The Role of Sand Tray Therapy in Emotional Healing
Editor’s note– All sand tray table photographed in this post were completed by staff; no client sand trays are shown.
Encouraging Expression
“I felt like it was important to do my own sand tray table since I work here,” explains Children’s Legacy Center for Resilience staff member Luisa, adding, “but I was shocked to feel an emotional response as I went through the process.”
Sand tray therapy is a technique that involves the use of a sandbox and miniature figures to create scenes and tell stories. This process allows clients to express complex thoughts and feelings without relying on words. The miniatures and scenes created in the sand serve as symbolic representations of the client’s inner world.
“This can be especially effective with kids who come in angry or shut down,” notes Daniel, a CLC clinician. “One client came in and said they were absolutely not going to speak to me about anything. I said, ‘Okay, would you like to play with these action figures and sand?’ Within twenty minutes, they created a beautiful scene on the sand tray and started telling me what they were creating without my asking.”
Creating A Scene
The process is deceptively simple: The client enters a quiet room equipped with an empty sand tray table and shelves stocked with toys. A therapist is there to provide a safe and supportive environment, observing and facilitating the process without directing it.
Clients are free to select as many or as few toys as they wish to create their scene. Once finished, the observing therapist may ask the client to reflect on their creation, encouraging them to describe what they have made and how they feel about it.
The roots of sand tray therapy can be traced back to the work of early-twentieth-century psychiatrist Carl Jung, with widespread acceptance of the technique occurring during the 1970s. Sand tray therapy is now used worldwide as an effective therapeutic tool for individuals of all ages, particularly for those who find verbal expression challenging.
“There are still people who oppose the use of sand tray therapy because they feel it is too subjective,” says Teri, a CLC clinician who has studied this technique in some form for nearly thirty years. “To be fair, therapy generally involves a significant amount of subjectivity.”
She adds, “if we can have one more tool in our toolbox to help someone heal, why wouldn’t we use it?”
Understanding Symbolism
Over the years, Teri has amassed an impressive and unique collection of toys and symbols, including small masks from other cultures and single-word boutique decorations like “love” and “family.”
“I’ve had the word ‘family’ that has been used for many years. One day, it broke into two parts, and I almost threw it away. I decided to keep it to see if it still got used. It actually gets used way more now that it’s broken than it ever did whole.”
However, not all symbolism is as seemingly obvious as the broken “family” and some items could prompt further discussion. Therapists may ask the client to reflect on their creation, encouraging them to describe what they have made and how they feel about it.
“Using Cruella de Vil in your scene may represent someone who is evil. It may also represent someone who can display different personalities, both good and bad. Something like a Jekyll and Hyde.”
Available Resources
In addition to sand tray therapy as a tool that Teri referenced, CLC’s Center for Resilience provides many other offerings in our six trauma-informed, fully furnished therapy rooms.
CFR therapy modalities currently available:
· Sand Tray Therapy
· Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing(EMDR)
· Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT)
· Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(TF-CBT)
· Group Therapies
Additionally, certain CFR therapists are trained in or are familiar with:
· Narrative Therapy
· Motivational Interviewing
· Internal Family Systems concept integration
· Substance Use Disorder
· Satir Family Systems
· Bowenian Family Systems
· Somatic work for Dissociation Regulation
· Mindfulness and Self-Compassion concepts
· Emotionally Focused Couple’s Therapy
· Brené Brown concepts including Shame and Shame Resilience
The CLC’s Center for Resilience currently holds the only “NMT Site” designation in our area and have a full-time licensed clinician holding the distinction of Site Facilitator. In addition, our clinical team is currently receiving training in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and Parent-Child Intervention Training (PCIT), with a designated space for this specific intervention.
To explore receiving service at CLC’s Center for Resilience, please contact 530.232.0525 for more information.
