Sandplay Therapy is a powerful, evidence-based method for accessing the unconscious in a way that supports profound and lasting change. It is gentle, non-invasive and deeply effective - particularly for experiences that are difficult to put into words.

Sandplay is used to support healing across a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, loss, death and dying, and personal growth. It is especially valuable when talking alone feels insufficient, overwhelming or inaccessible.

How Sandplay Therapy Works

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, 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.

A Depth-Based Approach to Healing

Sandplay Therapy is grounded in Jungian depth psychology, drawing on the work of C.G. Jung and Dora Kalff. 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

Who Can Benefit from Sandplay Therapy?

Sandplay Therapy can be used with people of all ages, including children, adolescents and adults. Because it is non-verbal and non-intrusive, it is especially beneficial for those who are:

• Very young

• Highly traumatised

• Neurodivergent

• Struggling to articulate their experience

• Overwhelmed by talk-based approaches

Sandplay has been used effectively across a wide range of life circumstances, including:

• Trauma and PTSD

• Anxiety, depression, OCD and ADHD

• Grief and loss

• Refugee and displacement experiences

• Sexual abuse and relational trauma

• Substance use and addiction

• Behavioural difficulties and low self-esteem

• Disability and complex social stressors

• Life and career transitions, ie parenting or retirement

• Identity issues, eg. gender, sexuality, adoption, infertility, caring responsibilities, etc

What Does the Research Say?

Sandplay Therapy is supported by a growing body of international research. Studies have shown outcomes that are comparable to, and in some cases better than, other established psychotherapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

A comprehensive review by Freedle (2022) found:

• Significant improvements often visible within 10 sessions

• Positive outcomes across a wide range of diagnoses and populations

• Neuroimaging evidence demonstrating beneficial effects on both cortical and subcortical brain functioning

• Strong outcomes in both individual and group Sandplay formats

This research supports what practitioners have observed clinically for decades: Sandplay facilitates change at a level that words alone cannot reach.

Why Sandplay Is Different

Sandplay Therapy does not require you to explain, analyse or justify your experience. Instead, it trusts the symbolic language of the psyche.

• You don’t need to know what your symbols “mean”

• You don’t need to retell your trauma

• You don’t need to force insight

Healing happens through experience, symbol and relationship, not pressure or performance.

Sandplay Therapy in Australia

Sandplay Therapy is a specialised modality that requires formal training and ethical practice. If you are interested in Sandplay, it is important to work with a properly trained and qualified therapist.

For more information about Sandplay Therapy in Australia and recognised practitioners, you can visit:
www.stanza.asn.au 

In Closing

Sandplay Therapy offers a gentle yet powerful path to healing, one that honours the body, the nervous system and the deep symbolic intelligence of the psyche.

Sometimes, transformation begins not with words, but with a figure placed quietly in the sand.