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Creative Interventions and Activities Clearinghouse
Play Dough Family: Using Play Dough in Family Counseling
Emily R. Herman
Youngstown State University
erherman@student.ysu.edu
Purpose:
The purpose of this creative intervention is to dentify preferences, family issues, and to visualize and mobilize
client solutions.
Materials Needed:
Different colors of play dough; heart shaped cookie cutter (optional)
Procedures:
Encourage client to reach a calm, thoughtful state and tell them that they will be talking about their family. Client
chooses play dough to represent each member of the family, a different color for each person including them self.
From each container they can pick the amount of play dough that they want to represent the person. The client
imagines that each piece of play dough is a family member and they have to put them together. The client forms
a ball of all the colors of the family. Who would they start with? Who would be next? How do all of the pieces fit
together? How does this represent the family? At the end of the activity, the client can put play dough into a heart
shaped cookie cutter to create their family heart.
Process Questions and Follow-Up:
What made you choose this color for yourself (your mother, father, sister, brother)?
How did you decide to put these colors together?
How do you work together as a family?
Why makes it hard to get along sometimes?
What can you do to get along better with … (mother, father, sister, brother)?
Practice Setting:
School