Raffael Boccamazzo

Psychological Safety, Creativity, and Delivering Bad News 

Psychological safety is something we do not talk about enough, especially as it regards studio culture and operations. It is an often misunderstood concept which can influence creative output and employee sustainability, but may also have an impact on how business decisions affect employee wellbeing. This workshop will focus on offering a foundational understanding of psychological safety, how it can directly affect your studios, and how considering it may minimize the negative impact of bad news and difficult decisions on employees. This will be a 90-minute, lecture-style presentation with slides, which also combines a heavy emphasis on classroom-style interactivity and brainstorming opportunities.

Bio:

Raffael Boccamazzo, PsyD (affectionately known as “Doctor B”) is a clinical psychologist and the clinical director of Take This - the oldest mental health nonprofit to serve the game industry. He has served in this role since 2015 overseeing many of Take This’ educational and public-facing programs, often applying his perspective as an autism and ADHD self-advocate. Much of his work focuses on educational efforts around mental health de-stigmatization, occupational burnout, and community building. Additionally, he has been a technical consultant on mental health representation in both video games and tabletop roleplaying games. Outside his work with Take This, Doctor B is an expert trainer on the applied use of tabletop role playing games in clinical and learning settings, is a frequent contributor - on and off camera - to the YouTube channel How to ADHD, and runs a psychology practice in Seattle, Washington. As an author, he has contributed to Video Games and Well-being: Press Start, the State of the Industry 2019: Mental Health in the Game Industry white paper, is the editor of the planned book the Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Discworld from ETC Press, and Gardens of Fog – a best-selling, mental health-themed, charity, adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons.