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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Sandplay therapy is a non-verbal, expressive therapeutic approach where individuals use miniature figures and a sandbox to create scenes that reflect their inner experiences. It taps into the unconscious, allowing healing and self-discovery by fostering a safe, symbolic space for emotional exploration and integration without needing verbal articulation.

— Amy Belcastro-Andrews, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Westerville, OH
 

I am a certified Systemic Sand Play Therapist, and I use this technique to help clients work through trauma and family discontent that they may have experienced.

— Melissa Marshall, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in Timonium, MD

Sandplay therapy is a nonverbal, therapeutic intervention that makes use of a sandbox, toy figures, and sometimes water, to create scenes of miniature worlds that reflect a person's inner thoughts, struggles, and concerns.

— Fabiana Araujo, Licensed Professional Counselor in Arlington, TX
 

Sandplay Therapy facilitates opportunities to access the wisdom of psyche in the pursuit of healing. The client uses miniature figures and objects to create a story or image in a tray of sand. This image can be a powerful fool for accessing unconscious resources and revealing unknown layers of emotion and insight. Even as children experience this as play the psyches natural capacity for healing is activated as preverbal and unconscious elements of our inner lives are revealed.

— Shelly Stratton, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Portland, OR

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
 

Sandplay therapy allows clients to explore, in a safe and supportive environment, their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, in an indirect, non-threatening way.

— Sarah MacDonell, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Coquitlam BC,

I have attended workshops on Sand Tray and have used it extensively in my work with children (4-13) and high school students. I have noticed that it unlocks many ideas, thoughts, and behaviors so we can work more deeply.

— Margaret (Peggy) Farrell, Marriage & Family Therapist in San Mateo, CA
 

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, CA

Sandplay therapy is a non-verbal, expressive therapeutic method developed by Swiss Jungian analyst Dora Kalff drawing from the work of Carl Jung, Margaret Lowenfeld, and Tibetan & Zen Buddhism. Jung, whose work provides the foundation for sandplay therapy, understood almost a hundred years ago that the mind and body were inextricably linked. In sandplay, this link is seen again and again in both the symbolic activity of the psyche and the embodied experience of healing and change.

— Jill Corvelli, Licensed Professional Counselor in Portland, OR
 

I am an associate member of the Sand Play Association. Sand Play is a powerful way to access non-verbal parts of ourselves. Do you ever feel something, and you don't know how to even begin to talk about it? The sand play process, in a fun and imaginative manner, using symbolic imagery, can bring out to our conscious mind parts of ourselves that were unknown to ourselves.

— Ginger Bahardar, Marriage & Family Therapist in Bonsall, CA