Sandtray Therapy Ashley Adams, BSN, RN

Saint Louis UniversityNursing 5510-Mental Health of the Family in Primary Care

Krugel, M. (2017). Sand tray therapy. Retrieved from http://meredithkrugellcsw.com/sand-tray-therapy/

History of Sandtray Therapy Margaret Lowenfeld

• British pediatrician, the first to use sandtray as therapeutic technique• Developed World Technique in 1930s • Influenced by H.G. Wells’ Floorgames (Bertenthal-Smith, 2015)

Dora Kalff• Studied under Lowenfeld• Incorporated Jungian theory and World Technique into sand play in 1950s

(Bertenthal-Smith, 2015)

What is Sandtray Therapy? Counseling technique for all ages; facilitates healing, personal growth,

and creativity (Klee, 2017) Often used in conjunction with verbal therapy (Bertenthal-Smith,

2015) Standard tray is rectangular; 30 in x 20 in and 3 in deep (Bertenthal-

Smith, 2015) Specifically proportioned sandtray with blue interior to represent water

and sky Fill with colored sand, play sand, corn meal, or rice (Bertenthal-Smith,

2015) A minimum of 300 miniature figures available for clients to create a

scene (Bertenthal-Smith, 2015) Miniature figures in form of humans, animals, buildings, vehicles,

vegetation, fences, signs, etc. • Represents all aspects of life

How to Create a Sandtray

Provide sandtray to to patient with access to all miniatures Instruct patient to place miniatures where they would like in the tray,

taking as much time as they need- non-directive method (Bertenthal-Smith, 2015)

For those feeling overwhelmed, give them specific suggestion of scene to create- directive method; example: create a world showing how they feel when a specific event in their life occurs (Bertenthal-Smith, 2015)

Assure patient that creativity is not necessary for this (Klee, 2017) Patient to let therapist know when they are finished creating their world Discuss their created world when complete

Role of Therapist Know your client Observe their creation process

• How they interact with miniatures• Their method of creating/rearranging- intensity, organization

Observe layout when complete (Bertenthal-Smith, 2015) and interpret meaning• Empty world• Unpeopled World• Aggressive world • Disorganized world

Discuss their created world when they are finished (Klee, 2017), some examples:• “Tell me about your sandtray”• “How does your experience in the sand relate to your life?”• “What title would you give your tray?”

Benefits of Sandtray Therapy Patients are able to express thoughts and feelings through actions in

addition to words Can be helpful with children since they often cannot verbalize

thoughts and feelings (Klee, 2017) Used along with verbal therapy in adults, can create a sort of “waking

dream” (Klee, 2017) Can be helpful with family or couple’s therapy (Klee, 2017)

• Families seeking therapy often struggle with communication, sandtray therapy is a safe, non-threatening solution to encouraging communication between members (Isom et al., 2015)

• Inclusive for family members of all ages, common communication method to create strong family foundation (Isom et al., 2015)

Useful with resistant or trauma patients (Bertenthal-Smith, 2015)

Examples of Uses for Sandtray Therapy The Sandtray for Interpreting Childhood Dreams (SICD) Intervention

(Swan & Schottelkorb, 2013)• Merged humanistic sandtray model with dream work therapy to help

children explore thoughts and feelings related to dreams and how these may relate to life-events

• Four phases: Precreation, Creation, Dream Processing, Postprocessing• Precreation Phase: Meditation with later focus on child’s dream• Creation: Recreate dream in sandtray• Dream Processing: Child explains scene, reflecting thoughts, desires,

feelings• Postprocessing: Child creates title for scene that encompasses meaning of

dream; may help child remember meaning of dream

Examples of Uses for Sandtray Therapy (cont.) Use of Sandtray Therapy with Adoptive Families (Lyles & Homeyer, 2014)

• Sandtray therapy useful whole-family intervention, trauma-informed, and relationally safe for attachment work

• All family members can participate in creations• Helps children explore emotions and feelings about memories from early

life/traumatic events• Helps children explore their beliefs on how they must behave in order to

belong• Assists children in gaining self-awareness of out-dated self-concept and trust-

based fears; helps in assigning new meanings to perceptions of new, safe relationships

• Can assist adoptive parents with secure bonding while addressing history of early life trauma

• Establishes clinician as trusted and safe base for adopted children

References Bertenthal-Smith,J. (2015). A brief introduction to sandtray therapy. Retrieved

from http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.amhca.org/resource/collection/B585DAE0-5054-4099-B973-9EE1F0B7D69B/Sand_tray_Presentation1.pdf

Isom, E.E., Groves-Radomski, J., & McConaha, M.M. (2015). Sandtray therapy: a familial approach to healing through imagination. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 10, 339-350. doi:10.1080/15401383.2014.983254

Klee,M.R. (2017). Playing in the sand:what is sand tray therapy and how can it help? Retrieved from http://www.counselingpcc.com/articles/klee-sandtray.htm

Krugel, M. (2017). Sand tray therapy. Retrieved from http://meredithkrugellcsw.com/sand-tray-therapy

Lyles, M, & Homeyer, L.E. (2015). The use of sandtray therapy with adoptive families. Adoption Quarterly, 18(1), 67-80. doi:10.1080/10926755.2014.945704

Swan, K.L., & Schottelkorb, A.A. (2013). Interpreting children’s dreams through humanistic sandtray therapy. International Journal of Play Therapy, 22, 119-128. doi:10.1037/a0033389