Sandplay Therapy
Sandplay is a non-verbal and creative therapy, rooted in theories of C.G. Jung and founded by Dora Kalff. The making of sand images accesses a different side of ourselves and allows us to express and work through challenges and life issues from a different angle. Tactile quality of sandplay allows us to heal at the embodied level, helping with difficulties that have become "frozen in time". Dry and moist sand is available in the sandplay room along with water and a large number of miniature objects. Sand can be shaped or arranged in any desired way with or without the use of water and miniatures. Sandplay can be extremely beneficial to both adults and children.
Research into brain functioning and neurophysiology of trauma shows that people's memories and experiences can be held at a deep non-verbal level that is not easily accessed by words. Talking speaks to the rational and logical aspects in our lives, and yet it is often non-rational aspects that could be a source of strength and resolution of the difficult parts of our lives. And, we are so much more than words.
Using symbolic material can facilitate a more effective way to process our experiences when it is difficult to find the right words to express what we need. Sandplay's spontaneous and creative engagement provides an opportunity to reconnect with life energy and untapped psychological resources available to us through the use of our unconscious. Connecting with the unconscious through symbolic expression promotes more appropriate conscious choices, healthier decision-making, growth and needed change. Creative and flowing activity in the sand tray allows one to reconnect to the playful parts of ourselves where our capacity to imagine and create remain intact.
My interest in the profound healing capacity of sandplay culminated in full membership in the British and Irish Sandplay Society (BISS), which is a member of International Society for Sandplay Therapy. I am a Teaching Member of BISS/ISST, the highest level of membership. My work has been published in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy in 2012 and 2014. This level of expertise allows me to teach and supervise other therapists and trainees to the high standards of ISST, the original sandplay organisation founded by Dora Kalff. I am also qualified to provide an experience of a sandplay process to individuals interested to train as a sandplay therapist with BISS. Finallly, I served as a Chair of BISS from 2014 to 2017 and represented the UK at the Board of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy. Internationally I am also involved in working with sandplay in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia and I taught and presented in Romania and Israel.