The more I speak about Sand Story Therapy, the more I realise that a lot of people don’t know what it is. They may have heard of Sand Play as a way of working with children or Sand Tray work potentially, but Sand Story seems to be a way of working that is vastly unknown.
I was introduced to working with sand during my counselling training and despite my initial assumption that it was ‘just for children’, I found it extremely effective in accessing deeper thoughts, feelings and emotions, that I may have found more difficult to access in a traditional counselling session. That is not to say that I would never have reached that depth in other ways but, as with any creative work, the speed at which the unconscious is reached can be much faster.
After qualifying I knew I wanted to train further in working with sand and that is when I found Sand Story. It incorporates elements of both Sand Play and Sand Tray and allows you to tell your story by showing your therapist. It can support exploration and processing of difficult issues whilst offering a safe and contained way of doing so. It can feel like reading chapters in a book – Each session focusing on a different chapter. This way of working can be helpful with many different issues including trauma, relationships and addiction.
I have personally found that visually seeing and hearing my story in the sand is very different to it being in my head. It allows for a wider lens to explore things through and helps the therapist really understand what I mean when I show them.
As a Sand Story Therapist myself, I recognise that it is a very powerful way of working and should always be done alongside a fully trained therapist. You can go to places you didn’t intend on going to within the session and your therapist will hold the space for you.
Since offering Sand Story Therapy to my clients, I have seen how working in this way can help to access memories, feelings and thoughts that up until that point had been too difficult to reach. Often working in this way becomes preferable due to the physical element of handling the symbols, having hands in the sand and being able to show their story rather than just speaking it.
• If you have tried traditional counselling therapies and found they haven’t quite worked for you,
• If you find you often remain in your ‘head’ in sessions and find it difficult to connect with your emotions,
• If you generally feel comfortable working creatively, handling objects and having a more tactile experience,
Sand Story might be worth trying to see if it offers the shift needed to move forward in therapy.
Within my practice I offer Sand Story therapy as part of our therapeutic counselling work or as a standalone approach. Both ways of working can be helpful so this decision is something we would discuss together to find what is right for you.