"If play is the language, then the miniatures are the words.  Just as an empty canvas provides a place for artistic expression, so the tray provides a place for the client's emotional expression."

--Linda Homeyer, PhD & Daniel S Sweeney, PhD (1998)

History of Sandplay

Sandplay therapy goes back to 1911 when author H.G. Wells wrote Floor Games in which he described observing his sons playing with miniatures on the floor.  Wells realized that his sons were working out their problems in the play. In the 1920s,  Margaret Lowenfeld, a child psychiatrist was looking for a more profound method to help children express themselves. After recalling Wells' book, she added miniatures to the shelves of her office.  The first child to see the miniatures grabbed them from the shelf and placed them in the sand.  Lowenfeld would ask a child to create a world picture in the sand with the miniatures. This became known as "Lowenfeld World Technique" (1979).  Dora Kalff, a Swiss Jungian analyst saw the child's sand work as a process and developed sandplay therapy.

Why is sand so powerful?

Many cultures have utilized sand for ceremonies and rituals.  Tibetan Buddhist monks spend weeks creating the Kalachakra sand mandala, which is used for meditation and initiation into Tantric practices. Sandplay brings the unconscious and conscious minds together. These two minds are often in conflict, and sand is one of the few modalities that can bring resolution to these conflicts.

Who can benefit from sandtray work?

Sandplay is a valuable medium in working with children, families, couples and individuals. Emotional issues that are not verbalized are expressed in the sand. Through the creation of sandtrays, one can delve deeper into what is troubling them and facilitate change in the process. The sand provides a playful, non-threatening environment to bring about connections and self-examination. Many adolescents are less open to talk therapies and are eager to participate in the empowering creation of a sand tray. It is important for adults and adolescents to recognize that their sandtray work will not be interpreted.  The therapist is only a guide to facilitate the process. Most people, especially children, delight in sandplay, as they are given the freedom to create and tell stories in a safe environment.

 Testimonials.......

"After years of talk therapy. I was still stuck.  After one sandtray experience, I had a new outlook on life."

"The creation of a couples sandtray was powerful for my husband and I.  I felt safe to let the minatures be my voice. . "

Center for Psychological Sevices:   phone: 610.642.4873 ext. 67.  E-mail : tammi@imagerythroughplay.com  & CPS Website: http://www.centerpsych.com/play.html