Sand Tray Therapy

Sand tray therapy is an approach that uses small figurines and sometimes water to build scenes and stories that represent a person's inner world within a sand-filled tray. It can help one become more aware of current challenges or become aware of something unknown. I often offer it as an intervention to all my clients, whether a child adolescent or adult. It is an incredibly relaxing activity in itself, but it is amazing what insights can be discovered. It is a great compliment to talk therapy.

Sand tray therapy is a form of expressive therapy where individuals create scenes in a sandbox using miniature figures to represent their inner thoughts and emotions. This method helps clients visually and symbolically express and explore deep psychological conflicts and traumas, facilitating understanding and healing in a non-verbal, creative way. It’s especially useful for accessing and resolving issues that might be difficult to articulate, providing a powerful medium for emotional insight.

I received my training in Sand Tray Therapy from the Institute of Playful Healing and am working toward certification. I am trained and experienced in use of sand tray with individual trauma work, children and adolescents, couples, families and groups.

Sand Tray Therapy is a wonderful therapy I have seen support every age with a great many of issues and wants. On a technical level Sand Tray Therapy is the best mode of helping find greater meaning, resources and new ways forward to life's issues. This is because it is the chance to allow your creativity - whether you feel its there or not - to find the problem as it lives in your personally and form there builds the bridges to solutions and a more integrated life.

I am recognized as an expert in Sand Tray Therapy, a powerful therapeutic modality that utilizes a sandbox and miniature figures to facilitate self-expression, exploration, and healing. My expertise is anchored in specialized training under leading figures in the field, specifically Amy Flaherty Hood of the Southern Sandtray Institute and Terry Kottman of the Encouragement Zone.

I am passionate about using sand tray play therapy with my adult populations. Sand tray helps us get behind the words when talking about our “stuff” is difficult. Sand tray is also a very effective technique for trauma therapy that can help us externalize our experience to help us process it.

Sandtray therapy is an expressive and projective process which helps children and families process their issues and emotions. Children and adults with trauma have difficulty with expressing their pain. It is easier for them to use the sand tray and miniatures to express their feelings as sand tray provides a safe place and gives individuals a sense of control. Sandtray Therapy often helps children access pre-verbal experiences that are in the unconscious mind (right brain).

The Sandtray provides a safe, contained space to express and explore your inner world in a tangible way. The tray can be used with or without a prompt. Sometimes, the tray can help communicate or illustrate something words cannot. The scenes created with a tray can help clients experience emotional release, gain new realizations, and practice out fictitious change leading to real change in their life. I utilize sandtray therapy on its own as well as in conjunction with parts work and EMDR.

Sand tray therapy is a therapeutic approach that blends play and art therapies. Sand tray therapy is a healing process which helps the client work through any painful conscious or unconscious memories. At the end of the session, the therapist and client may reflect on and discuss the underlying meaning behind the creation. This is determined through the age of the client. Clients can also work through issues and come to their own solutions even without verbal processing.

I have training in Sandtray through an online program called the Southern Sandtray Institute. I've also attended a Sandtray summit to get more hands on experience in sandtray. I have experience using sandtray with adults to help bring about deep change and healing. Sandtray helps clients use both parts of their brain, which can be especially helpful for grief and trauma. On top of this, sandtray can be a refreshing change to traditional talk therapy or when talking isn't working.

I received training in sand-tray and was supervised under a sand-tray therapist as well.

Trained in trauma-sensitive expressive play sandtray therapy, grief/loss sandtray therapy and grounding/containment

I have been trained in Sandtray therapy and use it frequently with teens and adults. This type of therapy focuses on connecting the client with the emotional/creative side of your brain and aids in working through many mental health issues, including trauma, anxiety, depression, etc.