Trauma Therapy in a Sand Tray

The idea of using a sand tray for therapy is almost 90 years old. There are two main directions this idea took: what is today best known as „world technique“ (Lowenfeld) and on the other hand sand tray therapy (Kalff). The second is a Jung-oriented psycho-analytical approach that isn’t of any interest for us (analysis is not recommended treatment for PTSD). I am using the idea of the world technique combined with some other therapy approaches for an interesting tool.

The inner work takes place in a sand tray, it becomes a miniature world. A small figure could be the symbol for yourself. Maybe you can find other figures to take the places of your friends and family, T or enemy. You could choose symbols for your feelings, your goals, your challenges etc and place them in the tray to show what your outside world, or maybe your inside, looks like. You can then play it through: change things, build something, add something, remove something, and see how it feels. You can try new things in the safety of the tray before trying them in real life. When you leave the tray maybe you have found hope, a solution or even a change in your point of view.

This is a non-verbal approach, which is especially helpful with trauma. It can express what is unspeakable. It becomes visible in the way you place your symbols and what you do in the sand that surrounds them.

It also has a similar effect as the screen technique: it creates distance to what is expressed. The work takes place in a tray with clear boundaries and stays within the tray.

The work with a sand tray can get surprisingly intense and if you want to try this, you need to tell your T and possibly get them involved.

When working with a sand tray possibilities are almost endless. But it is hard to explain without you experiencing it. So I will give you some examples of how it can be used.

 

Relationships

By choosing symbols for people and placing them in the tray it can become visible how you relate to these people, where you are standing, how they relate to each other and if there is anything problematic about it.

 

Conflicts

You can show current conflicts in the tray and then try out possible interventions. You could e.g. build a wall or fence between yourself and others to show where you want to set a boundary or play through different solutions and watch how they change the scene. Notice how you feel about the changes. If the changes in the tray leave you with a good feeling you can find more security to actually do it in your real life.

 

Difficult situations

You can get a better overview of complex and overwhelming situations by mapping them in a tray. You zoom out to see the whole picture. It might help you to see the problem more clearly and maybe even where to start solving it.

 

Resources

You could have a symbol for every resource you have. When working on problems in the tray it could be easier to see which one might be the most helpful for the situation.

 

Express emotions

Sometimes it is hard to tell what we are feeling. A sand tray could be a canvas where you can express those feelings, then look at it and maybe identify what it is you are feeling. It can offer a safe frame so the feeling will not get out of control, it only takes place within the boundaries of the tray

 

Dealing with emotions

You could choose a symbol for a certain emotions you struggle with and then try different things you could do with it in the tray, put your figure closer to the feeling, cover it with sand, add things that might change the feeling, change your position and how your figure looks at the feeling…

 

 

Face avoidance

You could find a symbol for a certain fear, place it in the tray with your figure and then find creative ways to deal with it, see what it feels like when your figure faces away from it, or when it gets closer, when you build a wall, what else might end up behind that wall…

 

Body work

The sand tray could become the „world“ of your physical body too, where you can express discomfort, pain, illness and then find a new way to relate to it. If you dissociate parts of your body awareness you could divide the tray and then see if maybe you want to put parts back together. A tray could be a place to work on your body image.

 

Planning

Your tray might have your figure on one side and your goal on the other. You can then add your obstacles or challenges and see what you might need to overcome them. You can add helpers and resources at all times, anything you might need.

 

Visualize progress

Sometimes it is hard to see inner progress made in therapy. A miniature world could show you the changes that you might not be able to see around you. It helps to take pictures of trays and compare them later.

 

Grounding

Touch is an important sense. The sensory experience of doing something with the sand can have a calming and very grounding effect, even if you don’t work on a special topic in the tray. Creating peace and safety within the tray can lead to more inner peace and safety.

 

It is possible to do trauma work in the tray. Please don’t try this without a T. There is too much that could go wrong. You really don’t want to overwhelm yourself.

 

Practice containment

You could use a symbol for a traumatic experience and find a way to contain it on the tray. You might use additional items like a box or containers for that. Or build something in the sand or otherwise get creative

 

Trauma integration

You could use a symbol for your trauma and play with moving your figure closer to it, have the figure look at it or look away and notice how that feels for you. It is possible to find new ways to relate to the trauma, find a new position in the tray for yourself or the trauma, work on acceptance, losing your fear of it, find new ways to handle it… you might even create your new life within the tray where the memory finds an adequate place that doesn’t dominate your future.

Don’t try any exposure work in a tray. There are better tools for that!

 

The symbolic world of the tray can feel very real. Something happens inside. This is not just playing with sand. There is change and lasting breakthrough waiting in the tray.

For us personally it is a priceless tool, because it doesn’t involve the mind and logical thinking that much. We tend to intellectualize everything. The sand tray work moves between intuitive expression and emotion, thoughts only catch up later. If you are like us, you know all the right things and that gets in the way sometimes, a sand tray might be for you.

 

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Build your own sand tray

You need a big tray, otherwise your symbols have to be very small. Any tray you can buy in a store will work, but it helps when it is deep enough to hold some sand and not have handles that get in the way. A flat box might also do.

Next you need sand. They are now selling „kinetic“ sand, which sticks together when you press it a little bit. This is ideal for more solid sand creations in your tray. We would highly recommend it. If you choose normal sand you might also want a plastic tray so that you can add water to your sand when you need it.

The world is ready, now it needs to be populated. This will be very individual. You can walk though your home and find items, buy some or make them yourself. We used air-drying clay from the art store to create some of our symbols. They can be painted too.

 

Here is a list of things we considered useful. Yours might differ.

People: yourself, your T, your friends, your family members, your enemies, other people in your life

structures: trees, bushes, houses, bridges, walls, fence, flags, stones, pool

animals: pets, symbolic animals, unicorn, dragon

life: coins, symbols for your hobbies, clock, faith symbols, symbol for your work, bed, gauge, food

emotion: symbols for different emotions or emotion stones, we like a wire-spiral mimicking a tornado

other useful things: containers, trashcan, keys, light sources, weapons, jewels, cloth, books, fire, vehicles, crown, ring, knife, skull, cotton ball, sack/burden, mirror, toys

Check out lego, playmobil, miniatures for model railroads and your local art or decoration store as well as nature.

 

Read more about SystemWork in a Sand Tray