Origin and work with Therapy Dolls
The dissociative doll set was originally created for therapeutic work with complex traumatized children and adolescents. A friend of mine, a therapist, gave me a bit of background about the theory of treatment with the doll set, which I would like to describe below. However, I do not claim any specialist knowledge for any form of therapy.
Structural Dissociation
According to trauma therapy concepts (“structural dissociation”), the personality of a complex traumatized child, adolescent or even an adult is split into different personality parts.
The large “me-doll” of my doll set stands for the personality part that “works” in everyday life and that may not be a traumatic experience (the so-called “apparently normal personality”). The small emotion dolls represent the often unintegrated, split-off or “locked-away” parts of a personality that are often inaccessible to consciousness. Each carry memories, affects, body feelings and basic beliefs related to traumatic experiences.
The goal in therapeutic work with children is to find more access to a wide variety of personalities through the sensual element of the dolls and to process traumatic experiences. Since the “locked-away” personality parts of complex traumatized children, adolescents and adults often make themselves felt as “voices in the head”, the head of the large “me-doll” has space for several emotion dolls and can be closed by a drawstring.
Ego-state Therapy
My doll set is not only suitable for working with complex traumatized children and adolescents. The dolls can also be used as part of the “ego-state work”.
According to the ego-state theory, the “me” of every human being consists of different ego states. As a therapeutic goal, the best possible cooperation between these individual parts is sought.