We offer Sand Tray therapy, a hands-on, evidence-based therapy method that combines concepts of art and play therapy to help teens and adults recover from trauma, complex trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, anger, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and much more.
In a typical Sand Tray Therapy session, which can be done in-person or modified for telehealth, a person uses a tray of sand and miniature figurines to build a world that draws from the feelings and experiences in their life. As the client builds their tray, the therapist witnesses the process and provides a safe container for emotions and experiences that lie beyond the reach of language. Once the sand tray feels complete to the client, both client and therapist will experience the tray together, without attempts to intellectualize or analyze. A client may then find benefit from using language to discuss figure choices, arrangement patterns, symbolic or metaphoric meanings and any thoughts or feelings associated with the scene. After this discussion, the client may also choose to make changes to the tray or discuss deeper feelings and meanings coming up after processing. Verbal processing of sand trays is never required.
This method of therapy can assist people in conveying complex emotions or experiences in a way that allows them to organize and control their own stories, eventually integrating them. By the process of giving thoughts and feelings concrete and manageable form and by creating and recreating their own worlds, clients can often process and understand their experiences on a deeper level, integrating and mastering what was once fragmented and chaotic.
Sand Tray therapies draw from traditional and multicultural roots supported by evidence-based methodologies. Sand tray therapy was pioneered in the late 1920s by British pediatrician Margaret Lowenfeld with her “World Technique,” She introduced the use of sand trays and miniature figures to facilitate non-verbal expression and exploration of children’s inner worlds in her clinic in London.
For more information on Sand Tray Therapy, visit:
Sand Tray Therapy: Benefits, Techniques & How It Works
Sand Tray Therapy: Definition, Types, Techniques, and Efficacy
