Israeli designer Yaara Nusboim has developed a series of wooden toys in collaboration with child psychologists, that can help kids process difficult or repressed emotions as part of the therapeutic process.
Each of the six Alma dolls corresponds to a different feeling ? fear, pain, emptiness, love, anger and safety ? and is designed to be used as part of play therapy.

In this method, pioneered by psychoanalyst Melanie Klein in the 1930s, children are encouraged to work through their experiences via the medium of play rather than conversation, while being guided or supervised by a therapist.
"Toys, not words, are the language of a child," Nusboim explained. "Playing with a toy provides a safe psychological distance from the child's private problems and allows them to experience thoughts and emotions in a way that's suitable for their development." "The therapist can observe the choices the child makes ? which toys they pick, the way they play, the concept of the game ? and through them the therapist can learn about the child's mental and emotional state," she continued.

But despite this being an established method in paediatric psychology, Nusboim discovered that the practice still largely relies on generic toys, rather than ones specifically designed for the purpose.
So over the course of a year, she worked with seven child psychologists and different kids to trial prototypes, in order to create a set of dolls that would actively contribute t...