Theoretical Understanding of the Sandplay Process

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Relational sandplay therapy embraces all of these Kalffian theoretical principles:

Unconscious processes are expressed in concrete, visible form.

“Energies in the form of ‘living symbols’ are touched upon in the personal and collective unconscious, and healing then happens spontaneously at the unconscious level” (Lauren Cunningham, 2004).

Contact with archetypal energies results in a change in relationship between inner and outer worlds. There is then a return to a more integrated state.

The Jungian individuation process leading to Wholeness is visible in sandplay.

Neumann’s stages of development are foundational.

The freeing up of blocked psychic energy may be visible in the tray.

Sandplay facilitates a regression to the mother-infant unity and healing on the matriarchal level of consciousness.

The recovery of the Feminine is profoundly healing.

Play is the mediator between conscious and unconscious and the avenue to the expression of preverbal material.

Healing is implicit in the union of opposites and the transcendent function.

The constellation/manifestation of the Self, “this inner order, this pattern of wholeness” (Kalff, 2005, p.6) is the most important moment in development of the personality and in healing.

The relativization of the ego to the Self is crucial.

The clinician holds a developmental perspective of any given series of trays (Rogers & Mitchell, 1994).

The transference may be recognizable in the sandplay itself.

This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in The Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume XVI, Number 2, 2007: But is it Kalffian? by Linda Cunningham

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Please visit www.SandplayTrainingWorldwide.com for full current information and to register for training.

Thank you for visiting Relational Sandplay Therapy. 

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The Clinical Attitude in Sandplay

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Relational sandplay therapy embraces all of these Kalffian principles:

Provision of the free and protected space.

Loving maternal holding of the temenos.

Receptive openness to the patient and to the unconscious as it emerges.

Allowing the emergence of the material in its own time and in its own way, without interference with the creative process.

A belief that the psyche, given the right conditions, is self-healing.

A focus on the archetypal meaning of symbols within the personal context of the patient.

The importance of the therapist’s understanding of the symbol, the patient and the patient’s flow of symbolic images in the sand.

A living connection to the Sacred.

Deep empathic connection with the client.

Emphasis on the positive transference as indicative of an intact free and protected space.

Emphasis on the nonverbal, symbolic work in the sand, and an understanding that it is    the experience itself which heals.

This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in The Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume XVI, Number 2, 2007: But is it Kalffian? by Linda Cunningham

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Please visit www.SandplayTrainingWorldwide.com for full current information and to register for training.

Thank you for visiting Relational Sandplay Therapy. 

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What is Sandplay Therapy?

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Sandplay is a powerful depth psychotherapy method for accessing and giving concrete form to  unconscious patterns and energies while simultaneously promoting healing. Through work in the sand, clients dissolve blocks to psychological growth, unearth and resolve trauma, integrate shadow and move forward on their own unique path of individuation.

Children are immediately drawn to sandplay. By playing in sand and water and using figures that play through and heal their traumas, without ever putting words to these experiences, without even needing to understand them consciously. Play is the language of childhood. Sandplay invites spontaneous and “serious” play.

represent every aspect of the world, they are able to

Adults, too, may find sandplay quite helpful in healing from early relational trauma, or moving forward on the path of individuation. Sandplay with adults is usually done within the context of an ongoing verbal therapy or analysis. In this way, two levels of healing and individuation occur simultaneously:   the more conscious verbal dialog between therapist and client invites affect and insight, and the process of working in the sand heals on an unconscious maternal, preverbal, somatic level.

Sandplay work includes the use of a sandtray, sized 28½ x 19½ x 3 inches (72.5 x 49.5 x 7.5 cm). It is painted blue on the inside, and half filled with sand. Water may be added as the sandplayer wishes. Shelves of figures—representing every aspect of the world—are nearby, waiting for the sandplayer to choose and place them in the sand.

For more information on sandplay, see www.sandplay.org, “About Sandplay.”

Relational Sandplay Therapy is an approach designed for the seasoned sandplay therapist. Before using this approach, clinicians should receive training in the basic principles of Jungian sandplay therapy.

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Please visit www.SandplayTrainingWorldwide.com for full current information and to register for training.

Thank you for visiting Relational Sandplay Therapy. 

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