Sandplay Therapy

Sandplay therapy is a non-verbal form of therapy. It is not just for children. Adults, too, find it to be very healing. Sandplay is helpful when words won’t come to you or you don’t really understand your feelings. Your inner feelings come out in the play, providing solutions and answers that may be hidden from your awareness.

Sand play equipment occupies a corner of an office. It usually consists of two shallow rectangular trays half-filled with sand, one containing moist sand and one containing dry sand, and many shelves filled with a wide variety of miniature figures and small objects. Sandplay offers you freedom of choice. You may choose to use either tray. You may choose to leave the sand flat or sculpt the sand into different shapes. You are free to select any figures and objects to which you are drawn and place them in the sand to create a scene.

The sand play process is a gentle way for you to have an opportunity to express your feelings without needing to use words. Mistakes cannot be made in the sandtray. Everything and anything that is done is OK. Some clients talk and act out stories with the figures. Others work silently and intently building a scene. Sandplay is the bridge between your everyday life and what you are feeling inside.

A sandplay therapist is not to interpret your trays for you, but to serve as a guide and facilitator providing a protected space and freedom for you to connect with your inner feelings, at your own pace and comfort level. As in all our work together, I keep your sandplay session confidential.

You may find that you’ll want to play in the sand at some point. If so, please let me know during the early part of a session. You may choose to do sandplay therapy for a full 50-minute session or for part of a session. I suggest, however, that you allow at least 20 minutes to create a tray. You may choose to do a series of sandtrays in consecutive sessions, or periodically as particular issues come up. Sandplay therapy can serve as a powerful supplement to your customary “talk” therapy where we discuss issues of concern to you.