The Australian Childhood Foundation has designed an innovative range of therapeutic dolls that are based on  “neuro-metaphor” – a new modality for working with traumatised children in any context.

As the trauma field has matured, there has been increasing interest in the use of practical applications to support the recovery of children and young people from experiences of violation and severe relational disruption.

Over the past five years, we have created and trialled a new type of tool that is a world first. It introduces the new therapeutic modality of neuro-metaphor. This approach intentionally integrates sensory, emotional and cognitive approaches to trauma resolution for children and young people. It recruits children’s imagination to playfully engage with stories involving characters that metaphorically represent the themes that are present in their own lives. As they tell and retell these stories, different plot lines emerge that children can interact with through language and experience through their implicit sensory based memory systems.