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
2 comments:
I love this! I'd be interested to know how kids react to the different dollies . . . if they go for dolls that look like them or not . . . how they choose which dollie will make them feel comfortable at any given moment. Is it usually the same doll or do clients gravitate toward different dolls during different sessions????
You know it is interesting how one is drawn to a doll and this question is a great one! Cin and I have talked about how the dolls have been used and in some cases the child client will use the doll as the offender and try them in a court of puppets and dolls with a doll or two sitting on the jury resulting in an appropriate punishment.....going to jail or banished from the family! I have witnessed dolls chosen that look like the child and there have been adults who choose a doll because it reminds them of their child or of a childhood memory. The very large dolls I've made in the past have served many children in dealing with neglect and or the fear of being abandoned. I would love to hear from therapists how the dolls have been used in their presence. Thanks for asking m@gnotmargaret. EC
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