A Little Bit About Sandplay...
Where Healing Happens Beyond Words.
First Core Foundation
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Play Therapy
Sandplay Therapy is grounded in the pioneering work of Margaret Lowenfeld, who developed The World Technique and is widely recognised as the founder of Play Therapy. Her work revealed that the psyche naturally expresses and integrates experience through symbolic play long before it can be spoken in words.
Second Core Foundation
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Depth Psychology
Sandplay Therapy is rooted in depth psychology and founded on the theories of C. G. Jung, who understood symbols as the psyche’s natural language and a primary pathway to healing and integration. Through symbolic imagery, unconscious material can emerge safely and reorganise toward wholeness.
Third Core Foundation
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Eastern Contemplative Practices
Sandplay Therapy is also informed by Tibetan Buddhism and Eastern contemplative traditions, which emphasise presence, non-interference and trust in the psyche’s innate capacity for self-healing. This foundation supports the therapist’s stance of witnessing rather than directing, allowing transformation to unfold naturally.
Book AÂ Discovery Call
A discovery call is a relaxed, no-obligation space to connect, explore what you’re needing and see whether my work feels supportive for you right now. This is a free, informal 15-minute Zoom conversation; an opportunity to meet, ask questions and sense if it’s the right fit.
Book NowA Depth-Based Approach to Healing.
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Sandplay Therapy is a depth-based therapy that uses a tray of sand and miniature figures to create symbolic scenes. These scenes allow your inner world to be expressed visually and physically, rather than relying solely on words.
This approach works with your nervous system, emotions and unconscious material, helping experiences such as trauma, grief or relational difficulties to integrate safely over time.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, Sandplay allows healing to happen from the inside out, supporting your body and psyche to organise experience before you even find the words.
Sandplay Therapy, developed by Dora Kalff, is grounded in Jungian depth psychology, drawing on the work of C.G. Jung. At its core is a simple but profound understanding:
~ The psyche, when given the right conditions, is self-healing.
Rather than directing or analysing, the therapist’s role is to provide those right conditions: safety, consistency, attuned presence and respect for the symbolic process. Healing unfolds from within, guided by the psyche’s own intelligence.
Through sand, water and symbolic figures, clients can:
- Access unconscious material safely
- Process trauma without reliving it verbally
- Integrate vulnerable, protective and exiled parts of the self
- Restore emotional regulation and internal coherence
- Support long-term psychological and somatic integration
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How Sandplay Works.
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In Sandplay Therapy, you are invited to create a scene in a tray of sand using miniature figures that represent many aspects of life, such as people, animals, nature, structures, symbols and archetypal images. These figures are intuitively chosen and placed in the sand to form a picture of your inner world.
There is no right or wrong way to do Sandplay. Talking is not required. The process unfolds at your pace.
This creates what Jungian analyst and creator of Sandplay, Dora Kalff, described as a “free and protected space”, a carefully held therapeutic environment in which the psyche can safely express what is conscious and unconscious, known and unknown.
Because Sandplay is tactile, visual and symbolic, it engages the nervous system and implicit memory directly. This makes it particularly effective for trauma, early developmental experiences and emotions that have never had words.
When Words Aren't Enough:Â
Why Sandplay Therapy Works When Other Approaches Stall
Join our newsletter and receive this free eBook, an introduction to Sandplay Therapy, and evidence-based therapy. Learn how trauma integration can occur without retelling the story; through symbol, safety and the wisdom of the psyche.
Who Can Benefit?
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Sandplay Therapy can be used with people of all ages, including children, adolescents and adults. Because it is non-verbal, non-intrusive and cross-cultural, it is especially beneficial for those who are:
- First Nations
- Fluent in languages other than English
- Very young
- Impacted by trauma
- Afraid of connecting with the body
- Struggling to articulate their experience
- Overwhelmed by talk-based approaches
- Stuck in their head
Sandplay has been used effectively across a wide range of life circumstances, including:
- Trauma and PTSD
- Anxiety, depression and ADHD
- Grief and loss
- Eating disorders
- Facing health challenges and illness
- Refugee and displacement experiences
- Sexual abuse and relational trauma
- Substance abuse and addiction
- Behavioural difficulties and low self-esteem
- Disability and complex social stressors
- Life and career transitions, ie. parenting or retirement
- Identitiy issues, eg. gender, sexuality, adoption, infertility, caring responsibilities, etc
- Existential questioning
- Blocked creativity
Testimonials
Let Others Inspire You.
"I feel that I can access a space within me that is wild, deep and not yet known, but I'm excited to meet. Sandplay has helped me deepen this connection."
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Larissa Swanson
"I now have greater capacity to play. Sandplay has allowed me to live the healing process I have so fantastically intellectualised."
