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.

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 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 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.

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

Completed Certification and additional course work in Sand Tray Therapy.

As a licensed clinical social worker, I specialize in sand tray therapy, a powerful therapeutic modality that utilizes a tray of sand and miniature figures to help clients explore and express their inner thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a non-verbal manner. With extensive training and experience in sand tray therapy techniques, I facilitate a safe and supportive environment where clients can engage in symbolic play, allowing for deep insight, emotional processing, and healing.

I use online sand tray therapy with perinatal clients to help them process emotions, explore identity changes, and address experiences like pregnancy, birth, or parenthood. Through virtual trays, clients can express feelings non-verbally, work through trauma, and represent relationships or attachments. This flexible, accessible approach allows for creative self-expression and deeper insight, especially for clients navigating the challenges of early parenthood from the comfort of their own home.

Sandtray therapy is a unique type of expressive therapy where you can tell your life stories without having to rely on verbalizing. This can be especially helpful for those who have experienced traumatic events. This type of therapy uses sand and miniatures as tools, or emotion words, to tell your story in a safe environment.

In sandtray therapy we make use of objects that can help us externalize what is going on inside. What this looks like is a small box of sand placed in front of you. At the very minimum, you can run your hands through it- touching and playing with sand can calm your nervous system and help you open up more. If you'd like, there are also miniature figurines that you can select and place in the sand to tell your story. It may sound odd at first, but I promise it is an amazing addition to therapy.

Sometimes it is hard to find words for our feelings and experiences. Sand Tray allows you to interact with your inner self and your lived story through the use of miniatures. Together you and I will then discuss the scene that you have created and allow your unconscious to be brought into the conscious so that you can learn from the part of you that was hidden. I have received training from Marshall Lyles, LPC-S, LMFT-S, RPT-S, EMDRIA.

The use of Sand Tray can be helpful for clients who struggle with traditional talk therapy. The proprioceptive feedback and use of miniatures to explore stressors can be powerful.

I have participated in many trainings in sand tray therapy in the past and currently have a membership in an ongoing training community of sandtray therapists for continued education.