Sandtray therapy

1. Introduction

Version followed: Homeyer & Sweeney, Sandtray Therapy: A Practical Manual (4th ed., Routledge, 2023) and its six-step session protocol, as summarised by the publisher and as worked through step by step in Kottman's (2023) Adlerian adaptation, plus the sand therapy competencies of Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone (2023). The step labels and wording below come from Kottman's published adaptation and the publisher's summary unless marked otherwise; they are not the manual's own step names. [uncertain: exact step names and wording in the manual]

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 inside a therapy, not a stand-alone school. The manual's chapters cover integrating sandtray with a range of approaches, group, couple and family work, and trauma. [source: Routledge product page, 4th ed.; Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies]

Core idea of change: the tray gives clients a concrete, three-dimensional, metaphorical space to show what they cannot easily say. Meaning belongs to the client, and change comes through the relationship, through processing within or beyond the metaphor, and through the client trying out new arrangements, solutions and skills in the tray. [source: Kottman 2023; synthesis of how the sources frame it]

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, consultations, six personal sandtrays, a clinical practicum and a capstone; 60–72 CEs in the 2019 and 2021 cohorts). The World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals (WASTP) is building practice standards and competencies, and proposes that they feed into credentialing. For play therapy with children, the US Association for Play Therapy (APT) credential is the RPT. One interviewee in an NBCC piece describes play therapy training as about two years with supervised practice, and says non-play-therapists may use play techniques only within their scope. In the UK, BAPT and PTUK register play therapists [uncertain: their registration requirements]. Do not use sandtray with trauma survivors or young children unless you are trained in sand therapy and in that population, and have supervision. [source: Texas State IPT certification page; Homeyer & Stone 2023; Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies; NBCC 2024]

2. Framework

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. [uncertain]

(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 assessment worksheet [source: Routledge product page]. Homeyer's current trainings list the "6-Step Protocol" as a learning objective but their public descriptions do not name the steps [source: UNT CPT seminar description; Texas State IPT seminars page]. Kottman (2023) works through a similar sequence in more detail (she calls them "7 'standard' steps" but lists eight), says it resembles the steps in Homeyer and Sweeney (2023) and Homeyer and Lyles (2022), and stresses it is a guideline, not a rule. The table uses Kottman's fuller sequence; the manual's own six step names are not reproduced here [uncertain]:

Step	Goal	Move on when
1. Prepare room and self	Tray, sand and figures ready in their usual, predictable places; therapist grounded and present	Room checked; you feel regulated
2. Introduce the tray	Invite a tray at the right level of direction (see 4.3)	Client starts choosing figures, or declines (see 5)
3. Creation	Client builds; therapist witnesses	Client signals the tray is finished
4. Experience and offer rearrangement	Client views the tray from all sides; optional changes	Client says it is as it should be
5. Tour	Client describes the world	Main elements named
6. Process, offer rearrangement again	Explore meaning, placement, process; within or beyond the metaphor	Natural close, or time
7. Document	Photograph and record	Done after or at session end
8. Dismantle	Clear the tray in a way agreed with the client	Figures returned; sand prepared for the next client

[source: Routledge product page; UNT CPT seminar description; Kottman 2023]. Steps 4–6 often loop, and dynamic trays (figures moved during narration) rarely run in order. [source: Kottman 2023]

(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 conceptualisation and treatment plan are formed from the lifestyle work (phase 2 → 3), and when insight is there and skills can be practised (3 → 4). [source: Kottman 2023]. Other theories (person-centred, CBT, narrative, family systems) will shape the arc differently; the manual has a chapter on integration [uncertain: its content].

Formats. Individual (all ages), group, couples and families. [source: Routledge contents]. Consultation trays with parents and teachers alongside child work. [source: Kottman 2023]. Session length is set by the host therapy. Allow time for steps 4–6 and for dismantling. [synthesis]

With children. Before the first tray: written consent from those with parental responsibility, the child's own assent in age-appropriate words, an agreed plan for how parents will be involved and what feedback they will get, explained limits of confidentiality (including mandatory reporting, whose duties vary by jurisdiction), and consent for photographing trays. [source: NBCC 2024 on consent and assent; synthesis for the rest]

3. Guiding principles

The client owns the meaning. There are no one-to-one symbol meanings: ask, don't decode. [source: Kottman 2023]
Therapist as witness. Be grounded, regulated and present while the tray is built. Your attention is the main intervention during creation. [source: Kottman 2023]
Match the client's energy. Talk if they talk. If they are silent, join the silence. When they speak, track, restate and metacommunicate, with few questions. [source: Kottman 2023]
Invitations, not mandates. Therapist-created trays and suggestions "should always be invitations, not mandates or pronouncements" (Kottman 2023). Don't get attached to the client agreeing.
No pressure to change the tray. Offer rearrangement as an opportunity, not a criticism. [source: Kottman 2023]
Don't touch the tray uninvited. Point without touching when you draw attention to a figure. [source: Kottman 2023]
Follow the client in and out of metaphor. Stay in the story if they prefer. Go to real-life links only when they do. [source: Kottman 2023]
Predictability of the collection. Keep figures in consistent places so clients can find them and feel safe. [source: Kottman 2023]
Theory-led processing. Process through your primary clinical theory, and use intentional questioning rather than a flood of questions. [source: Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies; UNT seminar description]
Respect limits and contraindications. Know what sand therapy cannot do and where it should not be used. [source: Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies]
Cultural humility. Check the collection for diverse figures, and ask about cultural meanings rather than assuming them. [source: competencies (cultural inclusion and humility); Kottman culture trays; synthesis for the collection check]
Respect the power of the work. The competencies treat sand therapy as powerful: pace it, and keep up your own sand work, supervision and training. [source: Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies]
Never evidence of abuse. A tray is a projective, clinical communication, not proof of what happened (see 4.14 and 5). [source: Tornero & Capella 2017; Ayres 2016; synthesis]
Touch boundaries. Physical contact with a child happens only with documented rationale and consent, and the child's permission always comes first with trauma survivors. Sexual contact is absolutely prohibited. [source: APT Paper on Touch 2019]

4. Intervention inventory

Numbering follows the session protocol first (4.1–4.10), then course-level and special-format uses (4.11–4.15).

4.1 Materials, room set-up and hygiene (protocol step 1)

Purpose: a safe, predictable, clean space and collection, ready before every session.
Steps:
1. Tray: the sources set no rigid rules on tray shape, size or material. [source: Kottman 2023]. A smooth, non-absorbent tray with rounded corners is easier to clean. [source: Simcoe Muskoka sensory-table guidance]. Common practice uses a blue base so digging shows "water" or "sky" [synthesis] [uncertain: secondary, unverified].
2. Sand: washed and graded silica play sand. Its hazards are dust inhalation and eye irritation. First aid: wash skin with soap and water, rinse eyes for 10 minutes, move to fresh air. [source: BAPT Health & Safety Policy 2025]. Pre-packaged play sand is recommended over sand of unknown origin. [source: Simcoe Muskoka]
3. Sand care: sieve after sessions as needed. Clean trays regularly. BAPT advises emptying, cleaning and refilling about three times a year and replacing sand at least annually. A public-health childcare guideline for shared sensory tables is stricter (monthly replacement). Choose a schedule that fits your caseload and how many clients share each tray. Damp down spills before sweeping or vacuuming. [source: BAPT 2025; Simcoe Muskoka]
4. Wet sand: damp sand supports microbial growth. The childcare guidance says to discard wet sand. If you offer a wet tray, keep it separate, let it dry fully or replace it, and never store it damp. [source: Simcoe Muskoka; synthesis for the clinical adaptation]
5. Figures: a broad, categorised, curated collection (people, animals, buildings, vehicles, nature, fantasy, spiritual, household items, barriers), shown in predictable places. Include culturally diverse figures and evocative ones (superheroes, video-game, film and TV characters). [source: Kottman 2023; Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies (categories); Routledge contents (curated collection chapter)]
6. Toy safety: use toys that meet toy-safety standards (in the UK: Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, UKCA/CE, ideally Lion Mark). Check equipment before each session and remove broken items at once. Store dry. [source: BAPT 2025]
7. Small objects and choking: for children who still mouth objects (young children, some developmental disabilities), set out a reduced collection with no small parts, marbles, beads, magnets, button batteries or sharp or breakable items (glass, ceramic, metal points), and supervise closely. [synthesis: BAPT does not specifically address choking]
8. Cleaning figures: wipe or sanitise toys before and after sessions. Remove mouthed figures for thorough cleaning. Double-bag anything contaminated with body fluids. Keep cleaning proportionate, following standard infection-control precautions. [source: BAPT 2025]
9. Hand hygiene, food and illness: ask clients to wash or sanitise hands before and after, and to avoid hand-to-mouth contact. Keep food and drink away from the sand. A child with a runny nose or cough uses an individual tray until well. [source: BAPT 2025; Simcoe Muskoka]
10. Allergies and sensitivities: screen at intake for sand and dust sensitivity, latex, or food-based materials (e.g. dough figures). Agree any snacks with parents in advance. [source: BAPT 2025 (sand sensitivity screening, snacks); synthesis for latex and dough]
11. Prepare yourself: check the figures are in their usual places and take a moment to ground yourself. [source: Kottman 2023]
Example language (illustrative): at intake with a parent: "Is your child allergic to anything, including dust or latex? Do they still put things in their mouth?"
Watch for: missing or broken figures, damp or clumped sand, dust, and figures left buried from the last client. It is working when the client can find what they need without help and the space feels the same each week.

4.2 Consent, assent and photography agreement (before the first tray)

Purpose: lawful, ethical and transparent work, especially with minors.
Steps:
1. Get informed consent from those with parental responsibility, and assent from the child. [source: NBCC 2024]
2. Explain in plain words what sandtray is, that there are no right answers, that you will not "read" the child's mind from the tray, and what parents will and will not be told. [synthesis]
3. Explain confidentiality and its limits: risk of harm, safeguarding and mandatory reporting. Duties differ by country, state and profession, so check yours. [source: NBCC 2024 (mandated reporting applies); synthesis]
4. Get separate consent for photographing trays: who keeps the photos, where, for how long, and whether they could be shown in supervision. Never photograph the client's face. [source: competencies on informed consent; synthesis for the specifics]
5. Agree touch boundaries in writing if any touch might occur (see 4.15). [source: APT Paper on Touch 2019]
Example language (illustrative, to a 7-year-old): "In here you can make a world in the sand with any of these. You can say yes or no to making one. What you make stays private, except if I'm worried someone is getting hurt. Then I'd need to tell someone who can help."
Watch for: a child who seems to agree only to please the adult. Check assent again at each tray. [synthesis]

4.3 Introducing the tray: choosing the level of direction (protocol step 2)

Purpose: match how much you direct the work to the client and the stage of therapy.
Types (Kottman 2023):
- Spontaneous: the client starts a tray unprompted. Follow their lead.
- Non-directed: a minimal invitation, e.g. "Would you like to make a tray?" or "Pick whatever you want to put in the tray." (Kottman 2023)
- Semi-directed: choose figures that attract and/or repel you, or a "My World" tray. For young children use simpler words ("cool" and "gross or yucky"). [source: Kottman 2023]
- Directed: a set topic (e.g. things you are good at, school, a problem with someone). Offer a few options. The client still chooses the figures and where they go.
- Quasi-directed (teens and adults): client and therapist form an abstract question together. The client then chooses figures without thinking about the question, and the therapist brings the question back afterwards to explore the tray.
- Therapist-created: you build a tray to target an insight or skill, offered strictly as an invitation.
- Co-created: you and the client build together, at either's suggestion.
Static vs dynamic: static trays are placed and then discussed. In dynamic trays the client moves figures while narrating. [source: Kottman 2023]
Steps: (1) choose a type from the client's age, stage and goal. (2) Give one short prompt. (3) Show the shelves and tray. (4) Say there is no time pressure and no right way. (5) Step back. [steps 3–5 synthesis]. The manual has an appendix of possible prompts [source: Routledge contents] [uncertain: its content is not reproduced here].
Example language (illustrative): "Take a look at the shelves and pick the ones that grab you, whether you like them or not. Then put them in the sand however you want."
Watch for: freezing at a wide-open prompt (move to semi-directed) or over-compliance with a directed one (loosen the direction). It is working when the client starts choosing with some absorption.

4.4 Witnessing the creation (protocol step 3)

Purpose: hold the space while the client builds.
Steps: sit at a respectful distance where you can see the tray. Match the client's energy: if they talk, respond. If they are silent, stay silent. When they speak, track, restate and metacommunicate, and ask few questions. Note silently the order figures were chosen, hesitations, figures put back, and use of the sand itself (burying, digging, smoothing). [source: Kottman 2023; noting process from Tornero & Capella 2017 categories; positioning is synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "You're taking your time with that one." "You're not sure where it goes yet."
Watch for: your own urge to interpret or hurry. Heightened arousal in the client (see 5.3). It is working when the client is absorbed and unselfconscious.

4.5 Experiencing the tray and first rearrangement offer (protocol step 4)

Purpose: let the client take in the whole world and refine it.
Steps: invite the client to walk around the tray, or turn it, to see it from every side. Then ask if they want to add, take out or move anything. For people-pleasers use a normalising frame ("Sometimes at this point, people decide they want to add something…"). Make clear this is an opportunity, not a criticism, and that no change is expected. [source: Kottman 2023, short quote verbatim]
Example language (illustrative): "Have a look from over here too. Is it the way you want it, or is there anything you'd like to add, take out or move?"
Watch for: changes made to please you. A new view from another side can itself open discussion.

4.6 The tour (protocol step 5)

Purpose: the client describes their world in their own words.
Steps: invite a tour, e.g. "Give me a tour of your tray" or "Tell me what's in here…" (Kottman 2023). Use the client's names for figures, not your own ("the big one", not "the dragon"). [first half source; naming rule synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Show me around. Where should we start?"
Watch for: figures skipped in the tour (note them, and perhaps return to them in processing). It is working when the client elaborates without prompting.

4.7 Processing (protocol step 6)

Purpose: deepen meaning through the figures, their placement and the creation process, in a way that serves your treatment goals.
Steps:
1. Explore meanings the client gives to figures, placement and the process of building. [source: Kottman 2023]
2. If the client needs scaffolding, point without touching and use "I notice…" statements (e.g. that one figure is much bigger than the rest). Then pause and leave room. [source: Kottman 2023]
3. Build on what the client says. If they don't respond, try another observation, or offer a tentative guess based on what you know of them. [source: Kottman 2023]
4. Stay in the metaphor if the client prefers. Follow them out into real life if they make the link themselves. [source: Kottman 2023]
5. Offer rearrangement again, and consider asking what would happen if a figure were moved or removed. [source: Kottman 2023]
6. Bring in your primary theory's lens (e.g. Adlerian mistaken beliefs, CBT thoughts, family-systems patterns) through intentional questioning. [source: Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies; UNT seminar]
Example language (illustrative): "I notice the little one is right by the fence…" (pause). "What is it like for the tiger over there, so far from everyone?" "If the tiger moved closer, what might happen?"
Watch for: questions coming too fast. Breaking the metaphor too early. Rising distress (see 5.3). It is working when the client speaks from inside the scene, or links it to life themselves.

4.8 Deepening: "eyes-on-trays", add-ons and figure-play

Purpose: take processing further once the basic protocol is secure.
What is known: Homeyer teaches "eyes-on-trays" (a skill for building the therapist's insight), add-ons (participants learn at least three) and figure play as ways to deepen processing, with the therapeutic powers of play as the framework; her 2026 seminar also lists back-drops and sky-hooks and the use of prompts [source: UNT CPT seminar description; Texas State IPT seminars page]. Her fuller text on deeper processing is Homeyer and Lyles, Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice (Routledge, 2022) [source: AUT library record]. The seminar descriptions name these skills but do not describe them. [uncertain: no published procedure for them in the cited sources]
Practical use (synthesis, not attributed to Homeyer): an add-on can be inviting the client to place one further figure in answer to a question (e.g. something the hero needs). Figure-play can be inviting the client to move or voice a figure. Use either only with the client's consent, and stay within the metaphor.
Example language (illustrative): "If one more thing came into this world to help, what would it be? Find it and put it wherever it belongs."
Watch for: add-ons that turn into therapist-led stories. Keep them as invitations.

4.9 Documentation and photographs (protocol step 7)

Purpose: a clinical record of the tray and process, for tracking themes across sessions.
Steps: take digital photographs of the tray (with consent, see 4.2), from the client's side and from above. Record how the tray was made (order, hesitations, sand use), what it contains and where, and the verbal processing. Note themes relevant to your theory. [source: Kottman 2023; angles synthesis]. The manual includes session-note forms and a Sand Tray Assessment Worksheet in its appendices; they are not reproduced here. [source: Routledge contents]
Storage: treat photos as part of the clinical record. Store them securely, under the same retention and access rules as notes. [synthesis]
Watch for: notes that slip into interpretation ("tray shows abuse"). Write what you observed and what the client said, not conclusions. [synthesis]

4.10 Dismantling (protocol step 8)

Purpose: end the session in a way that respects the client's creation.
Steps: in most practice the therapist clears the tray after the client has left. Kottman's Adlerian alternative offers a choice: (a) the client puts the figures away, (b) the client leaves and the therapist clears later, (c) the therapist clears while the client watches, or (d) both clear together. She calls this "pretty radically different" from usual practice. The therapist may suggest the option that fits a given tray. [source: Kottman 2023]. Then sieve and smooth the sand, clean any mouthed figures and return all figures to their places. [source: BAPT 2025; Kottman on predictable placement]
Example language (illustrative): "I'll keep a photo of your world. I'll put the figures back after you go so they're ready for next time."
Watch for: distress at dismantling (in a child, "Don't wreck it!"). Reassure them about the photo, and choose option (b). [synthesis]

4.11 Course-level trays across therapy (Adlerian example, Kottman 2023)

Purpose: use tray prompts to serve each phase of a theory-led treatment plan. These are examples of how one theory does this. Translate them into your own model. [synthesis framing]
Phase 1, relationship: non-directed and semi-directed trays. An introduce-yourself tray. "My world". Things that are interesting to me. A co-created "things we have in common". What I've been told about counselling. Things that bug me, or the problems in my life. Things I like about my life. [source: Kottman 2023]
Phase 2, exploring lifestyle: trays on culture (feelings about one's culture(s), how others treat the group, stories, food and traditions, being treated badly because of culture). Birth order. Family atmosphere (conflict, problem-solving, love, rules, who is in charge). Goals of misbehaviour (what gets you in trouble, how adults react). The Crucial Cs (capable, courage, connect, count). Personality priorities (comfort, control, superiority, pleasing). Assets. What you tell yourself when discouraged. [source: Kottman 2023]
Phase 3, insight: metacommunication. "Spitting in the soup" (gently naming that the client is acting as if a mistaken belief were true). Metaphor trays (a co-told story about an imaginary situation like the client's, or a character with similar goals). A maze or obstacle course with a figure for the client, who then finds solutions. Therapist-created trays showing how the client sees self, gains significance in negative ways, or what keeps a problem stuck. [source: Kottman 2023]
Phase 4, reorienting: the therapist models a skill in the tray (communication, anger management, assertiveness, negotiation). The client practises it. The therapist sets up a situation and the client shows what they would do. A "how I wish my family or class would solve conflict" tray. Consulting a puppet with a similar problem. A termination tray summing up the journey, the tools learned and the assets the client now owns. [source: Kottman 2023]
Example language (illustrative): "Make a tray of what it's like being the oldest in your family." "Here's a maze, and this one is you. Show me how it could get through."
Watch for: directed prompts too early, before trust is built. It is working when trays in later phases show new solutions that the client can put into words.

4.12 Parent and teacher consultation trays

Purpose: help adults around the child see the relationship, view the child more positively and learn encouragement.
Steps: ask the parent to make a tray (e.g. "My Child's World", or how the parent sees the child's world compared with how the child might see it, or "My World", or things that bug me and things I like). Process it with the same protocol. Schools can do the same with teachers. [source: Kottman 2023]. Don't share a child's tray or its content with parents without the child's assent and a clear clinical reason. Share themes, not interpretations. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Would you make a tray of your child's world as you see it right now?"
Watch for: parents seeking a "reading" of the child's tray (see 5.8).

4.13 Group, couple and family sandtray

Purpose: the manual covers sandtray in groups and with couples and families (separate chapters). [source: Routledge contents] [uncertain: the chapter procedures are not described in the cited sources; the steps below are synthesis]
Practical structure (synthesis): decide whether each person has an individual tray, or there is one shared tray with clear sections or turn-taking. Set rules in advance: no touching or moving another person's figures without asking (this mirrors the APT group-touch rule on physical space). Process each person's part, then the interactions between them (who placed near whom, and who changed what).
Example language (illustrative): "Each of you choose five figures, then take turns placing one at a time. Don't move anyone else's without asking."
Watch for: one member dominating the tray, or scapegoating a member's figures. Stop, name the process and reset the rules. [synthesis]

4.14 Assessment and projective use: limits

What the authors publish: the manual has a chapter on neurotypical developmental indicators and diagnostic signs, and an appendix with a Sand Tray Assessment Worksheet. [source: Routledge contents] [uncertain: their content and validation]
Evidence found: a qualitative study of seven sexually abused children in Chile (aged 7–10) described changes in sand use, figures, mode of play and content over six months of therapy. The children had already been diagnosed through a separate assessment. The study reported no inter-rater reliability statistic and did not test diagnostic accuracy. The authors note digging and hiding are often observed and may symbolise secrecy, but stress analysing "the specific meanings assigned by each child" (Tornero & Capella 2017). A South African master's case study of one trauma-exposed youth's single scene proposed it as a screening aid, explicitly limited in scope and not generalisable (Ayres 2016). A 2026 pilot found a 20-minute sandtray rapport task made no significant difference to children's test anxiety or performance (Springstead Knutz 2026). [sources as named]
Rules for use (synthesis consistent with these sources):
1. Use trays to generate hypotheses and clinical conversation, never as a diagnostic test or a measure of truth.
2. Never treat a tray, figure, burial, a snake, sexualised or violent play, or an empty or barricaded scene as evidence that abuse happened. Such features are not specific to abuse, and the cited sources give no validated cut-offs.
3. Do not use sandtray to "find out" whether abuse occurred, and do not put sandtray observations in forensic or custody reports as indicators of abuse. Forensic questions belong to trained forensic interviewers using recognised protocols.
4. If you use any published sand tray rating or worksheet, report it only as far as its manual's own validation supports, and say what its limits are.
Watch for: confirmation bias, i.e. reading trays through a trauma frame you already hold. Tornero & Capella name this risk in their own study.

4.15 Touch and physical boundaries

Purpose: sandtray brings hands into the sand next to the therapist. Physical contact with children needs clear rules.
Steps: (1) at intake, ask about sensory, trauma and cultural history around touch. (2) Discuss touch with carers and get written informed consent covering its types, frequency and duration. (3) Always ask a trauma-exposed child's permission before any touch. (4) Document any unplanned touch: who initiated it, how it was handled and the outcome. (5) Respond to touch the child initiates with a clear rationale and appropriate intensity, and set limits if it turns problematic or sexualised. (6) Never touch, or allow touch, when you feel uncomfortable, angry or aroused. Sexual contact is absolutely prohibited. (7) Seek supervision where your training in touch is limited. (8) In groups, set and enforce rules about touch between children. [source: APT Paper on Touch 2019] (9) Physical holding or restraint only as a last resort to prevent immediate harm, under your service's policy and training; record it and inform parents or carers. [synthesis]
Sand-specific practice (synthesis): don't put your hands in the client's tray, or touch their figures, without asking. Point instead (Kottman 2023). Offer tools (scoops, brushes) or gloves to clients who dislike the feel of sand. Let them opt out of touching sand altogether: a dry, figures-only tray on a cloth also works.
Example language (illustrative): "Is it OK if I point to something in your world? I won't touch it."
Watch for: sensory aversion, flinching, or a child seeking a lot of physical contact. Each is clinical information to explore in supervision, not a cue for more touch.

4.16 Sandtray with trauma

What is known: the 4th edition adds a chapter on trauma and the neurobiology of trauma in sandtray therapy, and neurobiology and trauma are core competencies. [source: Routledge product page; Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies] [uncertain: the chapter's procedures]
Practical safeguards (synthesis): begin with containing, resource-building trays (safe place, helpers, strengths/assets as in 4.11) before trauma-related trays. Keep the work in the metaphor if the client prefers. Have grounding ready (see 5.3). Plan pacing in supervision.

5. Handling problems

The cited sources say little about problems. Unless a source is tagged, the guidance below is the writer's synthesis [synthesis].

5.1 Client declines or cannot start a tray

Respect the refusal. Assent is ongoing. Offer a smaller step: choose three figures; a co-created tray (Kottman 2023); a therapist-created tray offered as an invitation (Kottman 2023); or just looking at the shelves together.
Make the prompt more directed (a wide-open prompt can feel exposing), or less (a directed one can feel like a test).
Illustrative: "We don't have to make anything. Would you like to just find one figure that's a bit like you today?"

5.2 Stuck or repetitive trays

Treat repetition as communication first: track what stays the same and what shifts slightly.
Offer rearrangement and what-if questions ("What would happen if this one moved?") (Kottman 2023). Give a tour from another side of the tray. Use an add-on (4.8).
Review in supervision whether your theory-led goals need a different phase of tray (e.g. move from lifestyle to insight trays, 4.11).

5.3 Overwhelm, flooding or dissociation

Signs: freezing, glazed look, rapid breathing, compulsive burying or smashing, sudden loss of play.
Responses: slow down, stop asking questions, name what you see gently, and orient to the room (feel the sand temperature, name colours). Invite a helper or a safe figure into the tray. Stay in the metaphor rather than drawing out real-life links. Shorten the session if needed. Leave time to return to calm before the child goes back to their carer.
Afterwards: review pacing, start resource trays (4.16), and consider whether trauma-focused treatment by a specialist is needed.

5.4 Destructive play, throwing sand or breaking figures

Set limits in line with your theory, for example: acknowledge the feeling, state the limit, and offer an acceptable alternative (bash the sand with a scoop, not a figure). Sand in eyes: rinse for 10 minutes. [source: BAPT 2025 for first aid]. Remove broken items at once. [source: BAPT 2025]
Illustrative: "You're really angry. Sand isn't for throwing at people. You can pound it right here in the tray."

5.5 Mouthing, eating sand, choking risk and allergies

Stop the activity, remove the item, and follow first aid (and choking procedures if needed). Clean or withdraw mouthed figures. Record and report the incident to carers. [source: BAPT 2025 for incident steps]
From then on, use a reduced collection with no small parts for that child, and supervise closely (4.1).
Allergic reaction or sand sensitivity: stop, wash, give first aid, inform carers, and from then on use alternatives (figures on cloth, tools, gloves).

5.6 People-pleasing and therapist-led trays

Clients who change trays to please you: normalise rather than suggest ("Sometimes people decide…") and make clear no change is expected (Kottman 2023).
Rupture risk: you interpret or name a figure, and the client goes quiet or contradicts you. Repair directly: "I got that wrong. It's your world. Tell me what it is." Return to the client's own meanings (Kottman 2023, client determines meaning).

5.7 Disclosure of abuse or risk during or after a tray

Distinguish: content in the tray (e.g. a scene of violence) is not a disclosure. A child's verbal statement that someone is hurting them, or other risk information, is.
When a child discloses: stay calm and listen. Don't press for detail, and don't use the figures to "re-enact" or test the account. Don't promise secrecy. Tell the child what will happen next in age-appropriate words. Write down their words verbatim, with date and time, separate from any interpretation of the tray. Follow your jurisdiction's mandatory-reporting duty and your agency's safeguarding procedure the same day. Consult your safeguarding lead or supervisor. Duties differ by country and state. [source: NBCC 2024 confirms mandated reporting applies in play therapy; procedure synthesis]
When only the tray worries you: discuss it in supervision and assess risk through your normal methods. Do not report, or reassure, on the basis of tray content alone. [synthesis consistent with 4.14]
Photographs of trays are not evidence of abuse. If records are requested by courts or agencies, release them only under legal advice and with a written statement of their limits. [synthesis]

5.8 Parent-related difficulties

Parents who want a "reading" of the tray: explain that you don't decode trays. Offer themes and goals, with the child's assent, and invite the parent into consultation trays (4.12). [source: Kottman 2023 for parent trays]
Parents who want photos: agree in advance (4.2). Where the child objects, the default is not to share, unless there is a safeguarding reason.
Separated parents: check who holds parental responsibility and consent rights before starting, and don't let trays become material for custody disputes.

5.9 Non-attendance and breaks in treatment

Use a termination or summary tray before planned breaks (Kottman 2023). After an unplanned gap, start again with a non-directed tray, and review photos together only if the client wants to.

5.10 Cultural, religious and sensory issues with materials

Some figures (deities, religious symbols, skeletons, weapons) may be sacred or offensive to particular clients. Ask, and don't assume meaning [source: competencies on cultural humility]. Keep sacred objects respectfully placed. Sacred sand practices from other cultures belong to their own traditions and are not copied in sandtray.
Sensory aversion to sand: offer tools, gloves, a dry tray, or figures-only work.

5.11 Therapist difficulties

Strong reactions to a client's tray (countertransference), urges to interpret, or fatigue: take them to supervision and personal sand work, which the competencies list as ongoing professional engagement. [source: Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies; APT Paper on Touch on countertransference]

5.12 Telehealth

The competencies list telemental health among the ethics topics. [source: Hartwig, Homeyer & Stone competencies]. Practical adaptation (synthesis): the client uses a home box of sand or rice and household objects, or a digital tray. Agree privacy, who is in the room, and how photographs (screenshots) are handled. A carer may need to be present to help a young child stay focused [source: NBCC 2024].

Sources

Web sources:

Books and articles cited:

Homeyer, L. E., & Sweeney, D. S. (2023). Sandtray Therapy: A Practical Manual (4th ed.). Routledge. Cited for its table of contents and publisher description.
Hartwig, E. K., Homeyer, L., & Stone, J. (2023). Sand therapy competencies, as reproduced in Homeyer, Hartwig & Stone (2024) above. [uncertain: original article details]
Homeyer, L. E., & Lyles, M. N. (2022). Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice. London and New York: Routledge (xxvi, 243 pp.). Cited from its library record and Kottman (2023); content not summarised here [uncertain].

Homeyer, L. E., & Stone, J. (2023). Sand therapy standards: Views from the field. World Journal for Sand Therapy Practice, 1(1), cited from its abstract page. [uncertain: WASTP credentialing levels and training-hour requirements]

← Previous · VIII-151World Technique Next · VIII-153 →Sandtray-worldplay