NSW, Australia
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filler@godaddy.com
Collaborating in the sand
“With play in the sand tray as mediator, therapist and client enter moments of resonance where the ventral state of the therapist co-regulates the client, and the client holds their sympathetic arousal or dorsal collapse with their own emerging ventral state.” (Lyles, Homeyer, Yasenik & Goodyear-Brown, 2024)
I collaborate in trauma informed and culturally responsive therapeutic relationships with relational counsellors, psychotherapists and other 'helping professionals' who are seeking to heal and integrate experiences of childhood adversity, loss and grief through sandplay and talking therapies.
We begin where you are and go from there, sitting together in partnership with 'what is' in the unresolved trauma - young parts who are suffering, adaptive emotional learnings that used to help but are now holding you back; missing or ignoring your own needs while being there for others…
‘Being with’ whatever emerges for you as the process unfolds… shame, fear, anger, grief, loneliness, self-loathing... and hope, connection, acceptance, authenticity, integration, growth, joy, transformation...
Your therapeutic process
"Grounded in the body, sandplay unfolds through limbic region and cortex, and spans both hemispheres as the symbolic world unfolds into words," (Badenoch, 2008)
Every sandplayer’s process is unique (and you may also have different experiences each time you sandplay). I privilege relational safety while seeking to hold a nurturing and curious space, supporting your process while you work at your own pace.
You may wish to start by moving or shaping the sand. You may wish to use your fingers or tools to make marks. Or place your palm on the sand to feel the sensations, awakening your haptic perception or tactile sense.
You may go straight to the shelves and baskets, discovering miniatures that draw you to them. Placing the miniatures in the sand tray, you may notice your felt sense suggests the place they want to go.
Perhaps it feels ‘right’ to talk as you go along or you may prefer silently to ‘lean in’ to your right hemisphere processing. When the time comes, you may wish to pause and share something of your sandplay with me, your witness.
We may co-create story while we share together.
Inner world adventures
“in terms of integration, the sandplayer is assembling a largely right-brained narrative, often based in implicit, previously nonconscious themes. What was only implicit is becoming explicit” (Badenoch, 2008)
For your first sandplay session you may have a question or issue you wish to explore. Or you may wish to allow a story to emerge while you ‘play’.
This is your own expressive and exploratory process – there is no ‘correct way’. I’ll help you get started if this is new to you or you feel unsure how to begin.
If you haven’t experienced sandplay before, the process may feel a little strange at first and you may notice you are overthinking, judging or self-criticising (“This is silly!”, “I’m not doing this right”; “I don’t know how to play”; ”I feel inauthentic”).
Give all your responses space… And you may gradually notice your innate wisdom taking the lead.
After your appointment
You may connect deeply with your process, noticing significant dreams, somatic experiences, sleepiness or spontaneous new insights after the sandplay therapy session. If you decide to complete a series of sandplays, you may notice profoundly meaningful themes or patterns arising in your trays.
You are welcome to schedule zoom or phone appointments to complement your sandplay process.
Concepts & theories that may resonate with you include: differentiation, inner child work, implicit memory, felt sense, right hemisphere of the brain, intuition, unconscious, individual & collective archetypes, bodying forth, top down / bottom up processing, somatic experiencing, haptic perception, neural integration, MWe (Siegel, 2022), vertical integration (Badenoch, 2008), neurosensory feedback loop (Freedle, 2007) .
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The origins of Jungian sandplay therapy
Sandplay Therapy is a long-established psychotherapeutic approach and was developed by Jungian psychotherapist Dora Kalff who you can watch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWd40dMH70c (1972)
