Simran Joshi
Guild Esports, in partnership with Shout, is launching the Talk Squad initiative to provide free, confidential mental health support to gamers. Running from November 28th to December 18th, the initiative offers one-to-one sessions with trained professionals while players engage in gaming.
A special livestream on November 19th, featuring influencers playing games alongside a clinician, will kick off the initiative.
The aim is to create a comfortable and accessible environment for men to openly discuss their emotions, helping to break down mental health barriers within the gaming community. This collaboration highlights the growing importance of mental well-being in esports and gaming culture.
Raising Awareness for Mental Health in Gaming
Nick Westwood, Chief Creative Officer at Guild Gaming, responded to the importance of the initiative when he said, “We’re honored that Guild gets to be a part of this sort of important cause that hasn’t had enough conversation and certainly not enough within the realm of gaming.” The deal with Shout opens up a bigger conversation over mental health, a subject that is critical in need of conversation, mainly for men in the gaming fraternity.
Westwood stressed that the ultimate aim was to get men to communicate more freely about their feelings.
“We hope that Talk Squad will get the ball rolling for a wider conversation around mental health in gaming,” he added. This initiative aims to make an environment in which gamers are comfortable discussing their mental health during play, hence emotional wellbeing in the gaming sector.
Breaking Barriers and Providing Support
The Talk Squad was initiated on November 28th and would run until December 18th. It is a confidential source of mental health support through one-to-one sessions with the trained professionals towards the gamers. It aims at taking down barriers and assistance in an environment where men feel comfortable about getting help.
Besides the private sessions, influencers will feature on a special Twitch stream on November 19th where they will engage a clinician while gaming.
According to a release, the initiative seeks to “offer sessions in environments where men feel at ease” in an effort “to break down barriers” and to make support for mental health access more pleasant.
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