SAND TRAY STUDIO

Sand tray therapy is: 

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1) A non-threatening treatment modality

2) A natural expression of psychological states

3) A process of development in the psyche

4) An image building process. 

As a sculptor as well as a therapist, the use of pattern and arrangement as a communication modality makes sense to me - the arrangement of small objects tells a story which communicates a pattern in thinking. Sandtray therapy is a form of expressive/play therapy, incorporating the use of sand, water, and miniature objects. The objects are arranged by the client into the sand, after which the child or adult working in the sand tray is encouraged to experience the construction, arrange and rearrange as desired, or then tell a story of the created world. The stories relate to psychological states of being, as the work involves symbols from the personal and collective unconscious.

Sandtray is a thinking process - an experiential way of combining. The expression is one of a sensate vs. a social reality. The way a sand tray is constructed tells one how the psyche is moving, incorporating a holistic reality of past, present and future, mind, body, and soul.  In this movement lie new bits of information arranging and rearranging the old and the new. The sand tray is the tool to make manifest the psyche’s need which has to be thought through experiencing. 

Sandtray therapy can move clients into new awarenesses in a unique way. It is a useful adjunct to verbal or other kinds of therapy, as it reaches into kinesthetic and symbolic levels within a person and can by-pass the usual defenses.