S A N D P L A Y

​Psychotherapy to Kindle the Soul

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Jungian Sandplay Therapy, much like dreamwork, is a powerful and safe tool for both adults and children to work through unconscious patterns or unresolved trauma. ​For adults, it  can provide a much needed break from restricting words and retold stories. It is an opportunity to process and heal past hurts in a safe, symbolic and creative way.


Because their brains are still developing and their cognitive ability to process feelings is not yet established, it is the perfect tool for children. Throughout childhood, most children struggle to effectively express and make sense of their feelings verbally. Sandplay offers them a child-friendly language to metabolize difficult feelings so that they may perform better academically, and manage emotions and relationships better.


Its non-directive, non-intrusive, and deeply attuned quality is what makes Sandplay so powerful as a therapeutic tool. The therapist takes the role of entrusted witness and carefully observes the sandplay process unfolding without interpreting or interfering. This approach allows the client's psyche to reveal itself at its own pace, creating its own powerful solutions to underlying problems.


The therapist's presence as observer is essential since most of our trauma is on due to a lack of empathic witnessing. It allows the client to relax and to feel held and seen in his or her previously unwitnessed struggles. This can be especially helpful if the conflict being addressed feels too activating or too unsafe for the client to talk about.   


J E A N N E   F O S S   S W A I N E,   M F A,   L M F T