Play Therapy DollHouse | Learn the art of Dollhouse Play Therapy

by Play Therapy Student
(Atlanta)

The creation of a play therapy dollhouse replica of my childhood home was definitely a daunting assignment, since even before I was enrolled in this class. While the idea of making a dollhouse seems nifty and cool from afar, the actual process of accomplishing it and being graded on it did cause a bit of stress in the beginning. However, I am very proud of the finished product and enjoyed the process, looking back.

The first concern with deciding on the layout was determining how my play therapy dollhouse should look. The assignment was to create my childhood home, however, depending on which years we were talking about, I had like 4 different designs to pull from. If considering ages 0-5, then I would have replicated my great-grandmother's house in Indiana, where she and I lived while my dad was away to school. Considering ages 5-7, I could have used the duplex I lived in with my dad, soon to be step mom and new little sister. That would have definitely been an easy design since it was so small.

I decided to against combining all my homes into one house, and instead chose to copy the design of the home that I have the most memories of and still consider home to this day. Since I was 7, we have lived in the same house, and it's all my brothers and sisters really know. I then had to decide on which design, pre-remodel or post-remodel. I designed my house with the pre-remodel layout, back when I still considered the attic and basement the scary places.

Using foam boards for the walls, markers for the wallpaper, and PLayDoh to design the furniture, the actual creation of the house was both tedious and enlightening. I am really bad at anything regarding scissors and straight lines, which reflected somewhat in the symmetry of the house.

The most creative part for me was the designing of the furniture. As previously stated in the semester, I loved PlayDoh as a kid and was happy to be able to use it again. I'll admit I had a bit of help in the furniture design, mainly because my little sisters and her friends begged me to let them help, sine they thought the assignment was so cool. Even my godsons attempted some furniture designs, which I kindly display on my bookshelf and not in the house.

After the finished play therapy dollhouse product was presented at school, many of my classmates/friends teased me about living in a mansion since the layout of my house was so open. As a child, I remember thinking we needed more space. Everyone's comments made me realize we really did have a lot more space than I originally realized, especially since so many other friends and family members were regular fixtures overnight, sometimes, weeks at a time.

The connection I have with my parents house is very strong and filled with way more great memories than bad ones. It is the place where I feel most connected and completely myself, and that included my own place now.


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