Yaara Nusboim is an Israeli designer whose latest project, Alma Dolls, deals with the sensitive process of children’s therapy though the method of play.

The dolls are currently handmade by the designer herself. Each one is cut, engraved and carved from maple wood, accompanied by textural, 3D-printed swatches of flexible polyurethane.

Nusboim collaborated with child pyschologists in designing six dolls that represent a particular emotion: fear, pain, emptiness, love, anger and safety. Their shapes, weight and textures differ according to the feeling they symbolize, helping the child interpret a range of emotions during therapy, and giving the therapist clues to the child’s mental and emotional state. “The dolls are meant to facilitate a child’s connection to his inner world, and to improve and heal his condition,” the designer says. She hopes that the Alma Dolls can be internationally marketed to reach other children in need.

Visit more of her work on her website and Instagram.

Images © Yaara Nusboim / with permission