Ty Kasper MS, TLMFT and I, Joyce Thompson, MS, LCMFT, with Emotional Journey, LLC practice Sandtray Therapy (along with other therapeutic modalities). Sandtray Therapy is used with all ages – and with both male and female. Sandtray Therapy works well with individuals, couples, families, and groups (this is very beneficial for creating greater employee cohesion within the workplace). The therapeutic relationship between the client and the therapist is always important, but is even more so important when using Sandtray Therapy. The reasoning behind this is that the client, in essence, creates their life picture (or a portion of it), or an event which has already occurred or which they would like to see occur, while working with figurines and other sandtray miniatures. It can also be used to work through ‘stuck spots’ in therapy, whether when used in an Individual, Couple, or Family therapy session or with groups in the workplace in a workshop-type of setting. I feel that Ty is a great therapist for using this type of therapy, as he has a gentle, kind, and accepting spirit about him. He truly believes in all of his clients and their ability to overcome most any obstacle in their life, which allows them the best opportunity for healing.
When I asked Ty to explain his thoughts on Sandtray Therapy is, he replied, “It is an expressive form of therapy that empowers my clients to express themselves through the use of metaphors, using a sand tray and figures.” He went on to say, “Sandtray Therapy is an active, creative, symbolic mode of therapy that creates a safe manageable space for my clients to process, work through, and re-author scenarios from their past, present and futures.” Ty said, “Sandtray therapy can be used with children, teens, adults, couples, and families.” When asked what issues are best dealt with through the use of Sandtray Therapy, Ty responded, “It can be helpful for addressing any issues. But is particularly useful is dealing with grief, anger issues, relational issues, problems with fear, anxiety, and abuse”.
I personally feel that Sandtray Therapy is a great addition to any therapist’s ‘toolbox’. In fact, after discussing Sandtray Therapy with Ty over a period of time, I too decided to attend training for this therapeutic modality. I don’t feel that it replaces ‘talk therapy’, instead, it works hand-in-hand with Sandtray Therapy since the act of processing your ‘picture/creation’ with your therapist occurs through ‘talk therapy’. As with any form of therapy, it is important for the therapist to listen to and respect what the client is telling in their creation. The client is given the opportunity to explain what their creation means to them and to explore their feelings about what they created. It is then up to the therapist (following cues from the client) to help the client find the best answers and solutions for their specific issues.
Sandtray therapy focuses upon the here-and-now of the clients’ life experiences. Oftentimes, as children grow into adulthood, they lose their sense of self. They become who they feel others want them to be and they sometimes get ‘lost’ along the way. They may have learned that certain feelings and behaviors are acceptable, while others are not. The experiential nature of Sandtray Therapy allows clients to reconnect with their true selves, while in the company of a caring and trusted therapist. They eventually can learn to take this newfound self-awareness and self-confidence into the outer world, where they interact with family, friends, and co-workers. In the process, they can learn to be the person they were meant to be and always wanted to be, even if on their own, they felt this goal was unachievable. With their newfound confidence and understanding, they can often reach hopes and dreams which they had long ago given up on.
Sandtray Therapy can provide a safe place for clients to explore their life through the use of figurines and miniatures. These are often used as metaphors for issues and events in one’s life, which the client is able to ‘see’, once those issues and events are ‘removed’ from within the client and placed in the sandtray. Since it takes the experience and places it almost ‘outside’ of the client, they are more easily able to bypass protective mental defense mechanisms and to see their life situation from more of an ‘outsiders’ point-of-view. During the processing phase of the session, the client will often share and explain their experiences, while looking at his or her sandtray creation. Oftentimes, they will refer to the figurines in the sandtray as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’, when in reality they are speaking of themselves and others who are significant in their lives. In ‘talk therapy’ alone, a client will often stop themselves from experiences their feelings in full. Perhaps they were taught not to cry, or that ‘wallowing’ in their emotions was unacceptable. Sandtray Therapy creates a safe-enough distance, allowing the client to have an increased sense of awareness, to become more objective, and to more easily find solutions to their problems. This can be especially useful with painful and distressing emotions, since it allows the clients to ‘show’ what’s happening for them in a symbolic and non-verbal manner. With Sandtray Therapy, they are able to bypass those defense mechanisms (meant to protect them, but no longer necessary) more easily and are more fully able to gain an awareness of their true feelings, with the help of their trusted therapist.
During creation of one’s ‘life picture’, the therapist is present, but fairly quiet. This allows the client to truly experience that which they are creating. The creation is their own, not that of the therapist. The items in which the client chooses to use, and the way in which they arrange the miniature items in the sand, is very important and makes the creation unique to that client. Sandtray Therapy is an expressive therapy which encourages clients to take an active role in their therapy; they offer the interpretation of the ‘picture’ instead of the therapist interpreting it for them. Sandtray Therapy can free up frozen emotions, help to reenergize the client, and allow them to begin thinking more creatively about their situation. In turn, this can lessen emotional stress in the clients’ life, allowing them to more fully resolve their issues and to reach the goals they have for their lives. However, with every client, although there is a yearning for change, there usually is some fear of doing so; this is ‘normal’. A therapist needs to respect whether his or her client is ready to face their painful feelings. If the therapist is perceptive enough, they will acknowledge this fear and help the client to deal with it at a safe pace, instead of avoiding it. Most importantly though, the therapist needs to respect where the client is at, not where the therapist feels the client should be. A client will make the necessary changes when they are ready, and a therapist should never try to push them before they are ready to make that move.
Some might wonder why it’s important to go ‘deep’ into the feelings brought up by thinking about ones past, present, or future. But having complete acceptance and being at peace with oneself is invaluable. I think Carl Rogers (1989) said it best; once “a troubling feeling has been felt to its full depth and breadth, one can move on. It is an important part of movement in the process of change” (p. 151). I feel we all deserve that opportunity; to really get to know ourselves, and to learn to like the self which we ‘find’ on our journey.
