As the trauma field has matured, there is increasing interest in the use of practical tools to support the recovery of children and young people from experiences of violation and severe relational disruption. The Australian Childhood Foundation has designed an innovative range of therapeutic dolls that are based on “neuro-metaphor” – a modality for working with traumatised children in any context.  
 
In this workshop, you will meet Morty Monster, Ellen the Butterfly, Ollie the Monkey, and Susan the Cat. The ‘Big Tree dolls’ are a set of four colourful, texturally-rich therapeutic dolls who live within and around the branches of a creative narrative landscape defined by a Big Tree.
 
Each Big Tree character has specific themes of experience and healing integrated into their design and stories, including: 

• identity 

• emotional expression and affect regulation 

• nurture and nourishment 

• sensation awareness 

• being heard and finding voice 

• worry, calm and relaxation 

• containment, and

• transformation and adaptability.

In this hands-on demonstration, participants will be offered a valuable insight into the richness of meaning-making strategies that children and their carers/families can engage in when relationships have fun, respect and imagination restored to them. Using The Big Tree manual, we will explore many practical applications and explorations of the five different therapeutic lenses: 

• Explore 

• Evoke new narratives 

• Embody 

• Emotionally connect 

• Enhance relationships 

 
The cost of the workshop includes the purchase of one of the dolls. Participants will be able to use the ‘Morton the Monster’ doll immediately in their practice. The three other dolls are available for purchase only to those who have attended the workshop.  

Facilitator
This training is delivered by experienced professional trainers with expertise and experience in trauma informed intervention and practice. Our trainers have a strong understanding of trauma and its impact on children and families, translating this knowledge into practice in a range of professional contexts. A focus on application to practice via discussion and strategy is a core component of the workshop.

This workshop is suitable for all professionals working in a therapeutic context with children, and young people, who have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect or violence. It is strongly suggested that participants have the capacity within their role to support the use of the therapeutic dolls that form the basis of the workshop content.