Dr. Kaufmann is an Associate Professor at Grand Canyon University and has served in multiple roles related to program development for treating gambling and video game issues in clinical settings. He is currently serving as the co-chair of the APA research task force on video game issues and is working on several nationwide training programs to help mental health professionals understand video games in innovative ways. His research on the psychology of player types has been presented internationally and continues to evolve with each new world players can inhabit across PCs and consoles. Dr. Kaufmann's publications cover the areas of video games, personality theory, online education, and counselor development. He offers supervision to an international list of clinicians to help bridge the gap in learning about technological impact on society and specific insights related to effective treatment for clients experiencing games-related issues.
To further his mission of educating counseling professionals to better support clients who are interested in games-related issues, Dr. Kaufmann is also the current Board President for the International Gambling Counselor Certification Board, which establishes training and expertise standards for counseling and prevention professionals to assist clients who enjoy or struggle with gambling and video game activities.
Despite many professionals having a negative view of video games, Dr. Kaufmann is a fearless advocate for the positive elements of video games, and credits them with many of the thought processes that have proved critical in helping him overcome professional and personal journeys in life. As a result, Dr. Kaufmann became more involved in the Geek Therapeutics community in 2020 as a presenter for trainings, content writer, and author of the upcoming book entitled The Gamer's Journey.
Dr. Kaufmann is the host of The Gaming Persona podcast, a show which seeks to share various insights related to psychological connections in the play of video games. He also streams regularly on Twitch as Dr. Gameology(R) and is on a never-ending quest to discuss mental health and video games to encourage audiences of all types to be their very best as they continue the journey. You can email Dr. Kaufmann at daniel.kaufmann@drgameology or visit his profiles on LinkedIn and Researchgate.
