From Therapy to Gaming: Rachel Kowert’s Journey

BY SOPHIA TANG

"Isee myself continuing to lead the research at Take This, and maybe I’ll sneak myself into the voice of a video game character one day,” Rachel Kowert says as she thinks about what her goals for the future are. But how did Kowert, a research psychologist, land here with these thoughts in mind? A huge advocate for gaming and mental health, Kowert currently works as a research director at Take This, a nonprofit organization that aims to decrease the stigma around mental health and increase support for mental health in games

As a child, Kowert was interested in understanding the way people think, and she pursued a bachelor’s degree in psychology with the goal of becoming a therapist. While studying to become a therapist, she continued to play video games, which was a childhood interest of hers. She joined the trend of playing the popular game, World of Warcraft; however, its popularity coincided with the height of parents’ concerns for their children’s well-being: a time when video games were being targeted and demonized After Kowert witnessed multiple parents worrying that World of Warcraft and similar video games would cause their children to become violent, she reflected, “Is it negatively impacting me too?” After looking into this widespread issue that many parents were concerned about, she discovered that research on the possible negative social impacts of gaming was fairly limited: “There wasn’t really any research in the area looking at if games cause any kind of short or long term problems,” Kowert comments This ultimately kickstarted the journey she is now on She pivoted away from studying therapy and directed her attention towards gaming research, specifically analyzing the psychological effects of video games.

After discovering her passion for research in the field of video games, she decided to pursue it further by working towards a PhD In her graduate research, she analyzed how socializing through online games affects one ’ s ability to socialize in a non-digital context.

The PhD process is extremely tough, and Kowert emphasizes the importance of having a strong support system while pursuing the degree, saying that “I wouldn’t have gotten my PhD without the strong support of people who understood what the field was about and what the work was like ” Kowert is most proud of her doctorate: “It was a long path that I felt like I was mostly going on alone There’s definitely a point where I hit a wall, where I thought, I’m not good enough, and I’m not smart enough, and my work isn’t good enough’, so I had to do some mental gymnastics to push past the imposter syndrome and make it to the end.”

After completing her time in academia, she joined Take This, a mental health nonprofit, and narrowed her research even further to focus on mental health specifically Currently, she is looking into how hate, harassment, and toxicity in gaming can have negative mental health repercussions, and she actively works to “find solutions to curb these actions in games.”

As a research psychologist, Kowert has the rare opportunity to create new discoveries that change the way people think, and she truly enjoys it. “I love it. I love discovering new things I love speaking to people I love sifting through the numbers and finding new patterns, as well as informing change ” Kowert is a “firm believer that games are more good than bad,” and she notes how ‘play’ is important to both children and adults as it can help with stress relief, mood management, and social connection. Although games are a great platform to achieve these goals, Kowert still acknowledges the harmful aspects of gaming, and she tries her best to expose these negative facets to people in the gaming industry who stubbornly refuse to admit them “We still need to acknowledge that there are sides to gaming that still need some work,” Kowert explains

Inclusion is one aspect of gaming that still needs improvement: “I think that everyone should be able to participate, women specifically. Women and non-white people are disproportionately targets of hate and harassment in gaming spaces. ”

Ultimately, Kowert reflects that, “I’m very fortunate to have a position that leans so heavily on my background: counseling, my passion for gaming advocacy, and my expertise in gaming effects ” Kowert enjoys her job because advocating within the gaming industry enables her to truly make a change in gaming spaces for everyone, and she is ultimately able to promote the inclusion of all backgrounds in the gaming industry. While conducting her graduate and postdoctoral research, Kowert sometimes felt as if “only other researchers were reading [her work],” but working at Take This allows her to work in something that “has a practical application to changing the daily lives of people ” Kowert summarizes by saying, “That’s what wakes me up everyday: trying to make digital playgrounds a better place for everyone ” Academic research is much more esoteric, as one is often simply adding to preexisting literature, but Kowert’s current research is more industry-focused and practical.

Among many other notable achievements, Kowert has collaborated with the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to develop practical advice for many parents about navigating digital guidelines with their children Kowert currently has a two-year partnership with the U S Department of Homeland Security to create a handbook for best practices in relation to moderation and content design, which is aimed to reduce hate, harassment, and exploitation. She is currently six months into the two-year project and hopes that the outcome will be an accessible toolkit to everyone in the gaming industry.

Kowert is a huge believer that information should be accessible to the public in order for these standards to be accepted and implemented, and as a result, she tries her best to raise awareness about topics she is passionate about and provide further resources to the public To educate a wider audience, she started a successful YouTube channel (@Psychgeist), where she shares videos on scientific subjects and makes them understandable to the common person. She also makes her keynote lectures publicly accessible in order to raise awareness about the issues she researches Kowert expresses the urgency to disseminate this information to the public, as research papers are mostly behind paywalls and thus often unavailable to the general public For instance, a large percentage of the population believes that violent video games cause violent behavior in gamers, but researchers like Kowert have conducted extensive research in this area and discovered that this link does not actually exist. However, this research is obscured by the lack of accessible researchers for parents and the public.

Outside of gaming, Kowert has also written a series of children’s stories where everyday girls do everyday tasks to empower women and their independence When Kowert used to read to her own daughters, she discovered the lack of women representation in books, especially children’s series, where the scarce female characters featured in stories were usually rescued by male characters.

Frustrated, Kowert thought to herself, “Why aren’t there any books where the girl is the main character and she’s not magical? Why can’t she solve her own problems with her own abilities?” So she decided to address this issue and ended up writing a whopping twenty-six short stories, selling over $25,000 worth of books in thirty days She has continued to expand upon her stories by composing Tales from Cloud Canyon, another set of books that are set in the same universe.

Video games are a crucial part of Kowert’s life. Even though she is a busy mother, she still manages to make time for games in her life; her office is covered in random gaming acquisitions, and she plays them whenever she can Currently, her favorite games are Witcher 3, Unpacking, and It Takes Two

Ultimately, Kowert is most grateful for “the opportunity to share [her] passion and knowledge on the subject with people who will listen.” In the long term, Kowert wants “games to be safer and more equitable for everyone. I want everyone to feel like they are welcome in the space ” In the long run, Kowert says she sees herself continuing to lead research at Take This, but one of Kowert’s secret small goals is to sneak herself into the voice of a video game character one day. She’s come a long way from becoming a therapist, so voicing a video game character doesn’t seem too far off.