I decided last night that what I needed most right now was to do a sand tray, so I got up this morning and did one. Thought I'd share for those who have expressed curiosity about sand play therapy. (Note the stuff I have to work with is a very poor selection compared to what my t has, but since she lives in Oregon now, what I put together for myself is all I've got to work with! LOL I'm slowly building my own collection.)

T always took pictures of ones I did in her office when she was still here in the same town as me. So I do the same with the ones I do at home, and I'm going to spend some time later today analyzing it and writing it up. I got good at that with her help!

My first thought even before I was done, is that I have a big choice to make - hence the big wall that was the first thing I did right down the middle.
Comments and thoughts are welcome.



Note: after seeing the picture on this post I'm feeling a little nekkid airing out my psyche for all to see. It's a lot harder to share this than it was to share a pic of myself. Weird.

Ooh I just figured out what something else must mean. The bottom left corner - the gems - the colorful dinosaurs just finished 'doing the work' of digging them up and uncovering the pretty and now they are heading over to the water and looking at the wall wondering if they want to go back to the 'dark side' now that they have completed their work. EEK. See how deep this sand play can be?! Am I thinking that since I'm done with t, now I can go back to the darkness? Oh my. I think I'm going to send a pic of this to t so we can talk about it on May 1. Perhaps I am not done with T afterall.

[BonnieJean]

Cool! Thanks for sharing. The interpretion is interesting.

[HealingTimes]

Hi Artemis- my T also does sandtray therapy, and i keep photos on my phone, to refer back to.
Its a really good idea to keep this photo and share it with your T

I find it really interesting that you can have enough insight into what parts of your sandtray means, well done

Originally Posted by HealingTimes

Hi Artemis- my T also does sandtray therapy, and i keep photos on my phone, to refer back to.
Its a really good idea to keep this photo and share it with your T

I find it really interesting that you can have enough insight into what parts of your sandtray means, well done

Thanks!! My t taught me well.....

[unaluna]

Oh that looks like fun!!!

[HealingTimes]

Originally Posted by artemis-within

Thanks!! My t taught me well.....

You're welcome
When my T first introduced me to sandtray therapy, i looked at her like she had grown 10 arms and 3 heads..i was extremely sceptical. And when i started doing it, i felt like a small child, playing in the sand.
But now i really enjoy it! Maybe it connects with that child part of me, i dont know, but my T has draws full of objects to use, and i love rooting through them

[tooski]

Fascinating! I wish my T did this.

Don't worry about feeling nekkid .... you're probably the only one who can really see what it all means. I certainly can't see into you just looking at this. It just makes me wish I could do it too. Sounds like it's been extremely useful for you ... you have great insight! Thanks for sharing

[QuietCat]

It looks like on one side is a sort of dull rocky land and on the other is a green land with life and clear marbles instead of rocks. Is your choice you have to make involved in that?

I'm just making random observations. You dont have to answer. I love artsy stuff and I would really like seeing a T who does sand play.

it is hankster, i used to skip like a little girl across t's office between the shelves and the sand tray getting objects to use. it always amazes me how fast they come together and how i don't feel like i'm thinking about them at all - i just let my hands do the thinking - and the results are always thought provoking.

Originally Posted by HealingTimes

You're welcome
When my T first introduced me to sandtray therapy, i looked at her like she had grown 10 arms and 3 heads..i was extremely sceptical. And when i started doing it, i felt like a small child, playing in the sand.
But now i really enjoy it! Maybe it connects with that child part of me, i dont know, but my T has draws full of objects to use, and i love rooting through them

heehee healing, i did the same thing the first time t suggested it. i stood there in front of the tray, repeating a litany of "i feel stupid" and "i don't know what to do" and "this is silly" until I realized she wasn't going to tell me what to do so I just stuck my hands in the sand and started playing with it. by the 3rd one I was totally into it. Sometimes it is way easier to 'talk' with your hands in the sand than it is with words.

[Syra]

Thanks so much for sharing. I took notes so I can set up my sand tray. I know you said you felt nekkid. I thought you looked like a very interesting person to know

[HealingTimes]

Originally Posted by artemis-within

heehee healing, i did the same thing the first time t suggested it. i stood there in front of the tray, repeating a litany of "i feel stupid" and "i don't know what to do" and "this is silly" until I realized she wasn't going to tell me what to do so I just stuck my hands in the sand and started playing with it. by the 3rd one I was totally into it. Sometimes it is way easier to 'talk' with your hands in the sand than it is with words.

Absolutely,i agree!
Can't wait to get back to the sandtray now

[skysblue]

Thanks for sharing. When my T first suggested I do sand tray I refused. I could see no advantage. It was way too mysterious for me and I knew I would get it 'wrong'. It felt like a test or I felt stupid that I didn't know what to do with the figurines.

Finally, finally I agreed last year and tried to do as T suggested which was not to think but to select figurines only when I felt a pull towards them. It was very scary. The first figurine I had selected was a dinosaur. I almost put it back on shelf because I thought it was a really dumb choice. Then I changed my mind and tried to trust that i wouldn't be making a fool of myself.

As it turned out, the sand tray exercise was astounding. It gave me some insights and gave my T some added information about me. After selecting the figurines, then arranging them on tray, T asked me to interpret. She took notes and took a photo to put in my file.

I've only done sand tray 3x but each time it has proved very valuable for my processing.

I enjoy seeing someone else's tray. Again, thanks for sharing.

[content30]

I haven't heard of this or seen it...none of the Ts I've seen do this. It seems kind of weird but fun at the same time. I'd be game to try it, though.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Artemis I am so amazed. the only sand trays I have ever seen are those small vanilla colored things people have in their offices, you know, the wood tray, the little rake, the sand, the pebbles all the same color, and I could never understand how anyone could read what someone else did with that. but yours!! colors! Dinosaurs! trees!! a big wall, a treasure... wow. thanks for sharing.

[Asiablue]

I felt a lot of sadness looking at the right side of that sandtray, with the single lonely little dinosaur all by itself.

[stopdog]

Thanks for showing what one looked like.

[~EnlightenMe~]

I like this! Just looking at the photo has started me thinking about the creative ways I could express how I feel by making something in the sand Thanks for sharing yours, I loved it!

Thanks for sharing, I wasn't sure how a sand tray might look/work.. I suppose it is a little like having a dream and then interpreting it, in a way? Looks interesting, and I wouldn't mind having a go, but it's not something my T does.

[Yoda]

Way cool!!!!!

[lifelesstraveled]

Originally Posted by artemis-within

I decided last night that what I needed most right now was to do a sand tray, so I got up this morning and did one. Thought I'd share for those who have expressed curiosity about sand play therapy. (Note the stuff I have to work with is a very poor selection compared to what my t has, but since she lives in Oregon now, what I put together for myself is all I've got to work with! LOL I'm slowly building my own collection.)

T always took pictures of ones I did in her office when she was still here in the same town as me. So I do the same with the ones I do at home, and I'm going to spend some time later today analyzing it and writing it up. I got good at that with her help!

My first thought even before I was done, is that I have a big choice to make - hence the big wall that was the first thing I did right down the middle.
Comments and thoughts are welcome.



Note: after seeing the picture on this post I'm feeling a little nekkid airing out my psyche for all to see. It's a lot harder to share this than it was to share a pic of myself. Weird.

Thanks for sharing!! This is so cool I've never done any sand tray stuff, but I love the idea of doing it at home...Do you find it helpful? Did you share the photo with your T?

Do I need "sand tray training" before I get one for myself :-)? I'd love to try this. Not that I have anyone to share the outcome of whatever the sand tray turns into, but whatever.

[Anne2.0]

I wrote you a little story about what I saw. I used “I” in the story to refer to you, not me. I imagined that it was my sandtray.

I see myself as having two parts, with a steep wall in between. This wall is not impenetrable and it is possible to move from one part to the other, and I find the journey to move from one side to the other is attractive and sparking with stones the color of the limitless sky.

In one part of myself, I have old and longstanding interests and work that I do. I am very productive in my work, having unearthed some beautiful stones that are all interconnected to each other. Some of the work that I have done is to build a bridge between the work that I have done and the work left to do. This side of myself is rich with life and growth, but I am now turning away from it, but perhaps not permanently. It has taken me some work to be able to walk away from it. I realize that I can always move closer or further away from what I have already done, and it can always be there for me.

In the other part of myself, it is more stark and less colorful, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it is without life—it just has greater potential. I have already done some work here to build a structure that is rounded and protected by a dry moat. This is the part of myself that I am trying to build up, to create some protection from interference, but not to disconnect from others or myself. This structure looks like a writing studio or another creative space where I can enhance my creative life.

[~EnlightenMe~]

I see that the yellow dinosaur on the more populated side knows that the black dinosaur is there. She is thinking about her and seems sad that she can't reach her, but wants to do so.

[H3rmit]

On the bottom right, I thought "Looks like she nailed something" and I wondered what it was, but seemed good to me.