Sand Tray Therapy is for children and adolescents. It uses small toys and figurines in a sandbox to recreate life experiences, express emotions, or illustrate concepts.
Therapists use various small toys and objects, such as dolls, beads, play animals, trinkets, and paper. There is usually a sandbox or a table capable of holding sand in the middle of the counseling space, where the child can sit on one side, and the counselor can sit on the other.
Sand Tray Therapy can be helpful for children, teens, or even adults and couples with various mental health concerns. Sand Tray Therapy can be beneficial for non-verbal children or children who best express themselves through showing, not talking.
A Sand Tray therapist may introduce sand play work to children who experienced trauma. A counselor that uses this approach may ask the child to recreate a scene related to their traumatic experience. This ability to express what happened from their viewpoint using a comforting medium can be therapeutic for children and highly enlightening for counselors.
Your therapist may ask you to create a scene that expresses your emotions from the past week. They may ask you some questions about why you placed which figures or objects where. Through this discussion, you are likely to gain a greater awareness of your experience.
The sand tray acts as a space for you to express a problem or situation that you already know that you can heal from.
Therapists Who Specialize in Using Sand Tray Therapy
My passion for counseling was sparked amidst my own personal experience with clinical depression and anxiety. Therapy played an essential role in my recovery, and as a result I developed a deep respect for the therapeutic process and the field of counseling. After 7 years as a teacher, I went back to school and earned my Masters in Counseling at UNT in 2013. I have worked in a variety of settin...
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Art Therapist with over thirteen years of experience providing high quality, individualized counseling services. I help clients address behavior concerns, anxiety, depression, AD/HD, grief and loss, women’s issues, relationship conflicts, parenting issues, and family dynamics. I offer art therapy, play therapy, sand tray therapy in addition ...
Melanie Lute is a Professional Counselor- Registered Intern. She received her Masters in Counseling from Oregon State University. Melanie is a trained Neurofeedback practitioner and enjoys the rapid effectiveness of this treatment for helping those with trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and migraines, among others. Melanie also incorporates art and play therapy into her practice with children ...
( English | español ) Claudia earned her Master Degree in Counseling at Arizona State University. Claudia is a Licensed Professional Counselor who specializes in working with adolescents and young adults. Claudia is also a certified trauma therapist and provides a safe, nonjudgmental approach that foster encouragement that promotes change. She utilizes evidenced based treatment to help her clie...
Are you or your loved one feeling stressed or depressed? Are you struggling to feel better? Are you ready to make a change? I can help you reach your goals of feeling happier and living a fulfilling life. Together we will work on improving your mood by learning strategies and techniques in order to cope with the difficulties you have been experiencing. I believe in focusing on all of your...
Life is ever-changing and evolving in manifold ways. We all go through life changes and unforeseen roadblocks that create imbalance within our minds. It is quite empowering to seek out help when our inner self wants to “talk” and respect that need. This is where I come in as a vessel of support to aide in your journey of knowing your inner self and what challenges or changes you might be going...
Dr. Jennifer Rodriguez earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University – San Francisco Bay Area. She completed her internship at the Portia Bell Hume Center for Behavior Health and Training, a community mental health clinic in Northern California. She completed rotations in both the school-based early...
I work with couples, adults, families, adolescents, children, dealing with issues of anxiety, depression, anger management, parenting, bereavement, and relationship work using the modalities of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(CBT), family dynamics, couples counseling, and play therapy which includes extensive psychoeducational games, Jugian sand tray therapy, and art therapy. Our work together wil...
As a therapist, my goal is by building trust, providing guidance, and by us working together you or your loved one will defeat whatever challenge they are currently experiencing. Over the past 10 years of experience as a therapist, teacher, and youth counselor, I have learned that working with children, adolescents, young adults, and parents is my passion. I have experience working with...
I earned my Masters of Clinical Social Work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I am licensed therapist in both Iowa and Nebraska. I enjoy working with individuals, family, couples, and groups. I consider myself to be a client centered therapist and find it important to meet my clients where they are in their lives. My mission as a provider is to empower my clients to find their own inner...
Life may take us to unexpected places and challenging times, but why go through them alone? Together we can find the best possible solution to whatever you or your family is dealing with. My main goal in therapy sessions is to take your therapeutic journey at the pace that you want to go. I primarily work with children, adolescents, young adults and families and offer individual and family...
Is your child struggling with big emotions? Having difficulties with focus and attention in school? I am a licensed counselor and registered play therapist. My area of expertise is working with children and adolescents that have experienced trauma, have mood disorders, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder through the use of play-based interventions, as well as trauma-informed approaches. My missi...
Everyone has times in their life when they need an outside perspective or some help. I help kids 3 and up, teens, young adults, and men live a healthy life, handle stress and difficult emotions, process trauma, improve behavior and generally live happier! I am very professional but have a laid-back and personal style. My general approach is person-centered and child-centered to cater counseling...
Kids and teens have difficult and confusing things happen and need a space to process so they can move forward with freedom, confidence, and hope. You are not alone in looking for support for your child. Most kids don't want to sit still and talk about their feelings. They want to be heard and seen and have fun. We keep this in mind as combine various research based methods such as play therapy...
Sometimes we get stuck in the “spin cycle” of life causing us to feel overwhelmed and helpless. Often, we feel ready to change but aren’t sure of how or where to begin. Throughout our lives we experience events, some positive and some negative, that shape our lives and create patterns in our behavior. It is these patterns that define our relationship with ourselves and with others. I will help ...
