Yes...........this is my sister, my "older" sister. When she is not hiding and hugging dollies she is a therapist, a play therapist specializing childhood issues including trauma. She is quite well known and respected in the field of child therapy and teaches parents how to work with their children so that there is consistency and a smoother transition for the child from her office/playroom back home! Cindy is the recipient of the Louise Guerney award this year. It is a great honor and accomplishment to be recognized in your field for your work! Congratulations Sis! Now take off your mask! Oh, by the way, she is the one in the green:)
Here is Cin, out of costume seated with Henry, her therapy dog and the dollies in her playroom at her Beech Street Program. She sent this photo to me so you can see that the dolls are durable and having many serves many issues. She has shared stories about the work they have been a part of. The work is tough and the dolls can take it:) In fact, many of the tools I currently make are directly related to Cin's particular kind of work. After I had created dolls for my own children, Cin saw them and requested I make her some for her office and over time we would talk about her work and mine with the mental health agency, and I developed tools to draw out feelings that people young and old had a tough time expressing verbally. It has been quite an experience for me in the past many years applying my work with people and art to such important work.
This is what Cin has said about PlayPals:
"PlayPals have been staples in all of my playrooms and offices since their inception. Over the past 15 years, I have amassed a collection of different ages, skin tones, expressions, and outfits. They have been heavily used in both directive play therapy sessions as well as child centered sessions and offer our child clients opportunities for therapeutic work in many thematic areas. They have been used to work on nurturance, aggression, trauma, victim, perpetrator, good, evil, power, control, anxiety, loss and family and relationship themes. These dolls have been given roles such as perpetrator, robber, victim, jury, police office, sibling, baby, parent and student. They are wonderful props that offer endless possibilities for creativity in children's play. They are artistically made, durable and can be easily cleaned. You would be lucky to own one."
I have many dolls in offices and playrooms of therapists, school counselors offices, classrooms, nursing homes, and many in private homes. So if you have a child, or not, and want someone to hug............."who ya' gonna call?"..........that would be me! Check out the dolls I have on hand at my etsy site: www.playpals.etsy.com
Here are just a few of the PlayPals I have been making for the upcoming conference in Louisville, KY. I am as busy as I can be making dolls and other tools for the international play therapy conference in October. Oh yeah, I'm having fun too! You see, I think I am hilarious! It's a laugh party almost every day!
Signing off,
EC Hanson
