You are so right. It’s is called a mature coping mechanism, a healthy one to use. I live with a psychiatric illness and thankfully been on meds and in remission for a while but when times were rough I used to play this online flash games where a few abused plush toys were inpatients in a psychiatric hospital and you had to diagnose and treat them, it was great! I even bought a plushie from them, it comes with a ‘consult letter’, hilarious. If interested, google parapleusch.