Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain. – C.G. Jung Ten European sandplay therapists describe how severe psychopathologies can be treated in the ’free and protected space’ of the sandbox. The sandplay therapy cases in this book illustrate some of the most difficult, yet also most effective applications: psychoses, borderline syndromes, psychosomatic illnesses, drug addictions, or narcissistic character disorders. Sandplay seems to access areas of human suffering which have otherwise always resisted psychotherapeutic treatment. Recent research in neuroscience explains why this is possible: trauma is not remembered in verbal form – what has never been articulated in words nor ever ’shaped’ cannot be outwardly expressed. In sandplay, however, ’it’ manifests itself as a form, shaped by the hands. The inexpressible can be seen and touched – therefore, it can be transformed. Contents: Eva Pattis Zoja: Understanding with the Hands Vito La Spina: Sandplay Therapy in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disturbance Andreina Navone: Matter and the Psyche: A Feasible Therapy Stefano Marinucci: Children in Distress Francesco Montecchi: The Self and Family Archetypes in Children Wilma Bosio: Image and the Analytical Relationship in Sandplay Therapy Lorenzo Bignamini: Sacrifice as Death and Rebirth in Adolescent Development Marcella Merlino: Images of Time: New Departures at a Public Drug Addiction Clinic Franco Castellana: Sandplay and the Analytical Partnership Ruth Ammann: On Resonance

Comprehensive in nature, this book provides the foundation for both novice and experienced professionals to perform sandplay therapy effectively with adults, children, and couples. Sandplay utilizes a small tray of wet or dry sand, in which clients create scenes using miniature objects--a nonverbal communication of their internal and external worlds. For therapists interested in exploring the ways that sandplay facilitates growth and healing and in expanding their reservoir of therapeutic tools by incorporating sandplay into their practices, this practical handbook will be an invaluable resource. After presenting the history and benefits of sandplay, the authors describe how to create a sandplay therapy room, including choosing sand containers, finding evocative objects, and displaying objects appropriately. They provide detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to conduct spontaneous and directed sandplay therapy sessions with individuals, couples, children, and families. Various ways of recording the creation of a sand world are described, so that both the process and the product will be saved even after the sand tray is dismantled.Not only does the book establish the foundation for incorporating sandplay into the reader's current psychotherapeutic practice, but it will also stimulate the creative process of the professional. Like the client who sees internal and interpersonal dynamics and dilemmas pictured in the sand, the therapist will find that this powerful experiential tool reveals insights, information, and avenues to explore. The authors illustrate the process with numerous sandplay experiences with clients. They also discuss clients for whom sandplay is contraindicated and some problems that might arise. To encourage the growth of the therapist, they include instructions on personal sandplay work.

This book is a reference for mental health professionals who utilize sandplay therapy with their child and/or adult clients. The Brief consists of case studies that are drawn from composite situations occurring in actual practice. Although some of the ethical issues raised and addressed are specific to sandplay therapy, others are generalizable to other modalities of mental health practice. Each chapter draws on ethical principles of clinical practice and research. The Brief includes relevant portions of professional ethics codes governing mental health professionals from an array of English-speaking countries—Australia, Canada, the U.K., the U.S., and New Zealand—to maximize the relevance of the text to sandplay therapists globally, whether they are licensed psychologists, marriage and family therapists, counselors, or social workers.

Sandplay Therapy in Vulnerable Communities offers a new method of therapeutic care for people in acute crisis situations such as natural disasters and war, as well as the long-term care of children and adults in areas of social adversity including slums, refugee camps and high-density urban areas. This book provides detailed case studies of work carried out in South Africa, China and Colombia and combines practical discussions of expressive sandwork projects with brief overviews of their sociohistoric background. Further topics covered include: the social aspect of psychoanalysis the importance of play pictographic writing and the psyche. Providing the reader with clear, practical instructions for carrying out their own sandwork project, this book will be essential reading not only for psychotherapists involved with sandplay therapy but also for those with an interest in cross cultural psychotherapy, as well as all professionals working with those in situations of social adversity.

Featuring in-depth case presentations from master clinicians, this volume highlights the remarkable capacity of traumatized children to guide their own healing process. The book describes what posttraumatic play looks like and how it can foster resilience and coping. Demonstrated are applications of play, art, and other expressive therapies with children who have faced such overwhelming experiences as sexual abuse or chronic neglect. The contributors discuss ways to facilitate forms of expression that promote mastery and growth, as well as how to intervene when play becomes stuck in destructive patterns. They share effective strategies for engaging hard-to-reach children and building trusting therapeutic relationships.

Routledge International Handbook of Play, Therapeutic Play and Play Therapy is the first book of its kind to provide an overview of key aspects of play and play therapy, considering play on a continuum from generic aspects through to more specific applied and therapeutic techniques and as a stand-alone discipline. Presented in four parts, the book provides a unique overview of, and ascribes equal value to, the fields of play, therapeutic play, play in therapy and play therapy. Chapters by academics, play practitioners, counsellors, arts therapists and play therapists from countries as diverse as Japan, Cameroon, India, the Czech Republic, Israel, USA, Ireland, Turkey, Greece and the UK explore areas of each topic, drawing links and alliances between each. The book includes complex case studies with children, adolescents and adults in therapy with arts and play therapists, research with children on play, work in schools, outdoor play and play therapy, animal-assisted play therapy, work with street children and play in therapeutic communities around the world. Routledge International Handbook of Play, Therapeutic Play and Play Therapy demonstrates the centrality of play in human development, reminds us of the creative power of play and offers new and innovative applications of research and practical technique. It will be of great interest to academics and students of play, play therapy, child development, education and the therapeutic arts. It will also be a key text for play and creative arts therapists, both in practice and in training, play practitioners, social workers, teachers and anyone working with children.