Some of my own clients and students have called it a shamanic journey, a looking into the mirror, a place to find self, a meditation, trance work, a spiritual quest, a journey to the ancestors, a private drama, inventing my life, genesis play, a place to talk to Mom, God's time,
and playground earth."      
                                                                                                           G.S. De Demonico

What is It?
Sandplay Therapy is an incredibly powerful therapeutic technique for children, adolescents, and adults. Sandplay "is a powerful therapy, like a dream, that allows us to work through deep issues in a safe, non-verbal way."*

"The Sandplay method takes the limited therapeutic possibilities of language into account with great seriousness and offers alternative means of psychic expression. Disturbing life experiences frequently defy expression in words...Sandplay creates a bridge between the conscious and the unconscious."**

My theoretical orientation is rooted in Jungian theory and is based on the teachings of Dora Kalff, a Jungian Analyst.

An Example,
My Own
To partially illustrate the process, the above photos are a part of my own process, a requirement as I worked to become certified as a Sandplay Practitioner. Although I was working towards certification, more importantly I was working on my own loss, the death of my son. Although I didn't consciously realize it at the time, the center mound of sand (pictured on the left) is actually the shape of a baby cradle. My son was only ten days old when he passed. Sandplay allowed me to explore and experience my grief very deeply. In a way that words, and talk therapy, could not express. This photo illustrates the depths that the sand touches, where images are constructed from the subconscious, while the conscious mind remains unaware.
* Quote From Barbara Turner
** Quote from Martin Kalff