Sand Tray Therapy

I love it. : )

Yeah - I wasn't too into clay pasty things either. But I like clay now.

You can set things on top of the sand if that's what feels right to you. It's all about how the client feels - there are no "rules" for what you create in the sand tray. Me? I like getting my hands in the sand.... I always use water, that way I can sorta build with the sand. I enjoy using mine at home too, even without t, I still get benefit from it, I like writing about what I create. Another wonderful use for it I found was the sand is a great place to put excess energy! In January when everyone at work was all pumped up to stay positive during all the overtime, some nights it was hard to come down from all that huge energy and for me to be able to sleep I'd go into my office and get out the sand tray, dig my hands down into the sand and just focus on sending the excess energy into the sand. It works wonders for that. I think I'm going to ask my t to send me copies of the pictures she took of all of my sand trays, I don't even remember them all. I asked her a couple of times "How does this sand tray stuff WORK?!" and she gave me the classic squiggly eyebrow look. Heh. Well actually I did come to figure out one way in which it works - several times I'd just be talking away to myself while making my little world and I'm sure she picked up some good stuff from those little interludes. I think I'm going to go play in the sand now.

I just read over this whole thread and....well, I guess I skimmed it....but I was trying to find the point of this therapy? Not trying to belittle anyone (I promise, I sometimes am just dense I think)...is it just to relax? (And what about the miniatures?)
I guess I am like a few others and hate the feel of sand/wet sand (although I love water), plus I have 3 cats and all I can think about is...that.
And finger painting and clay and paper mache?? It sounds like everything I was bad at in summer camp coming back to haunt me...

hi tractionbeam0610 to me i guess the point of doing sand tray therapy is that it's a safe space to create an outer representation of your inner world at that moment, you don't have to talk, it can be really grounding putting your hands in the sand, 'playing in the sand' is less stress-inducing than sitting on a couch trying to talk about yourself, it's fun, etc. One of my favorite Jung quotes relates to sand play: "Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain."

That makes sense...kind of what I thought.

I also just remembered this huge sandbox I had in my backyard as a kid...it was made of green wood. (I don't remember alot of my childhood because it was pretty bad.) So just remembering that now, ****. Maybe that was why it made me have such strong feelings of...something when I was reading this thread...think I'll be skipping the sand, but at least I have a memory of something.

Anyway, thanks for the response.