Sandtray Therapy
Sandtray treatments are an significant type of psychiatric therapy by which clients use miniature figures to produce scenes within the sand. Most sandtray therapists make use of a tray that’s 30 x 20 x 3 inches having a blue floor and blue sides. The benefit of sandtray over traditional talk treatments are customers are permitted to produce metaphors, which permit them to express feelings symbolically instead of verbally. Sandtray therapy is a kind of play therapy (Flahive and Ray, 2007) and like play therapy affords clients a task-based mode of expression. Homeyer and Sweeney (1998) noted that sandtray supplies a safe mental distance for clients. This distance can be quite advantageous to traumatized or bereaved clients who may avoid direct verbal expressions of painful feelings.
Like great shape of psychiatric therapy, there are many theoretical methods to sandtray therapy, but in the following paragraphs, 3 approaches is going to be pointed out: Jungian and humanistic sandtray therapy. Most Jungian therapists really call sandtray therapy “sandplay therapy.” Many Jungian therapists think that that it’s unnecessary for clients to go over their scenes once they create them. Quite simply, these therapists think that developing a sandplay scene is by itself an entire experience. I’d agree the actual development of sandtray scenes is extremely therapeutic but disagree that it’s sufficient for growth and alter.
In humanistic sandtray therapy, the creation phase of sandtray therapy sets a tone for exploration and discovery as clients consider the miniatures and discover connections for them. It’s my job to ask clients to, “Produce a scene of the existence the actual way it has become.” Some clients go missing while organizing the miniatures just how they would like them. When the creation phase is really a significant experience for clients, if they’re seeing and considering facets of their lives they normally don’t concentrate on, then your processing phase-speaking concerning the scene and experiencing it-has started internally. Relocating to the verbal processing phase is a lot more natural when clients allow themselves to see the creation phase.
Although it is normal for humanistic sandtray therapists to start the processing phase by saying, “Let me know regarding your scene,” the customer might be experiencing feelings as she creates her scene. When the client is experiencing a feeling after allowing the sandtray scene, I would start the processing phase of therapy by saying, “It appears as though you are feeling something. What exactly is it love creating this scene?” Within the humanistic method of sandtray processing, the main focus is on the here-and-now search for feelings. In this phase of sandtray therapy, my primary goal using the client would be to facilitate a procedure of exploration, expression, awareness and discovery.
Theory of Change
All humanistic therapies focus mainly on the caliber of the therapeutic relationship. Humanistic sandtray treatments are based on an in-depth and accepting therapeutic relationship and a technique for sandtray processing that concentrates on here-and-now experiencing. Humanistic sandtray theory emphasizes the function of awareness in mental growth and alter. I change not if you attempt to become something apart from who I’m but instead I change when you are fully conscious of the way i am (Carson, 2003). This theory of change has lots of implications but let us concentrate on a couple of them: self-acceptance and self-awareness. Basically don’t have to be something I’m not, I’m able to accept myself. Quite simply, this theory promotes self-acceptance. Basically honestly think that deep lower within the core of my being that i’m acceptable and okay-and lots of people don’t believe this-then being more conscious of myself is a great factor. However, if I have faith that the actual use is unacceptable, knowing myself isn’t a good factor. Actually, if I have faith that who I truly am is unacceptable, it might seem sensible to prevent knowing myself.
Given the significance of awareness within this theory of change, it is important for humanistic therapists to become highly trained in facilitating client awareness. By concentrating on in-the-moment experiencing, therapists create an atmosphere by which clients focus on the way they are and what they’re feeling. Unlike Jungian sandplay, emphasis is positioned upon awareness instead of insight.
