[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-592008-105":59,"doc-detail-592008-en":129},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":122,"head_meta":124,"extra_data":126,"updated_unix":128},105,"en","the-therapeutic-power-of-synthetic-relationships-with-dolls","The Therapeutic Power of Synthetic Relationships with Dolls","","Examines adult doll play as a therapeutic intervention, arguing that both reborn dolls and sex dolls can provide comfort and help meet emotional needs through caregiving. Explores how doll-based narrative play, community participation, and retail therapy support personal identity, while imaginative perception and social connections foster genuine companionship. Draws on research in doll therapy for dementia care and studies on sex doll use to frame doll ownership as supportive of personal development and improved social and mental health.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-therapeutic-power-of-synthetic-relationships-with-dolls/592008/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-therapeutic-power-of-synthetic-relationships-with-dolls/592008.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mabel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"本文如何界定“synthetic relationships”这一概念？","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"作者用“synthetic relationships”指代一种用替代性伙伴维持有意义的个人互动的实践；尽管伙伴是合成的，互动引发的情感却是真实的。","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"作者认为玩具娃娃的哪些特征能带来治疗性的舒适感？",{"text":116,"@type":112},"作者关注娃娃的物理特性如何提供安慰，并通过照护行为帮助建立并满足需求。",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"作者讨论的成人玩娃娃的治疗效果体现在哪些方面？",{"text":120,"@type":112},"主要包括带来舒适感、通过叙事游戏与社群支持建立个人认同，以及借助想象性感知与社会联结获得陪伴。","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},592008,1792079811,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":138,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},7971474920318,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/74000ee537e6b0ca360?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1788430171632181674","The Therapeutic Power of Synthetic Relationships with Dolls  \n• Emilie St-Hilaire  \nThe author considers adult doll play as therapeutic intervention by examining how the physical properties of reborn dolls and also sex dolls provide comfort and establish needs met through care giving. She discusses dolls providing a sense of personal identity through narrative play, community, and retail therapy, and she describes the companionship attained through imaginative perception and social connections, all benefits that accompany what she calls a synthetic relationship. Drawing from research related to doll therapy in dementia care and from studies on sex doll usage, she considers original research on reborn dolls. She proposes that doll ownership can therapeutically support personal development and good social and mental health, thus improving broader social relationships for many doll owners. Keywords: doll collection; dolls; doll therapy; imaginative play; play therapy; reborn dolls  \nReborn dolls are hyperrealistic baby dolls created by physically altering and repurposing storebought dolls. For a doll to be considered reborn as a baby, an artist meticulously paints the doll and applies realistic hair and other details.1 Today, blank kits are available for reborn doll artists, and tutorials have proliferated online over the past decade or so, contributing to an increase in reborn artists and collectors. More recently, an explosion of TikTok videos featuring reborns have brought increased attention to such dolls, sometimes adding controversy to the initial shock often ignited by the uncanny realism of these creations. The issues, concerns, and questions that arise in relation to reborn dollatry (or a love of dolls) have evolved alongside shifts in the culture and practices of reborn enthusiasts.2 For many years, reborn doll owners have become the subject of human-interest stories in news coverage of the hobby. Editors tend to produce headlines that seek to shock or promote stories that aim for the tragic, but the most fascinating aspect of this phenomenon to me is how many adults prefer the company of dolls. Collectors have a variety of reasons to own  \n288  \nAmerican Journal of Play, volume 16, numbers 2 and 3 © 2024 The Strong [Contact Emilie St-Hilaire at ea.sthilaire@gmail.com](Contact Emilie St-Hilaire at ea.sthilaire@gmail.com)  \ndolls and affection for them is nothing new. What is unique today is how these days such relationships develop given the support of imaginative perception, advanced materials, and online communities. I prefer to call these connections“synthetic relationships” as a term for the practice of sustaining meaningful personal interactions with a surrogate companion.3 The companion is synthetic, but the emotions that emerge from the interactions are real.4  \nIn this article, I specifically discuss reborn dolls—and also sex dolls—in relation to adult doll play. It is important to note that reborn dolls are not used in a sexual way. Sex dolls themselves have existed for over a century but have really grown in popularity since the turn of the twenty-first century.5 The establishment of manufacturers that use soft silicone and strong internal armaturesto create realistic adult-sized dolls has led to increased cultural awareness of sex dolls and an appreciation of their use as a synthetic companion that goes beyond sex.  \nAs indicated in my title, I am proposing that synthetic relationships with dolls can be therapeutic, and I describe the characteristics of contemporary synthetic relationships and explain the practices that support companionship through dolls. I first came upon reborn dolls by chance in 2016, and these realistic baby dolls have turned out to be surprisingly complex and intriguing. There exist persistent misconceptions about women who enjoy dolls, and uncovering what lies at the root of these misconceptions—sometimes involving stigma and even hate directed at adult doll enthusiasts—has compelled m","cbCaipBCPMG9bRUe","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipBCPMG9bRUe","pdf",139918,15,"English","# Adult Doll Play as Therapeutic Intervention\n## Comfort Through Physical Properties and Caregiving\n## Identity Through Narrative Play, Community, and Retail Therapy\n## Companionship Through Imaginative Perception and Social Connections\n# Addressing Doll Therapy and Therapeutic Concerns","[{\"question\":\"本文如何界定“synthetic relationships”这一概念？\",\"answer\":\"作者用“synthetic relationships”指代一种用替代性伙伴维持有意义的个人互动的实践；尽管伙伴是合成的，互动引发的情感却是真实的。\"},{\"question\":\"作者认为玩具娃娃的哪些特征能带来治疗性的舒适感？\",\"answer\":\"作者关注娃娃的物理特性如何提供安慰，并通过照护行为帮助建立并满足需求。\"},{\"question\":\"作者讨论的成人玩娃娃的治疗效果体现在哪些方面？\",\"answer\":\"主要包括带来舒适感、通过叙事游戏与社群支持建立个人认同，以及借助想象性感知与社会联结获得陪伴。\"}]","The Therapeutic Power of Synthetic Relationships with Dolls | PDF",1792073664,38]