What is sandplay therapy?

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Sandplay therapy is a psychotherapeutic tool developed by the late Jungian therapist, Dora M. Kalff (1980/2003). Sandplay therapy is suitable for adults, adolescents and children and is a "hands on" psychological work. The sandplay method consists of the psychotherapy client’s creation of a three-dimensional picture with miniature figures in a tray of sand in the protective presence of a trained practitioner.

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What happens in sandplay therapy?

In sandplay therapy the client sets up a world in a sand tray that corresponds to their inner state using objects and figures in the arrangement of the sand. In this manner, through free, creative play, unconscious processes are made visible in a three-dimensional form.

Through a series of images that take shape in this way, the process of individuation described by Carl Jung is stimulated and brought to fruition. Sandplay has been termed an 'X-ray of the Psyche' you can see the changes in the clients' processes and progression.

Many therapists have found that clients who have difficulties in verbally expressing their real emotions or who have adopted a defensive position move on a stage when using sand. Sand is an ideal medium to integrate with many talking therapies modalities. It may be used with clients of all ages and cultures.