Letting the Light in Through Play: Healing and Development in Sandplay Therapy

This article aims to elucidate the value of play in life, healing, and the creative arts, with a focus on supervision in Sandplay Therapy. Through narratives about specific relevant situations, such as the active engagement of the supervisor in Sandplay, neuroscience, and mythology, readers are able to resonate with contextualization of stories and archetypal images that accentuate the author’s focus on healing and development in both clients and therapists, as well as the supervisor or consultant. These forms of contextualization have various components, such as positive and disturbing therapeutic relationships, symbols, images, consciousness and the unconscious, silence, information provided by the body, affective energy, mirroring (both early, adequate, and inadequate), and the “free and protected space” of the sandtray, the therapy room, and the triadic, relationship between client, therapist, and supervisor. All of these components have multiple effects on both client, therapist, and supervisor. They may be unrecognized or unattended to, because of transference/countertransference issues, a lack of patience, and unawareness of one’s life’s invitation to continue to learn and explore, to bring light to unconsciousness and lack of knowledge. On the other hand, when they are addressed within the therapeutic and supervisory relationships and physical contexts, healing and development may occur.