What parents should know about sandtray therapy sessions
Your child, adolescent, or even adults may participate in sandtray therapy as a part of therapy with Amy. While this may look to you like just playing in the sand, sandtray therapy is much more than that. Children often do not have the words or the understanding of their feelings to talk through what is going on for them. They may not be able to explain why they feel or act a certain way. In fact, many adults even struggle to answer these questions. Sandtray therapy offers a non-verbal way for children, adolescents, and adults to process their feelings, their actions, and what is going on in their lives. Through the use of symbols (small figurines, toys, shells, rocks, and other items), children, adolescents, and adults build a world in the sandtray. Typically this world in the sand is built without any direction from the therapist: whatever the child feels is important can be included in the world, and the world could focus on any topic. Building and working inside this world may help children to make sense of the world, to explore an issue without the fear of directly talking about it, and to feel more in control of a situation, which is now contained inside the sandtray. Most of the time you will probably not see your child’s sandtray. However, your child may decide that he or she would like to invite you to see a sandtray at the end of a session or to show you a picture of the sandtray. If this occurs, there are some things we’d like you to know:
It is important to respect that the builder of the sandtray is the owner of the sandtray and also the authority on the sandtray.
Only the builder of the sandtray may reach into the sandtray. Do not touch items inside the sandtray.
Be careful not to interpret what the sandtray means or what any particular item in the sandtray represents. Even though it may seem obvious that an item in the tray is a dog, it may not represent a dog to the builder.
Ask open questions about the sandtray rather than commenting on the sandtray. If the sandtray is about anxiety forthe child, it can be confusing for the child to hear you say it is “very nice”, “scary”, or any other comment.
Good things to say include “What would you like to share with me about your sandtray?”, “What does this sandtray mean to you?”, and “What was it like to build this sandtray?”
If your child chooses not to tell you about the sandtray, we encourage you to accept this.
If you have further questions about Play Therapy or Sandtray Therapy I encourage you to ask. Questions are always welcome.
Amy