User:Wikijohnword/Blob Tree

The Blob Tree is an internationally recognized visual tool that allows individuals to express themselves and their emotions in a non-verbal way through the use of human figures known as "Blobs" who are genderless, ageless, and culture-less.

The original Blob Tree was created in the early 1980s by Pip Wilson and Ian Long as an effective way of communicating with young people and adults who found reading difficult, and quickly proved to be accessible to children and young people.

The Blob Tree collection consists of a set of illustrations of blob figures in various poses and expressions, each representing a different emotion or feeling. These illustrations can be used as prompts for individuals to identify and express their own emotions, or as a way to start a conversation about emotions and feelings.

The tool was created by Ian Long and Pip Wilson, who recognized the need for a non-verbal, universally accessible tool for emotional expression and communication. They developed the Blob Tree as a way to bridge language and cultural barriers and make emotional expression more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. The Tree stands for a group, a family, an organisation, in fact any gathering of people. The Blobs are representative of two languages used by people throughout the world – feelings and body language.

Pip Wilson is an author and British psychologist who is an expert in the field of practical training and the development of emotional intelligence. In the early 1980s, together with illustrator Ian Long, he began to create the Blob Tree as psychotherapeutic tools. Blobs have no sex, age, or nationality, they only speak with body language and are quite useful to represent emotions or social situations.

According to Pip Wilson, "Blobs are delightful characters (without gender or age) that help facilitate and stimulate meaningful discussions about difficult issues or situations. Individuals or groups can start discussions by identifying themselves, or others, with an individual or group of blobs whose actions or feelings represent their own."

The Blob Tree has been widely adopted by professionals in a variety of fields, including counseling, therapy, education, and youth work, as well as by individuals and community groups. It has been used in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, community centers, and prisons.

The tool's success came from its simplicity and universality where the blob figures are easily recognizable and relatable, making it easy for individuals to connect with the illustrations and express their own emotions. It also enables facilitators to work with groups of people in a non-threatening, non-judgmental way.