Jungian Sandplay Therapy

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Sandplay therapy is a creative, non-verbal and symbolic mode of psychotherapy that utilises a sandtray and an array of miniature figures to express a person’s inner world—their thoughts, feelings, struggles and concerns. Two sandtrays are provided, one contains dry sand, the other wet sand. You are invited to create an image in the sand by choosing from the collection of miniatures while the therapist observes in silence. Afterwards, a brief discussion can take place if you prefer or the image can be held in silence if that is preferred.

Jungian sandplay therapy has its roots in the work of Margaret Lowenfeld, a British paediatrician who worked in the 1920s. Later, a Swiss woman, Dora Kalff, who had been working with CG Jung in the 1950s availed of an opportunity to study with Lowenfeld, and as a result of their collaboration, Kalff was able to layer the insights of Jung’s Depth psychology onto the innovative groundwork of Lowenfeld. Dora Kalff’s approach continued to develop as she explored Tibetan Buddhism, particularly its understanding of the power of silence, and its capacity to heal pre-verbal and developmental trauma through accessing deeper layers of the psyche.

What is it about Jungian sandplay therapy that makes it unique? Well, first of all—‘not’ talking sometimes helps—we’ve all had the experience of the limitation of words when trying to express ourselves! Working symbolically in the sand using the miniatures has a calming, soothing affect that mobilises unconscious energy that is blocked or out of balance. Sandplay offers you a chance to create a three-dimensional image of your emotional world in the silent presence of the therapist. Over a period of sessions, you will co-create with the guidance of your deeper ‘Self’, a pictorial inner worldview of birth and renewal, loss and gain, struggle and freedom—all of the universal ingredients that inspired the founder of the British and Irish Sandplay Society, Joel Ryce-Menuhin, to christen Jungian sandplay—the Wonderful Therapy.

Sandplay therapy is particularly suited to people who feel drawn to creative work and who feel comfortable working with symbols and dreams. Used in conjunction with hypnotherapy, it is unsurpassed in addressing trauma and long-standing issues that have resisted traditional ‘talk’ therapy. Issues of identity, belonging, existential/mid-life crises, unfulfilled potential, grief, abandonment and loss are gently and effectively worked through in the sand.