[SoupDragon]

Has anyone done this with their T? What does it involve? Was it helpful?

[stopdog]

I believe Artemis has and possible CantExplain.

[HealingTimes]

Hiya SD,

I have done sanndtray therapy with my T. I found it easy to 'say' what I wanted to, without having to use the words.
My T had a big sandtray and loads of items to place in there, literally drawers full of figures, objects etc to use. I just chose what I want to use and arrange them how I want to in the sandtray.

I hope that helps a bit.

[Leah123]

I used it as a representation of my inner life, my emotional landscape, and a method of attuning with my subconscious. I felt very revealed and vulnerable doing that work in front of my therapist. She had a large tray, about.... perhaps 3x6 ft? and dozens of items, from children's my little pony figures, to ceramics, to little abstract blocks and such. I used them all to sort of... draw myself symbolically. It was very powerful work for me, like art, but without as much pressure to be skilled at it.

If I did it now, I'd probably find it helpful. At the time, many years ago, my emotions were so.... pent up and volatile, it was tough seeing them all out on the table, hard to take it in and not dissociate.

[Willowleaf]

I trained in using sand trays with children and so had to do it myself. To begin with I found it wierd, but after a while I was able to use it to work through stuff and be interested in the symbols I always choose and what they mean to me versus the global meaning.
I'd give it a go, but you may need to try it a few times to get used to it. Some therapists will then go through the tray with you and others won't unless you want to. It can be really good especially if you find talking hard.

[Fuzzybear]

[Salmon77]

Okay, what is this thing? What are you supposed to do with it? My therapist has one in the corner of his office but I haven't asked about it. I'd sort of assumed it was for patients who had to bring a toddler with them or something.

[Willowleaf]

Nope, it's for everyone. Basically there will be loads of miniatures of just about everything from people to houses, trees to sculls, soldiers to vehicles and everything in between. Fantasy and real. You then use these to make worlds or pictures in the sand. You just relax and go with the flow and it is really fascinating when our subconscious takes over and what we make. Sometimes we are directed to make a tray about a certain aspect of life other times just left to do what we want. It's really worth a try.

[emptyspace]

I did it as a child and found it a great way to reveal my feelings with little talk.

My current therapist has one and once I trust her, I will do it again. You basically spend the time placing objects (figures, buildings, animals, trees, etc) in the sand in various scenarios. Additionally, you might "play" with the sand, like moving it around to cover objects, or making rings around things, etc.

The therapist talks about what is being created and you either respond or keep going. No pressure as the therapist tries to interpret or understand.

I found it very powerful.

[IndestructibleGirl]

This sand tray stuff sounds amazing. Does the therapist guide it or talk at all, or is it quite silent when you are building the world in the tray?

[Leah123]

When I built, she was mostly silent. I went in with a theme, such as to create a representation of my emotional self and then, once finished, I explained some of the symbolism to her.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I believe Artemis has and possible CantExplain.

I did a Small Figures Exercise, which is very much the same thing.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...ise-photo.html

Originally Posted by stopdog

I believe Artemis has and possible CantExplain.

Yes! I did sandplay with my T, numerous times, and love it. It is amazing to me... the first time my T suggested I try it, I stood there looking at the sand feeling like an idiot, and I told her so. She just smiled. Finally I started swirling my fingers in the sand still feeling very self-conscious. However by the 2nd one I did, I started really getting into it - and by the 3rd one I was dancing like a happy lil girl between the shelves of figures and the sand tray, and did that every time after!

Like others have shared, you basically start with a box of sand my T had 2, one for dry and one that was waterproof so you could wet the sand, I always used the water one. She had shelves and shelves full of miniature figures of just everything... rocks, little trees, seashells, spiders/snakes, dinosaurs, cars, people from babies to adults, dogs/cats, fish, flowers, buildings, furniature, little mirrors, just pretty much anything you could imagine it was there in some form! And you just basically take what speaks to you and place things in the sand and arrange them however it feels right to you, I'd sometimes build a mountain from the wet sand, or I'd dig out a hole and fill it with water to make a little lake, one time I constructed a tunnel out of a toilet paper tube and brought that in to use (and haha she kept it there on the shelf for others to use too!) It seems to me like what I was doing was creating a little world that represented how I was feeling the day I made it, sort of a visual of my state of mind. I'll see if I can find any of the pics of mine that I saved. They can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be . And I found that your hands really can do a lot of talking FOR you when you don't feel like talking. My T would always sit off to the side and silently watch me work. And listen to ME too because I would sometimes say these seemingly off the cuff little remarks as I'd work in the sand and after a few times of doing that I realized she was learning a LOT by those little things I'd say without realizing I was doing it.

when T moved out of state and we started doing phone sessions I bought a plastic cat litter box, and put some cheap sandbox sand in it, and have been slowly collecting little figures ever since so I can still do sand trays at home. I miss her shelves full of miniatures almost as much as I miss her!

I'm going to go find a couple pics to share.

Here's one of my sand trays from last summer. This is one of the more complicated ones!

here's one more, i haven't looked at these pics in quite awhile, it's kinda cool looking at them again. I think I'm going to do another one this weekend.

[ThisWayOut]

Hmm, interesting. My t had asked if I wanted to use it once. I declined not really knowing what it was. Now I may ask her about it again.

[SoupDragon]

I'm swinging between excitement and terror. But l can understand why T has suggested it as l have no idea how to express myself verbally.

Does it bring up emotions 'in you? l have told T that l can deal with physical pain, but not Emotional pain and l think that is the scarey part. Actually that sentence has just been a light bulb moment, that l can't write in this thread without a trigger warning, but it is a useful insight for me.

[Jordy]

This sounds really interesting, I wish I could try it out some day and wonder what would come out. Especially as lately I barely talk in session, I just don't know what to say..

There were times that it brought up emotions in me yes.... one time in particular I just remembered, she had suggested doing a sand tray because I was having trouble talking about something and I blurted out "Don't let me near it I might dump the sand out on the floor and completely start from scratch!" She didn't even blink - she said "If that's what you need, we could probably find a big plastic bag to cover the floor and you could do that." I didn't, of course, but the scene I created in the sand that day was very powerful. I don't have pictures of any of the ones that I did in her office, I wish I did. I wonder if she still does, I know she took pictures of all of them.

One of my favorite Jung quotes: “Often the hands know how to solve a riddle with which the intellect has wrestled in vain.”

While most aspects of therapy have been helpful during my journey, I found art & play therapy to be the most helpful ... I wish the whole journey could be art & play therapy!

[Rohag]

I've never personally experienced sandplay, but it intrigues me as a therapeutic method that does not necessarily require the patient to talk/verbalize. I imagine it could be of special value for those who have difficulty speaking up in therapy.