Sandtray therapy

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Homeyer, Sweeney

What it is

Sandtray therapy is a theory-integrative way of working: the client (child, teen, adult, couple, family or group) builds a scene with miniature figures in a tray of sand, and the therapist witnesses, explores and processes it through their own primary clinical theory. It is a set of procedures used…

Format

• Two levels. Sandtray has (a) a fixed session-level protocol and (b) a course-level arc that depends on the therapist's primary theory. The sources give no standard session count or treatment length for sandtray as such.
• (b) Course-level arc: example from Adlerian play therapy. Kottman places sandtray within the four Adlerian phases: building an egalitarian relationship → exploring lifestyle → gaining insight → reorienting and re-educating. Each phase uses different tray types (section 4.11). Move on when the…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• (a) Session-level protocol (Homeyer & Sweeney six steps). The publisher's description lists setting up the room, creating and processing the tray, cleaning up and documenting. In the 4th edition the protocol has its own chapter (ch. 5, "Protocol for a Sandtray Therapy Session"), followed by a chapter on processing (ch. 6); appendices give possible sandtray prompts, session notes and other forms, and a sand tray…
• Scope and cross-references: this guide covers the eclectic, theory-integrative "sandtray therapy" tradition. For Lowenfeld's original method see 151 World Technique. For De Domenico's method see 153 Sandtray-worldplay. For Kalff's Jungian method (a distinct training route with its own symbol-interpretive framework) see 154 Sandplay (Kalff). Do not mix those methods' interpretive claims into this one.
• Professional frame: "sandtray therapist" is not a regulated profession or protected title in itself. The method is used by licensed or registered mental health professionals (counsellors, psychologists, social workers, play therapists, arts therapists) within their own scope. Credentials: the IPT-CST (Certification in Sandtray Therapy) from the Institute for Play Therapy at Texas State University (three modules,…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• parents seeking a "reading" of the child's tray (see 5.8).
• add-ons that turn into therapist-led stories. Keep them as invitations.
• changes made to please you. A new view from another side can itself open discussion.
• a child who seems to agree only to please the adult. Check assent again at each tray.
• distress at dismantling (in a child, "Don't wreck it!"). Reassure them about the photo, and choose option (b).

Problems the guide addresses

• Client declines or cannot start a tray
• Stuck or repetitive trays
• Overwhelm, flooding or dissociation
• Destructive play, throwing sand or breaking figures
• Mouthing, eating sand, choking risk and allergies
• People-pleasing and therapist-led trays
• Disclosure of abuse or risk during or after a tray
• Parent-related difficulties
• Non-attendance and breaks in treatment
• Cultural, religious and sensory issues with materials

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.