healthy and be motivated to eat less red meat, but not motivated to give up processed foods or eat more vegetables.

 

Example Jeopardy Board Questions on Decisional Balance

  • Question: Decisional balance increases awareness of these
  • Answer: benefits and drawbacks to change and staying the same
  • Question:  Decisional Balance exercises are used to help clients do this
  • Answer:  Evaluate their options and make an informed decision
  • Question: To increase motivation it is important to enhance these
  • Answer: The benefits of change and the drawbacks of staying the same
  • Question: To Increase motivation it is important to minimize or reduce these
  • Answer: Drawbacks to change and benefits of staying the same
  • Question: Motivation is specific to what
  • Answer: Specific behaviors

ALLCEUs.com offers weekly live CEU webinars and unlimited access to on-demand CEUs for $99/year or $59/month.   Check out some of our group counseling CEU classes

Stay tuned for the next article on creating “Family Feud” activities.