THERAPIST: Mind Manager
A downloadable game for Windows
THERAPIST: Mind Manager is a visual novel with simulation elements set on modern times, following the life of an ordinary man working as a psychotherapist.
Your main stats are MOOD, ANXIETY, STAMINA and MONEY. Every action and event affect some or all of those stats. If MOOD is low or ANXIETY is high, there are certain actions your character will not perform. If your stats reach critical levels, the effects are more tragic. Your main goal in the game is to remain sane and balanced throughout the story.
Working as a therapist, you also need to keep your patients sane and balanced. Conducting a therapy session requires multiple skills: maintaining your posture, validating your patient through dialog choices, choosing appropriate intervention approaches and performing skill tests. Session scoring affects feedback from your patients and the game ending.
The story plot focuses on the existential downward spiral of the main character and the moral and ethical challenges posed by one of your patients: an admitted sexual offender.
The topic of rape is addressed through numerous elements of the game. Other socially relevant issues are discussed in a non-manichaean fashion, including mental health, interpersonal relationships, substance abuse and suicide.
The player will also dwell on the world of Psychology, learning how to understand and deal with the psychological issues of his clients, improving your knowledge on specialized topics such as Cognitive Therapy and Positive Psychology, exchanging case information with colleagues and supervisors, and seeing the world through the lenses of someone with a unique grasp of human behavior.
There are three endings in the game.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Discord server for THERAPISTApr 03, 2021
- THERAPIST: Mind Manager might be taken down due to ethical issuesApr 01, 2021
- Version 1.0.1 UpdateDec 26, 2020
- Russian translation!Dec 01, 2020
Comments
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I like the game, however I had some problems with my first run (Did a no reset to see how far I would reach as I'll explain later), first, it was a big surprise the 280$ from the bank, iirc I wasn't told anywhere, I had to survive somehow with already being in negative so quickly but I tried it making my headcanon of the protagonist suffered an accident and now he's in debt to the medical insurance, second, felt a bit trash unlocking the nightclub on last week because I texted the other 2 friends and went up with the girl from the park, having my options limited about how to increase Mood, third, not being able to use social media in any other place or the phone in general, like, it would have been a nice way to pass 15 minutes when waiting someone for example, finally, got a game over because on Friday in the last week I got the Tuesday patient in the cafe event, at 13:45, I was thinking perhaps there would be a special event of the protagonist saying "Hey I'll be late" or have the option to see how much time to stay, but no, I was basically forced to exit that event like in 14:45 and reaching the office at 15:00, felt like bad luck or a event I was unaware was going to happen without option to skip it.
What I most liked was the sessions itself, that was the main reason I kept playing, but outside of that it almost felt like I was required to know before hand some stuff from the protagonist like what friend to talk to unlock the nightclub, or the 280$ from the bank.
Finally last thing I didn't like, this time about the sessions itself, is that it feels wrong or dubious to put a category to some cases, like just putting a box with no flexibility so one feels like has to guess, like "I mean it's kinda social problem with her relationships with her bf but she is also dealing with anxiety, however one could also try to tackle how she blames herself"
Still as I said, I liked the game, I feel the second time will be better, just would have preffered for it to be the first.
Perhaps I'm going to update this after my second time.
Thank you for the feedback! I understand the game can be painful at times. Part because of bad design I admit, but partly because the game is supposed to invoke the feeling of "life is hard", because that's how the protagonist feels. He is a fucked up person.
I'm glad you liked the sessions! I understand the approach choice can often sound artificial, but hey, gamifying therapy is not easy. I just didn't want it to be all dialog choices... which would also be artificial.
If you play more, please keep me posted!
Its funny how he uses a fork and spoon to drink a milkshake lol
Due to curiosity, I ended up playing the game until receive the 'therapist ending'. Thank you. I reflect a lot on my issue inside the game. It's also given me new hope & method on how to tackle the world. :)
I'm very happy to hear that! And congratulations on getting the therapist ending, I know it's not easy!
Yooo really great game, accidentally pressed the wrong button at home almost shit my pants when he took the thing out.
I’m really not sure which of the things he pulled out that startled you. Glad you like the game!
cheat code?
431
Where do we put the cheat code?
When changing settings
Such an amazing game. I am really glad I took the time to play it. Funny enough, I like to joke that everyone could use therapy, including me, and I felt this game gave me what I needed to hear. The therapy session at the end of the game summarized exactly how I feel.
The anxiety mechanic really showed me how debilitating negative thoughts can be. I got annoyed whenever he put himself down because it was always a setback in my plans. This made me realize how counterproductive being hard on myself is. And since I am so productivity obsessed, it only makes sense to stop negative thoughts.
Naturally, this is easier said than done, but I am going to try to counteract negative thoughts with positive ones. Because hey, I do deserve to be proud of my achievements. I do deserve to be happy with what I have. We all deserve happiness.
Thank you so much for making this game! I look forward to your future projects.
I truly appreciate your message.
I am aware that the mood/anxiety/thoughts mechanics can make the game quite punishing, but it's a risk I was willing to take because there was a message to be delivered. I would say the peak of my satisfaction as a dev is knowing the message came accross in a meaningful way for someone. Your feedback made me happy!
A really great game
I appreciated how you paid attention to details in a lot of aspects of the game, it's definitely great work.
The balance felt on point and i find hard to criticize any aspect of the game.
Got me curious about your future projects, thank you for doing this game !
Edit: After doing some research, i realized that i already played 2 of your other games and i have to say that with this one, you reached another lever.
I'm really glad you liked it! This is probably my boldest game, although much of its tough content is either hidden or later in the game. Maybe I hid it too well, because not many players have captured the subtext yet. Looking forward to hearing your opinion after you finish too!
This game is really fucking good. I love everything about it, the story, the vibe, the graphics. It's amazing.
The only thing that I think should be changed is difficulty, it's just the first month but paying billls is a big struggle. You can't go to clubs, go study, do anything because you don't have any money to do that.
I'm glad you like it! Well, that therapist's life is supposed to feel somewhat difficulty and struggling. But don't worry, you keep playing after you run out of money. Just more stressed. It's all about the choices.
when I try to download the game on the itch client there is no game to download.
That's odd. I just tested and it worked fine. Try again clicking normal download button. If it doesn't work, try other platforms like gamejolt.
You didn’t mark the platforms for the file you uploaded. In order for the game to work with our app you need to specify if the file is for Windows, Mac, etc. Hope that helps
Fixed. Thank you!
Gave it a little video detailing the first day (or two) of work and trying to remain Normal
Thanks a bunch for this fun LP, and also for helping this game get out of shadows. It's a somewhat slow game, so the first days are relatively "controversy-safe" hahaha! It gets more intense from day 7.
Its gonna bug me, whats the OST I'm hearing in the car, it's definitely from an anime, Parasyte? Stein;Gate?
Wow, great memory! The soundtrack is not location specific, but one of the tracks is indeed from Parasyte the maxim. I loved it so much I had to use it.
Hah, good taste in music! Will be making a video soon :p