Play Just Got Bigger: What’s New in PlaySpace’s Dollhouse & SandTray

Something feels different...

If you’ve logged into PlaySpace recently and explored the Dollhouse or SandTray, you’ve probably noticed it. And yes—you’re right. These tools have evolved.

Built directly from clinician feedback, these updates are designed to do one thing: help you meet children where they are, creatively, emotionally, and developmentally.

Let’s walk through what’s new, and more importantly, how you can use it in session.

Bigger Play, Smaller Details: Why Scaling Changes Everything

Play is about proportion.

A tiny figure can feel vulnerable.

A giant one can feel powerful.

Now, you can reflect that visually.

With universal scaling, every object in Dollhouse and SandTray now:

• Starts at the same baseline size
• Can grow up to 3x larger (20 clicks)
• Can shrink down to 0.5x (5 clicks)

Why this matters clinically

Scaling isn’t just aesthetic, it’s expressive.

Children often struggle to verbalize power, fear, or importance. Now they can show it.

Try this in session:

• Ask: “Can you make the scariest thing bigger or smaller?”
• Explore: “What happens if you make yourself bigger than the problem?”
• Reflect themes of control, safety, and hierarchy visually

Extend the intervention

After building a scene:

• Use the Whiteboard to label emotions or thoughts connected to different sizes
• Transition into the AI Storybook Creator to narrate the “big vs. small” story

Scaling turns abstract emotional concepts into something children can see and shift in real time.

Beyond the Walls: Expanding Play Outside the Dollhouse

The Dollhouse just got… less contained.

You’re no longer limited to the inside of the house. Children can now play:

• On the roof
• In the yard
• Around the full environment

Why this matters

Therapy doesn’t happen in neat rooms, and neither do children’s experiences.

This expansion allows for:

• More realistic storytelling
• Greater movement and exploration
• Increased symbolic distance (important for safety in trauma work)

Practical applications

For anxiety:

• Build “safe” and “unsafe” zones outside the house
• Explore boundaries and transitions

For family work:

• Position characters physically apart or closer together
• Use outdoor space to represent connection or disconnection

For regulation:

• Create calming outdoor scenes (e.g., sitting in the yard, playing outside)

Pair with other tools

• Use Slides to introduce a theme (e.g., “safe spaces”)
• Transition into Dollhouse for experiential play
• Reinforce learning with a therapeutic worksheet from the Activity Shelf

Representation Matters: New Human Models

Children notice who is (and isn’t) represented.

PlaySpace now includes:

• Children, teens, adults, and grandparents
• Light and dark skin versions for all human models

Why this matters

Representation supports:

• Identity development
• Cultural responsiveness
• Emotional safety and relatability

It also allows for more nuanced storytelling:

• Multi-generational dynamics
• Caregiver relationships
• Life transitions

In-session ideas

For family mapping:

• Ask children to build their family using different ages and roles

For attachment work:

• Explore closeness, distance, and positioning across generations

For identity exploration:

• Invite clients to choose figures that “feel most like them”

Expand the experience

• Use multi-player mode to co-create family scenes with caregivers
• Add dialogue using the Whiteboard or chat features
• Save scenes for continuity across sessions

More Ways to Play: New Toys, New Stories

Play thrives on variety.

PlaySpace has added new items, including:

• Slide, swing, trampoline
• Chessboard
• Tablet, laptop, cell phone, rotary phone
• Bike, video game
• Aquatic animals (fish, crab, dolphin, and more)
• New fantasy characters like wizards and witches
• A brand-new “Toy” category (with more toys coming soon)

Why this matters

Every object is a story starter.

Aquatic animalscan represent:

• Calm vs. deep, unknown emotions
• Exploration and curiosity
• Feeling “underwater” or overwhelmed

A phone might represent:

• Connection
• Disconnection
• Conflict
• Safety

A trampoline might represent:

• Energy
• Chaos
• Joy
• Dysregulation

Practical interventions

Narrative therapy:

• “What powers does this character have?”

CBT work:

• Identify thoughts during play scenarios (e.g., losing a game, waiting for a message)

Social skills:

• Role-play interactions using shared activities (e.g., chess, video games)

Blend with other PlaySpace tools

• Build a fantasy or underwater world, then bring it into the AI Storybook Creator
• Transition from SandTray into a single-player game for skill-building
• Ask the child to build a Dollhouse scene using the new family models; take a snapshot and turn it into a worksheet to label the family members and understand it better together.

Small Changes, Big Impact on Engagement

These updates may seem simple.

But they change how children:

• Express themselves
• Engage in therapy
• Build rapport with you

And we know this matters.

Engagement is a strong predictor of positive therapy outcomes.

When children feel:

• Seen
• Represented
• Free to explore

They stay longer.

They open up more.

They do deeper work.

That’s the goal.

Built With You, For You

Every update you see here started with clinician feedback.

Requests like:

• “Can I make objects bigger?”
• “I wish I could use the outside of the house”
• “We need more diverse characters”

We listened. And we’ll keep listening.

Because PlaySpace isn’t just a platform, it’s a partnership.

Try This in Your Next Session

If you want a simple way to start:

1. Open SandTray or Dollhouse
2. Ask your client to “build a scene from their week”
3. Use scaling to explore importance or intensity
4. Add one new toy and ask: “What role does this play?”

Then follow their lead.

That’s where the magic happens.

Ready to explore the new Dollhouse and SandTray?