Has anyone else done a sandbox at T?

[Cammy]

Hi Deee. Some therapists use a small box of sand, sometimes in conjunction with a box of small toys and figurines, to allow the patient to express themselves. I'm not quite sure, but I think it might be a Jungian concept (I could be wrong on that one, so forgive). I think the idea is that by letting the mind go and just playing with the sand to create patterns or a scene, some T's think that this gives a glimpse into the subconscious or the inner world of the patient's mind, or accesses the major issue that the patient is currently experiencing. The end result is often symbols, pictures drawn in the sand, scenes with figurines, words, or abstract creations. Of course, with D.I.D., this whole sandbox self-expression thing is a quagmire, mostly because we are multi-minded persons, and are not expressing ourselves from the seat of simply one distinct individual. Forcing someone as complex as a multi-mind to create a single thing that accurately expresses the totality of our inner mental state is simply too much for us to manage. We often feel overwhelmed, or if we do make the attempt, then parts of the personality system become upset at being under-represented. In other cases the whole process of making the attempt simply causes generalized upset.

I hope this helped answer your question for you. My experience with sandbox is limited, and I now would simply refuse to do one, and then try to explain later. With therapists I do not know or trust, I just tell them that the sandbox creates or re-creates feelings of tr--ma. This technique is very helpful with very young children who are too young to articulate their feelings, so it is not without its merits.