Sandplay travelled from a children's "World Technique" into a depth-oriented Jungian method of work with the unconscious.
TIMELINE
A British child psychiatrist, creator of the World Technique (1929). Lowenfeld noticed that children could not put into words what troubled them, but could show it through a miniature world in the sandbox. Her method was diagnostic: a standardized procedure for understanding a child's inner world.
A Swiss Jungian analyst, creator of Sandplay Therapy. Kalff trained with Lowenfeld in London and later with Carl Jung in Zurich. She merged the World Technique with Jungian psychology: the sandbox became not a diagnostic instrument but a space for active imagination.
Kalff's key concept is "free and protected space": the therapist creates conditions of safety, and the client's psyche finds its own way toward healing.
The book Sandplay: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Psyche (1980) is the foundational text.
Kalff's central concept. Two conditions:
In this space the unconscious can appear safely.
The process of translating inner experience into symbolic form. The figures in the sandbox are not "pictures" but symbols: each carries many meanings. A symbol at once conceals and reveals.
The capacity of a symbol to join opposites: conscious and unconscious, masculine and feminine, light and shadow. A sand picture often contains symbols that carry this function.
The Jungian process of becoming whole — integrating all parts of the psyche. A series of sand pictures mirrors this process: from chaos through conflict into integration.
| Parameter | Sandplay (Kalff) | Sand Tray (directive) |
|---|---|---|
| Theory | Jungian | Various (CBT, narrative, and others) |
| Instruction | None — complete freedom | "Create your family", "Show your problem" |
| Interpretation | Minimal, after creation | Active, during and after |
| Therapist's role | Witness, container | Facilitator, interpreter |
| Series | Essential (8-20+ sessions) | May be a one-off |
| Training | Long (3-5 years, ISST) | Short (workshops) |
FORMAT
The evidence base for Sandplay is growing, but it is less extensive than for CBT approaches. Its main strength lies in clinical observations and serial case research.
You are working with an ancient language — the language of images, symbols, and bodily action. Sandplay bypasses the mind's defenses and lets the psyche "speak" through the hands. Your task is to create a safe space and NOT to interfere.
"I am often amazed by the wisdom of the unconscious: it knows the way to healing, if it is given space." — Dora Kalff
Sandplay (Jungian sand therapy) was developed by Dora Kalff on the basis of Margaret Lowenfeld's World Technique and Jung's analytical psychology. The client builds scenes in the sandbox with miniature figures — spontaneously, without instructions. The images say what words cannot.
The key idea: Kalff called this "free and protected space". Free — the client does whatever they want. Protected — the therapist ensures safety. In this space the psyche begins to heal itself.
Sandplay requires a material space: a sandbox of specific dimensions, a collection of miniature figures, water, silence. This is not "play" — this is a ritual space.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Sandbox | 57×72×7 cm, the bottom and sides painted blue (sky, water). Dry and wet |
| Sand | Fine, pleasant to the touch, washed |
| Figures | A collection of miniatures: people, animals, trees, buildings, vehicles, fantastic beings, symbolic objects |
| Water | For creating rivers, lakes, moist forms |
| Camera/photo | For documenting every composition |
Do NOT give instructions like "create your family" or "show your problem" — that is Sand Tray (a different method). In Sandplay — complete freedom.
⚠️ Do not interpret aloud during the creation. That disrupts the process. Your work is to BE, not to SPEAK
Or, if the client is silent:
The client's narration is an important but not mandatory step. Sometimes the image speaks for itself. Do not demand explanations.
Photograph the composition from several angles. This matters:
The therapist in Sandplay is not an interpreter but a witness. You observe on several levels.
| Level | What to notice |
|---|---|
| Process | How the client works — fast/slow, confident/hesitant, joyful/anxious |
| Space | Where the client places things — center, edges, corners. Symmetry or chaos |
| Content | What is chosen — archetypal symbols, realistic scenes, abstractions |
| Relations | How the figures stand toward each other — together, apart, back-to-back, face-to-face |
| Sand | Does the client work with the sand — digging, smoothing, shaping? Does the client expose the bottom (water/sky)? |
| Body | The client's bodily reactions — breath, tension, tears, a smile |
Sandplay works through a series — usually 8-20 or more sessions. Each picture is a "frame" of the inner process. Together they form a story of transformation.
| Stage | Characteristic | Symbols |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning | Caution, testing, surface scenes | Houses, trees, everyday scenes |
| Deepening | Emergence of conflict, chaos, tension | War, monsters, elements, destruction |
| Crisis | Maximum chaos, "the dark night of the soul" | Flood, desert, death, emptiness |
| Transformation | Emergence of the new, first shoots | Child, flower, spring, bridge |
| Integration | Harmony, centering, mandala | Circle, garden, village, mandala, temple |
Not every series passes through every stage. Do not force — each psyche has its own rhythm.
1. Do not interpret for the client — ask 2. Use the client's language, not Jungian jargon 3. Discussion comes after creation, not during 4. Sometimes silence is better than any discussion 5. Connections between sessions — note them, but do not impose: "Remember, in the last session there was a bridge too?"
For children Sandplay is a natural way of expression. The child is not "doing therapy" — the child is playing. And in that play, healing happens.
Signs of closing:
Reviewing the series (the photographs of all compositions) at the end is a powerful therapeutic moment. The client sees the whole path.
The client creates any world in the sandbox without instructions. Full freedom of figure choice and composition. The therapist observes in silence, providing a safe presence.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Lowenfeld, 1979
A particular form of therapeutic presence: being nearby, observing with attention and respect, but not intervening. The very presence of the witness makes the process therapeutic.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Weinrib, 1983
Systematic tracking of HOW the client creates — what they pick up first, where they place it, how they touch the sand, what emotions appear. The process matters as much as the result.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Ryce-Menuhin, 1992
A joint viewing of the photographs of all sand pictures in chronological order. The client sees the whole inner path — from the first picture to the last.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Turner, 2005
Adding water to the sandbox: creating rivers, lakes, seas. Water is a symbol of emotion, of the unconscious, of the maternal. Working with water activates deep experience.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Weinrib, 1983; Turner, 2005
A Jungian technique for expanding a symbol: exploring its meanings through mythology, fairy tales, culture, personal associations. Not interpretation, but enrichment.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Jung, 1964; Kalff, 1980; Bradway & McCoard, 1997
Adaptation of Sandplay for children: fewer words, more play, the child's native language. The therapist is the safe adult who "sees" the child's play.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Weinrib, 1983; Boik & Goodwin, 2000
Integrating body awareness into sand work: attention to sensations in the hands, to breath, to posture. The body knows before the mind does.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Ogden, Minton & Pain, 2006; Levine, 2010
Exploring the link between the client's dreams and their sand pictures. Dreams and Sandplay are two channels to the unconscious, which often resonate with each other.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Jung, 1964; Kalff, 1980; Bradway & McCoard, 1997
Gentle inquiry into the created world through open questions. Not interpretation, but an invitation for the client to speak about what they made, in their own language.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Weinrib, 1983; Turner, 2005
The client works only with sand — digging, smoothing, shaping, creating a landscape. Tactile contact with sand regulates the nervous system and activates preverbal experience.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Weinrib, 1983; Levine, 2010
The client creates a safe place in the sandbox — a resource image they can return to. Especially valuable in trauma and anxiety work.
When to use:
Key phrases:
Follow-up questions:
Warnings:
Kalff, 1980; Shapiro, 2001; van der Kolk, 2014
A diary helps notice changes between sessions and prepare topics to discuss with the therapist.