Expression and Story Through Play.

"The Sandtray - tiny grains of sand, like huge diamonds are so powerful, yet it   appears uncomplicated, natural and after all ,its just a tray of sand!"

My thoughts, before I  took part in a Sandtray session many years ago- how wrong was I, and how totally unprepared I was for what followed- it is difficult to even put into words- as its a deep and powerful experience, that cannot be taught- it has to be felt, words do not allow for the impact it has.

Over the last 10 years we have grown to learn more about the expressive tools that can be used and offered to children and young people, experiencing "tough times"


Many professionals within the field of trauma work and neuroscience have shared research and key findings on the impact trauma has on the brain and our ability as human beings to process and cope with that impact.
How it can impact our learning, our processing and for some become a block to growth and development.

Much of this work and research has come from collaborative work alongside children, young people and their families. ( Violet Oaklander, Dr Margot Sunderland, Dr Garry Landreth to name but a few)

I have been fortunate to have been a student with some of these teachers, and have embarked on further training and therapy within the vast area of Therapeutic Play.
As I grow - it is an area of work I am continually learning from as a practitioner.
It is not an area to approach without training, and teaching, supervision or personal therapy opportunity. 

When I think about trauma, and perhaps what a child or young person has experienced, I look at subtle trauma, those short episodes, those things that seem unimportant to others- these are often the beginnings, and then other short episodes arise, little incidents, and they begin to build, much like the "Tower of Jenga" I have spoke about previously.
Then all of a sudden it has grown to enormous height, is so loud that nothing else can be heard.

We all have different ways of dealing with our own episodes- moments in our lives where we have needed an extra hand, an arm to guide us- however for some children and families this is an invisible image- one that is too difficult to locate or see, or accept.

When working with play skills- we open up the dialogue between the two worlds.
Children and young people often reveal things about themselves that they wouldn't normally do, they sometimes use metaphors and objects, as adults we feel the urge to be able to fix them- and within Therapeutic Play sessions its really important to try and resist that urge deep within us.
That is asking a lot of us, and for some playing does not come easy.

If you have not had the opportunity to be free with objects, to explore, to imagine to re-inact with puppets, dance, sing, paint, play with sand- how do you allow yourselves to be free with the medium you wish to invite the child to explore and use.

When delivering a therapeutic session, a space, its important to acknowledge that the simplest of things has the biggest impact.

Allowing children and young people the opportunity to play, take a puppet, share a feeling, the name of the puppet, what is it doing- you are inviting them on a journey of play.
To offer paint, clay ,a drum alongside a child, to listen as the drum becomes a tool an extension of their feelings is a powerful moment.
Here you will both discover individuality, imagination, the role of this character or feeling- how it  plays, its likes and dislikes, the volume of their voice, or instrument, the tone, the language.
Here you begin to do the wonderings for the child or young person.
Symbolising feelings allows children to choose to join in or create conversations about their emotional world.

Working within the metaphor has a feeling of safety, as you speak as an object.

I will be sharing further thoughts and insights in the coming weeks using my blog to explore these, share and grow as a practitioner.




"Trauma makes you fight the last battle, over and over again"
Bessel Van der Kolk 1999.


Further Reading-

Margaret Lowenfeld - Understanding Children's SandPlay
Violet Oaklander- Windows to our children.