There are an overwhelming number of choices when considering beginning therapy, and what kind of therapy one wants to enter into. Trends in therapy modalities seem to come and go, and there can be pressure to try the new thing.
So why consider Sandplay? What is Sandyplay?
Imaginal work facilitates healing and wholeness
Sandplay allows the unconscious to tell the story in an embodied, relational, accessible way.
"Sandplay therapy utilizes a small tray of wet or dry sand in which you are invited to create scenes using miniature objects--a nonverbal communication of their internal and external worlds” (Labovitz Boik, and Goodwin 2000). I believe that we all have an intrinsic creative capacity that is essential to our feelings of aliveness. As a result of overwhelming experiences— which can be considered anything that is “too much too soon,” it can also be “too little” if we did not get what we needed or other forms of neglect— we can feel cut off from this capacity. This “cut off” can be experienced as overwhelming anxiety, depression, dependence of substances to cope, and in other ways. Some experience this as hearing voices or having unusual “extreme state” experiences.
Sandplay is a way to safely and in a protected, safe relational space, begin to renew contact with this process. It is well accepted that children will engage in play to heal trauma, and process complex experiences and emotions. As adults it can be more challenging to feel like we are allowed to play, or even know where to begin. The accessibility and simplicity of sandplay reduces barriers to beginning this engagement with imagination. Sandplay can provide a way for us to “express our innermost thoughts and feelings,” even if they allude speech. In Depth Psychology and Jungian therapy, we strive to engage the symbolic process, a way of making sense of what is happening and what it means. Sandplay’s roots run deep in this tradition.
If you are curious about sandplay, reach out today.