War, toys, play to heal: priming designers to create playthings promoting resilience in children in war zones

ABSTRACT

Trauma-related psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are highly prevalent in children in war zones; yet professional care is scarcely available. This leaves children and their families, often also affected by trauma, to live with unaddressed psychopathologies. This paper presents a framework for designing toys promoting resilience and support healing in children potentially traumatized by war. Structured around several workshops, it was introduced to undergraduate students within a toy design course in an east Asian University and facilitated by a transdisciplinary team consisting of the authors, a designer, and an artist, and expressive and play therapists working in war zones. Analysis of outcomes demonstrates that a short design workshop, albeit disconnected from the context of use, may appropriately redesign toys available in war zone markets as play therapy-inspired transitional or comfort objects supporting healing from war-related trauma. Feedback from therapists provided keys for further elaboration of the framework.

KEYWORDS:

• Children in war zones
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• play therapy
• humanitarian design
• toy design
• transitional objects

Acknowledgements

The project was financially supported by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the U.S. Department of State Fulbright Specialist Programme. We would like to thank expressive therapists Myra Saad, Artichoke Studio, Beirut, and Chloe Martin and Lilian Yuan, The Justice Centre, Hong Kong, for their contributions to the project; and Professor Emerita Greta Pennell for her advice in editing the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The project was financially supported by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the U.S. Department of State Fulbright Specialist Program.

Notes on contributors

Rémi Leclerc

Rémi Leclerc, MDes, ENSCI, Paris, founder, PolyPlay Lab, investigates the mutually beneficial relationships connecting design, play, and education. His work is anchored in the exploration of the conventions of play and interactivity to develop product-service systems for play and every day with industry, community, and school. He has collaboratively explored the union of design with social accountability with organizations in Asia, Europe, America, and Australia. Rémi and his students have received over 30 design and education awards. His designs are part of the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. He is a board member of the International Toy Research Association.

Brian McCarty

Brian McCarty is the Founder and Executive Director of the War Toys® nonprofit organization. He is uniquely experienced, having worked extensively in the toy industry as a creative professional and in the field as photographer, collaborating with NGOs and specialized art and play therapists. His direct observations and interactions with children who have been affected by armed conflict provide opportunities to explore and research the impact of toy design on potentially traumatized populations, particularly those without access to established psychosocial programmes and interventions.