Sandplay Therapy
Sandplay therapy, is an experiential therapeutic approach where clients build their own world using miniature toys or figurines and colored sand. A sandplay-trained therapist will view the client’s scene as a reflection of their life, thoughts, feelings and concerns, and help him or her to interpret the sand tray as an opportunity to resolve conflicts, remove obstacles, and gain acceptance of self. Sandplay therapy is often used to address trauma or abuse and can be particularly useful for clients (both adults and children) who have trouble expressing themselves verbally. A sandplay therapist's office is equipped with a specially proportioned sand tray and allows clients to express themselves in a safe and supportive space. Think this approach might be right for you? Reach out to one of TherapyDen’s sandplay therapy experts today.
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Like play therapy, sand tray is a fantastic way to get to the root of some issues without always having to come up with the words to explain it. It allows our brains to access the deeper parts to begin to heal itself.
— Evan Woodall, Counselor in Heath, TXMichele is in the process of completing her Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential. Michele also enjoys utilizing expressive interventions, such as sand tray and art.
— Michele Munday, Licensed Professional Counselor in LEWES, DE
Sandplay therapy is not only for children; adults can benefit from it too. When we use too much intellectual function to survive, a safe and protected space for an individual to freely be themselves, to be relaxed and playful, and to meet their inner world symbolically can be so helpful!
— Meng-Ju (MJ) Yang, Psychologist in San Jose, CAMy office is filled with figurines and toys with which you child can use to create a sandtray or "mini-world" in order to express their unconscious material. As a sandplay therapist, I hold the safety in the space and the relationship so that your child is free to create in the sand that which is beyond words to express. Some clients say that doing sandplay is like "dreaming, while awake." And like dreams, oftentimes, important material comes up as an offering to work through and overcome.
— Skye Horie, Psychotherapist in Wailuku, HI
The Sandtray provides a safe, contained space to express and explore your inner world in a tangible way. The tray can be used with or without a prompt. Sometimes, the tray can help communicate or illustrate something words cannot. The scenes created with a tray can help clients experience emotional release, gain new realizations, and practice out fictitious change leading to real change in their life. I utilize sandtray therapy on its own as well as in conjunction with parts work and EMDR.
— Jasmine Hiland, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Nashville, TNI have sought out specialized training and supervision in sand tray therapy. This is a modality that is appropriate for both children and adults. It consists of utilizing a specially proportioned tray of sand and a variety of figures. Clients are able to create a "world" in the tray with the figures. This technique allows clients to access feelings, perceptions and experiences which may be outside of their everyday awareness. When these become illustrated in the tray, processing can begin.
— Sarah Stein-Wolf, in Greenville, NC
I love using Sandtray when working with teenagers and adults. It is a great way to access other parts of our brains and integrating them. I am a Registered Integrative Sandtray Therapist through Southern Sandtray Institute.
— Jamie English, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Grand Prairie, TX