“A gentle, non-verbal therapeutic approach for children, young people and adults to explore feelings and inner worlds”
Integrative Sandplay Therapy
Sandplay therapy is a gentle but powerful process, suitable for children, teenagers and adults. Guided use of the sand tray provides a way of self-expression and sensory exploration. It offers a way to be in the moment, explore inner worlds and find new perspectives.
You can choose Sandplay therapy alone, or it can be incorporated into our Arts Counselling sessions.
What happens in Sandplay Therapy
The Sandplay tray is filled halfway with sand, offering a place to create scenes, trace shapes, and create forms. A wide range of miniature figures are available to choose from. These can represent inner worlds, emotions, and experiences, and include items such as houses, animals, cars, people, bridges, fantasy figures, trees, stones, and archetypal symbols.
The tray can also be used for sensory exploration, wet or dry, to sprinkle, pour, swirl, pat, dig, smooth, and create roads, rivers, lakes, and mountains. These tactile experiences are valuable for regulating sensory or emotional overwhelm. Sand gives a sense of grounded connection and access to the emotional realm.
When using miniatures, the scene creates a ‘snapshot’ that reflects your inner world, bridging conscious and unconscious thought. The small worlds we create often bring new awareness to current or past situations.
Who sandplay is for
Sandplay is suitable for all age groups, backgrounds and abilities. As a non-verbal therapy, it is particularly effective for anyone who struggles to express how they’re feeling with words. Sandplay offers an alternative way to express feelings in a safe, non-verbal way and is therefore particularly suitable for young children and anyone who finds it hard to talk about their experiences for whatever reason.
How it helps
Sandplay works mostly on an unconscious level. Playing instinctively in the sand can bring about a newfound sense of joy and playful exploration. There is no need to discuss the emerging scenes, but some find this helpful.
As a holistic practice, Sandplay supports emotional regulation and integration. When guided in a calm, contained way, Sandplay can support emotional balance, helping reduce anxiety and fostering greater self-awareness. It can be helpful for processing trauma, depression, anxiety and/or complex emotions.
Where did Sandplay come from?
The therapeutic use of sand has evolved from the work of Margaret Lowenfeld, a British child psychiatrist working in London in the 1920s. Sandplay was later developed and expanded upon in the 1950s by Dora Kalff, who worked with Carl Jung. Combining Jungian psychology into her therapeutic approach, Kalff emphasised the “free and protected space” of the sand tray as a place for self-expression within a safe container. Since then, Sandplay therapy has had a growing popularity with research showing that it can be effective with children and adults for a range of issues, including anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, behavioural challenges and communication difficulties.