The Toad Houses as a Symbol of Transformation of Maternity

In this study I analyzed the symbolic meaning of the toad houses made by clients in sandplay therapy. For this purpose, I explored toad houses created by four clients who are experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties. They sang a lyrics of the song “toad, toad, I will give you an old house, give me a new house” while playing with sand. In order to analyze the symbolism of toadhouses, I examined counseling records that contained verbal and nonverbal expression of the children during the therapy session, sandplay images created by clients, and record of counseling with the mothers. As a result, Four clients were commonly not nurtured warmly in their early lives from their mothers. They were making toad houses at the ‘turning point’ in relation to the positive mother-child unity phase, when they were getting out of the negative mother-child relationships and attempting psychological independence. In conclusion the toad houses were represented as a symbol of transformation of death and rebirth of maternity in sandplay therapy.