September 24, 2011

The Beautiful Therapy

- creation and destruction of worlds in Sand-play

Sandplay Therapy has been referred to as the 'silent workshop of the psyche', a relational and a heart process, and the creation of a 'soul garden'. The origins of sandplay can be traced back to our earliest human impulses towards consciousness, spirituality and culture where sand is used as a detoxifying, transporting and healing medium.The development of sandplay within  western therapeutic practice was inspired by a revolutionary edwardian writer( H.G.Wells ), a pioneering physician working with deprived families in the East End (Margaret Lowenfeld), and a Swiss analyst and sanskrit scholar( Dora Kalff) who trained with Carl Jung. Sandplay therapy can be seen as a symbolic language, tracing a pattern of individuation, initiation and emergence over time, or an odyssey or journey into the unknown. It also creates a unique 'in- between-space' of client and therapist, objects and ground, individuals and the collective, out of which inner and outer worlds can come into dialogue.It is currently being used with children, adolescents, adults , people with learning disabilities, families and groups, and alongside more verbal therapies. I will present some of my experiences , images and processes involved in recent work with children and adolescents using sandplay, and look at the following questions : What is SandPlay Therapy ? How does it work ? How is it different to other forms of psychotherapy ? Origins and future directions ; Is it possible to create a 'free and protected space' in the modern NHS ?

Dr Lynn McClelland is a Clinical Psychologist working in a local NHS Child & Adolescent Mental Health team, and a Training Lecturer and Supervisor on the Doctoral programme in Clinical Psychology at Exeter University. She offers CPD and training courses on SandPlay with Brenda Rawlinson (Lead Creative Therapist ) and has published articles in the area of social inequalities and mental health :McClelland,L. & Reicher,S. (2000) A Last Defense : Discourse Analysis of Suicide Notes. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.McClelland,L. & Miller,J. (2006) Mad, bad and dangerous to know : formulating social inequalities. In R.Dallos & J.Johnstone (Eds) Formulation in Psychology & Psychotherapy. Routledge.