Introduction to Sandplay Therapy

So you’re curious about Sandplay Therapy!  Well, you have come to the right place.  I have been in this therapy process for some time now in order to do my own therapeutic work, and have noticed an immense shift in my overall well-being each time I leave the therapist's office.  It is the deeply transformative power that Sandplay provides that made me want to become a Sandplay Therapy Practitioner.  My Pastoral Counseling practice offers SPIRIT-BASE COUNSELING to anyone of any spiritual or religious background.  In my practice I focus on helping people to become who there were sent here to be.  But, I always felt that talking could only get someone so far.  

As I shift my focus to working more specifically with New Mothers, I felt that I needed something else to round-out my counseling work.  Not only did I want to provide a space for New Mothers to grow and realize their MULTIHOOD, but I also wanted to provide counseling that would help them deal with the day-to-day demands of their new Archetypal role.  Most therapy settings are based in talking--but I wanted to go BEYOND talking to provide well-rounded soul-assistance.  Sometimes the last thing you want to do, after a long day of dealing with a baby and the demands of your family life--is talk!  But think of being provided with the space to PLAY, to not have to verbally put into words your emotional state--but utilize your hands, your body, and symbolic figures to express how you feel.
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The Sandplay Therapists of America website explains, “Sandplay is ‘hands on’ psychological work, and is an adjunct to talk therapy.  It is a powerful therapeutic method that facilitates the psyche’s natural healing…the client creates a concrete manifestation from his or her imagination using sand, water, and miniature objects.  In this way Sandplay helps honor and illuminate the client’s internal symbolic world, providing a place for its expression within a safe container.” (https://www.sandplay.org/about-sandplay/what-is-sandplay/)
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As you can see from my example above, all of the work is done within the confines of a tray that has been painted blue on the inside (to invoke the feeling of water), filled with sand, to which actual water can also be added.  Shelves of figurines and natural materials are provided in order to create a meaningful scene.  The process unfolds as you simply choose items to which you are attracted--without the necessity of having a meaning behind them when you begin.  As the process unfolds, you slowly understand what all of the figures represent symbolically, or perhaps you do not.  But in the Unconscious, things are at work.  Over the course of many trays an unraveling occurs where the symbolic begins to make sense in your Conscious mind.    

It is definitely something that needs to be experienced to be understood!  But now you have been given a taste of what it looks like.  Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section below, and if you are interested in diving into the SAND with me, please use the contact form on the Pastoral Counseling page.

I look forward to hearing from you!  * Many Blessings * -Rev. P