What Is Sandplay Therapy?
The sandplay method consists of the child, or adult client making whatever he or she feels like building with a wide assortment of miniature figures in a tray of sand in the presence of a trained professional. Generally this is done in silence. There is no judgment or comment from the therapist.
The miniature figures, or collection, include representations of all parts of life and fantasy. In addition, there are building materials available to make unique items when needed.
It is the “inner world,” or psyche, of the client that chooses the figures and arranges them in the sand tray. In this way, the less conscious part of us become visible and are shared in a safe setting. This includes our conflicts, remedies, and potentials. Sandplay work is much the same as working with dream imagery. However, there are significant differences.
Sandplay work is three-dimensional and concrete, so the imagery doesn’t “fade away” as it does with dreams. Because the sand tray scene is constructed in concrete form, the client becomes more aware of what stands in the way of his or her continued growth and personal development. It sits right in front of us in the sand tray. We also become aware of our strengths and gifts, because they are equally visible in the sandplay.
The therapist makes the inner exploration of sandplay safe by respectfully understanding the process as the client moves through deep issues and discovers new ways of being in the world. The depth of the work undertaken in sandplay would be far too hazardous for anyone to undertake alone. The trained therapist’s presence anchors the work in reality. Without this the client could easily fall into dangerous psychological territory.
Sandplay is the form of play that is natural to children. It avoids the futile effort of asking the child, "What is going on with you?" When we make this demand of children we are asking them to analyze their experience. In general, asking this sort of question of young children requires a higher level of brain development than the child currently has. Not only is the question impossible for the young child to answer, it actually puts more pressure on him or her. Imagine having a powerful figure demand that we immediately do something that is completely beyond our reach.
Add to that the emotional awareness that this power figure is highly agitated and frustrated. It is soon easy to understand the kind of pressure a child feels when we demand that they tell us what is going on with them! Believe me, if they knew they would tell us. Children do most of their “real” work in symbolic play.
Over the course of several sandplays, in this language of symbols, the psyche explores and addresses the inner conflicts. In addition, it accesses inner resources required to heal and continue growth. Thus deep problems are worked through and new strengths are developed.
What occurs in sandplay is that the language of symbols is formed or “spoken” by the choice, combination and placement of the miniatures in the “play space” of the sand tray. Thus, in silence, the client’s symbolic work directly communicates his or her deepest hurts, as well as untapped inner resources to the sandplay therapist, who silently understands, accepts, and receives this inner “reality.”
For adults, sandplay bypasses the tendency to remain stuck in circular patterns of thinking about issues. Just as it does with children, in the language of symbol, sandplay directly accesses the adult’s conflicts, as well as the strengths available to address them.
Sandplay greatly facilitates the adult’s therapy by moving directly to and through the issues.
With adults, sandplay is used along with convenational talk therapy. In the conversational part of therapy, the work focuses on making the deeper healing a conscious part of everyday experience.
Adults may do a sandplay at every session, or every now and then as they sense the desire to move beyond words and thoughts. Doing sandplay or not is always the choice of the adult client, although Dr. Turner may suggest sandplay when she thinks it will facilitate treatment.
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Sandplay Room of Dora M. Kalff
Dr. Turner's Teacher in Switzerland
1988
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Miniature Figures on Sandplay Shelves
License MFC 25907
PO Box 305
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA
Phone 707.894.1890
Fax 707.894.4474
Email drbarb@barbaraturner.org
Barbara A. Turner, PhD
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Sandplay Therapy
What Is Sandplay?
Sandplay With Children
Sandplay With Adults
Site Map
Big guy angrily shouts …TURNER!! I want you to find the first four nonzero terms and the general term of the power series for f(x) about x=0. Let f be the function given by f(x)= e^(-2x^2) (read as e raised to the negative 2 x squared)
(Yikes! Where’s the door?)
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