Sandtray Therapy is an essential book for professionals and students interested in incorporating this unique modality into work with clients of all ages. The third edition includes information on integrating neurological aspects of trauma and sandtray, updates per the DSM-5, and a new chapter on normative studies of the use of sandtray across the lifespan. As in previous editions, readers will find that the book is replete with handouts, images, examples, and resources for use in and out of the classroom. The authors’ six-step protocol guides beginners through a typical session, including room setup, creation and processing of the sandtray, cleanup, post-session documentation, and much more.
Sandtray Therapy is an essential book for professionals and students interested in incorporating this unique modality into work with clients of all ages. The third edition includes information on integrating neurological aspects of trauma and sandtray, updates per the DSM-5, and a new chapter on normative studies of the use of sandtray across the lifespan. As in previous editions, readers will find that the book is replete with handouts, images, examples, and resources for use in and out of the classroom. The authors’ six-step protocol guides beginners through a typical session, including room setup, creation and processing of the sandtray, cleanup, post-session documentation, and much more.
Advanced Sandtray Therapy deepens mental health professionals’ abilities to understand and apply sandtray therapy. Chapters show readers how to integrate clinical theory with sand work, resulting in more focused therapeutic work. Using practical basics as building blocks, the book takes a more detailed look at the ins and outs of work with attachment and trauma, showing therapists how to work through the sequence of treatment while also taking into account clients’ trauma experiences and attachment issues. This text is a vital guide for any clinician interested in adding sandtray therapy to their existing work with clients as well as students in graduate programs for the mental health professions.
Sandtray refers to psychotherapies that use sand, water, and miniatures. In this versatile and multisensory process clients create a three-dimensional “world” in a tray of sand. In doing so, a person can uncover and access the image or implicit thinking portion of his or her mind that lies out of the reach of everyday consciousness. In such a play encounter individuals can discover deeply held beliefs and/or resources. The right hemisphere of the brain is where implicit images reside and is the primary recorder of traumatic events. The stories in this book demonstrate that Sandtray provides a means to access this right-brain function for accomplishing successful trauma treatment. Theories of play-research pioneer Margaret Lowenfeld and concepts from the field of interpersonal neurobiology are illustrated by stories of real people—from three-year-old Jada to 83-year-old Mary. Instructive techniques are provided for both verbal and nonverbal therapeutic interventions. The author presents a framework of Sandtray “aspects” to view play and Sandtray session interactions. In this reader-friendly, story-driven book, the student or novice therapist will find information to initiate the use of Sandtray methods, while the experienced psychotherapist will be able to integrate and apply these techniques with ease. Sandtray: Playing to Heal, Recover, and Grow invites mental health professionals to read this book to improve the integration of physical, intellectual, and emotional experiences of their clients. The Sandtray approach promotes a more coherent sense of self and greater mindfulness in daily life.
Humanistic Sandtray Therapy: The Definitive Guide to Philosophy, Therapeutic Conditions, and the Real Relationship provides a comprehensive exploration of the underlying theory, necessary skills, and practical applications behind Humanistic Sandtray Therapy (HST) based on a person-centered gestalt model. This book takes a deep dive into a philosophically based system of sandtray therapy in which all elements of the HST approach are provided in great detail, from the nuts and bolts of creating a sandtray and structuring the experience based on client culture and counseling setting, to process-oriented issues. Written with a genuine human touch, invaluable materials such as an HST treatment manual and a weblink to videos of HST sessions with real clients are included to assist academics and researchers in designing HST treatment outcome studies.
The Embodied Brain and Sandtray Therapy invites readers to absorb the magic and mystery of sandtray therapy through a collection of stories. Woven throughout these pages is the neurobiological foundation for the healing and transformation that takes place during deep encounters with sand, water, and symbolic images. Such scientific grounding provides the basis for clinicians to understand how sandtray therapy supports their healing work. In addition to client stories, the authors have also bravely shared their personal experiences, both challenging and rewarding, of being sandtray therapists. Clinicians who are considering becoming sandtray therapists are given an inside peek into the learning journey and its many benefits. Those who are already practicing sandtray therapy will find this book both supportive and affirming.
This is a manual for training teachers in the Sandtray Play in Education method. It introduces a holistic approach to childhood education that returns the child's natural medium of creative play to the learning environment. Sadly, most approaches to contemporary childhood education are not successful in teaching children the riches of language and numbers and the capacities to think, inquire and create. We are failing our children by not designing educational curricula that is appropriate to the learning styles of children.
Comprehensive in nature, this book provides the foundation for both novice and experienced professionals to perform sandplay therapy effectively with adults, children, and couples. Sandplay utilizes a small tray of wet or dry sand, in which clients create scenes using miniature objects--a nonverbal communication of their internal and external worlds. For therapists interested in exploring the ways that sandplay facilitates growth and healing and in expanding their reservoir of therapeutic tools by incorporating sandplay into their practices, this practical handbook will be an invaluable resource. After presenting the history and benefits of sandplay, the authors describe how to create a sandplay therapy room, including choosing sand containers, finding evocative objects, and displaying objects appropriately. They provide detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to conduct spontaneous and directed sandplay therapy sessions with individuals, couples, children, and families. Various ways of recording the creation of a sand world are described, so that both the process and the product will be saved even after the sand tray is dismantled.Not only does the book establish the foundation for incorporating sandplay into the reader's current psychotherapeutic practice, but it will also stimulate the creative process of the professional. Like the client who sees internal and interpersonal dynamics and dilemmas pictured in the sand, the therapist will find that this powerful experiential tool reveals insights, information, and avenues to explore. The authors illustrate the process with numerous sandplay experiences with clients. They also discuss clients for whom sandplay is contraindicated and some problems that might arise. To encourage the growth of the therapist, they include instructions on personal sandplay work.
Sandtray Applications to Trauma Therapy presents the theory behind and the practicalities of using sandtray therapy in treatment with traumatized patients, both children and adults. The book begins with a review of the most frequently asked questions that professionals ask themselves when using the sandtray. It then details the Barudy and Dantagnan model of trauma therapy to understand and integrate sandtray therapy with patients who have suffered trauma. Chapters describe the importance of neuroaffective communication, directive and non-directive working methodologies, and how to use the technique in regulation, empowerment, and resilient integration of trauma. A featured chapter by the second author, Dr. Raffael Benito, presents the neurobiology behind sandtray therapy, outlining step by step what happens in the brain of a patient during a sandtray session. Transcripts of clinical cases, sandtray images, and true client stories are integrated throughout. This practical volume will appeal to sandtray practitioners, trauma therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists working with patient experiences of abandonment, mistreatment, or sexual abuse, among others.
The Embodied Brain and Sandtray Therapy invites readers to absorb the magic and mystery of sandtray therapy through a collection of stories. Woven throughout these pages is the neurobiological foundation for the healing and transformation that takes place during deep encounters with sand, water, and symbolic images. Such scientific grounding provides the basis for clinicians to understand how sandtray therapy supports their healing work. In addition to client stories, the authors have also bravely shared their personal experiences, both challenging and rewarding, of being sandtray therapists. Clinicians who are considering becoming sandtray therapists are given an inside peek into the learning journey and its many benefits. Those who are already practicing sandtray therapy will find this book both supportive and affirming.
