Archive for sand tray therapy

Play Therapy Termination Activity: The Chain of Intentions by Jennifer Taylor

Posted by Gary Yorke

· December 21, 2017

Termination of play therapy services can be difficult for the counselor and the child. The relationship formed during the months of therapy is one of the most important aspects of the process. Termination activities differ across settings: some offices provide certificates and some simply said good bye.

Today, I will share a termination activity that has been quite popular in my office.

The truth is that it is also a goal setting activity. So, you can use it at the beginning and the end of therapy.

It started way back in January 2016….I like to call it the Chain of Intentions.

The Inspiration for This Termination Activity

The Chain of Intentions was inspired by a commercial that I watched about the My Intent Project. According to their webpage,

We believe there is purpose inside each of us and we want our efforts to encourage people to share more truth and inspiration with each other. We are not a jewelry company – we are an intentions project-My Intent Project

Despite their claim not to be a jewelry company, they do in fact, make jewelry. The customer chooses a word of inspiration to have marked on a disc and uses that as inspiration or motivation in their daily life.

(Note…I have no affiliation with the My Intent project and have received no financial compensation from them…this is purely background).

So, I ordered one with my intention for my play therapy practice.

My word was FOCUS.

Focus on PLAY THERAPY.

See, I have a habit of saying yes to all opportunities. Those things were taking me away from my core mission which was to use play therapy to help children deal with trauma or other difficulties at home or in school.

I needed to FOCUS.

But, because I could not buy a necklace as a termination gift for each or my clients, I came up with a way to create a chain of intentions with all of the (willing) clients and students that came to my office.

Chain of Intention Instructions:

I started by tying a very long piece of yarn to the air ducts in my office to form a string that went from one end of my office to the other. You could do this by tying it to a nail or a hook of any kind.
Cut out strips of construction paper by folding in half vertically and then folding in half again. You will get 4 strips for each standard sheet.
Using a marker, I wrote my word FOCUS and made the first circle around the piece of yarn. It was very sad and lonely all by itself.
As children noticed it and started to ask about it, I told them the story about the necklace that I just told you. Now..even though I said this was a termination activity, it can also be a treatment goal activity.
If a child wanted to create an intention as a treatment plan goal, I allowed them to make a strip with a word about what they wanted to achieve during their therapy visits. Children choose things like listen, happy, create, design, friends. Make sure that the intention is positive. So no chains that say “Stop, no, don’t.”
I had the child stand on a chair and link their strip onto mine (or the last one up) and then staple it themselves so that their word of intention was visible.
At the end of therapy, the child would either create another strip (or do one for the first time if they were not interested in doing a goal strip) that said what they learned during the therapy. Or sometimes, it was a benefit or just something they wanted to continue working on. Their INTENTION after our services ended. Some wrote happy, friends, joy, connection, success. Again, I had the child write the word, put it up and staple it themselves.
If children were too young to spell, they tried their best. Or they drew a picture. Sometimes, I wrote the word down and they copied it.

Thoughts on Termination

The end result was a way for them to leave something behind. A testament to the power of therapy and the work that was accomplished. A motivation for other children that success was possible. And a vision for their future about what could help guide them after therapy was over.

My goal was to get from one side of the room to the other. It took the entire year. My office is big! But as it grew, it became a fixture in the office and I am excited to take it down and start again. And a little sad to see it go. I am thinking that I can use it as a garland for my office Christmas tree. A symbolic way to honor the work of the year and transition into the intentions for the new one.

***

Thanks to Jennifer Taylor for an other great reader submission! Check out more from Jennifer at jentaylorplaytherapy.com

Have a post you would like to feature on our page? Let us know!

1 Comment

Categories : Behavior, Child Development, Communication, Feelings, Intervention Ideas, Play Therapy, Reader Submissions

Tags : Play Therapy, sand play, sand play therapy, sand therapy, sand tray therapy, sandplay therapy, sandtray therapy, termination of play therapy, termination of therapy, therapy tools

September Play Therapy Wrap-Up

Posted by Gary Yorke

· September 27, 2017

· No Comments

“The activities that are the easiest, cheapest, and most fun to do – such as singing, playing games, reading, storytelling, and just talking and listening – are also the best for child development.” – Jerome Singer (professor, Yale University)

Blog

Wondering what the essential toys for a playroom are? We can help with that! In Jennifer Taylor’s post about playroom essentials, she highlights all of the staple items needed for a complete playroom. From sand tray miniatures to play therapy games, Taylor shows you what you could be missing and why it’s important to include these items in your playroom experience. View her list and links to the perfect playroom here!

Articles

We all want to praise children when they succeed, but according to new international research, how you praise your child could either motivate them to work hard, or motivate them to cheat. According to the study, published in Psychological Science, praising a child for simply being smart could actually cause them to feel pressure to perform up to high expectations, which may cause them to cheat, whereas complimenting a child’s effort will motivate them to work hard, and perform at their full potential. Read the full article here!

“The resilience of an individual depends on drawing resources from many other systems,” said University of Minnesota psychologist Ann S. Masten, PhD, who has studied the subject of child resiliency for 40 years. According to Masten, fostering resiliency in children is accomplished not only by the child’s innate ability to cope and problem-solve, but also by the relationships and support they receive outside of themselves. This article outlines all of the important factors that help a developing child boost resilience, and why you should care. Read the full article here!

Every parent contends with stress. Work stress, family stress, financial stress. It’s important not to let that stress trickle down to your children, says Katie Hurley. In this article she outlines different types of stress, how to identify your triggers, and most importantly, how to practice letting go of those things that are eating you up. When we feel stress, our children see and experience that stress with us, so it’s important to demonstrate coping skills to alleviate those tensions. Read the full article here!

No Comments

Categories : Behavior, Child Development, Communication, Conflict, Feelings, Monthly Wrap-Up, Parenting, Play Therapy, Play Therapy books, Play Therapy Games, Play Therapy Toys, Reader Submissions, Social Issues, Wrap Up

Tags : child therapy toys, childhood stress, feelings, Play Therapy, play therapy dolls, play therapy toys, sand tray miniatures, sand tray therapy, stress, teens, therapeutic games for children, therapeutic games for teens, therapy games, therapy toys

July Play Therapy Wrap-Up

Posted by Gary Yorke

· August 4, 2017

· No Comments

“Play is the highest form of research.”

– Albert Einstein

Blog

Donna Hammontree had some great reasons for keeping those creepy play therapy dolls in your playroom. Even though they may not be the playroom favorites, they can often be implemented by a child to portray someone or something related to fear, anger, anxiety, and even guilt. “They may hide the dolls, lock them up with my play chain, or throw them away in a pretend garbage can. Sometimes they add guards around the dolls to provide extra security. Or, we may dress up as a superhero and find the dolls together. This frequently leads to better coping at home,” said Hammontree of her practice with the dolls. Read the full post here!

Articles

It’s back to school time and that means back to school stress. Each new grade comes with new challenges- and new fears. The best way to curb back to school anxiety is to talk to yours kids and make sure they know that just because they feel nervous about something doesn’t make it bad or scary. Its OK to feel that way about things. Dinner conversations and unstructured play time are the best ways to debrief and find relief from the stressors of new school experiences. Read full article here!

Childhood stress is on the rise according to Julia Grochowski. Stress in children does not manifest itself in the same ways as adults. When a child doesn’t have the language to express what they are feeling they may say that they feel badly physically. They may have a tummy or head ache. The best way to differentiate between a tress induced ache and a physical ache is to pay close attention to when the child is experiencing it. If it is consistently occurring during a time of possible stress (school, tests, homework, etc.) There is a good chance that the child is not being difficult or sick, but that they are stressed. Read full article here!

Teen years are some of the hardest to navigate for parent and child. Dr. Sheryl Ziegler says the best way to close the gap between you and your teen is with more listening and less criticism. Parents who have teens who are active on social media should also be familiar with the social media platforms. Focus on common experiences. Read the full article here!

No Comments

Categories : Anxiety, Child Development, Communication, Feelings, Monthly Wrap-Up, Parenting, Reader Submissions, Wrap Up

Tags : childhood stress, Play Therapy, play therapy dolls, play therapy intervention, play therapy toys, sand tray therapy, stress, teens

10 Categories for Sorting Sandtray Shelves: How, What and Why by Amy Flaherty, LPE-I

Posted by Gary Yorke

· May 19, 2017

· No Comments

Confession time: I’m an addict.

What kind of addict you ask…

..the best kind: the sandtray miniature kind!!

I’m betting that if you are reading this super nuanced post about the details of doing sandtray therapy you should belong to a miniature meeting somewhere too, am I right??

Okay, so let’s get to it…

Last week I moved into a new, KA office where I have a spacious training room as well as a play therapy space.

I’m not gonna lie, moving sucked a big one, but one bright spot appeared in the whole process….

I got to rearrange and set up my miniatures just as I wanted them on brand new shelves!!

All My Pretties…

Since I’ve been doing sandtray therapy trainings for several years now (sign up here to grab your spot at my next training), many folks have asked the best way to arrange miniatures on shelves.

As an aside, don’t worry for you traveling, crammed-for-space-therapists- my next blog post will be just for you so be on the look out!

Now, back to the fun stuff.

I’m going to show you how I arrange my miniatures and tell you my logic behind my placements. Plus, you’ll get to see most of my miniatures up close and personal, which I can bet will give you some miniature envy (there’s no such thing as ‘enough’ miniatures!)

Okay! Roll up your sleeves and let’s dig in shall we?

1. Animals

To start, you can see my animal shelves below. I place my animals closest to the bottom because they are most used my younger kiddos. Young kids are most likely to use animals rather than people so putting them on the bottom just makes practical sense.

Groupings of domesticated animals- try to put the horses and other types of animals together. Kids will often make families out of these. Horses get used a LOT.

Groupings with zoo/wild animals

Birds/Cats/Dogs My cat and dog miniatures are also used all the time. You can almost never have enough of these.

Scary spiders go at the bottom. These are a MUST for working with little boys.

2. Fantasy Figures

When I moved offices, I knew I had to dedicate more shelves to fantasy miniatures. These are also a must-have for your sandtray collection because they get used with all ages. Adults usually place them as metaphors or hobbies, but kids will tell lots of stories with the fantasy figures.

Don’t worry- by placing an Elsa miniature there you aren’t guaranteed to hear the whole plot of Frozen. (Read this post to find out why).

Bottom to top shelves with fantasy figures. Nab these any time you see them!

Dragon shelf. Used for all ages but again little boys gravitate towards this shelf. Multiple-headed dragons are the best.

3. Transportation

If you work with kids AT ALL, you will likely have a difficult time keeping this shelf neat and tidy. Little boys typically LOVE to smash cars into each other. Remember, even if they can’t tell you what is happening in the tray, it doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. The brain never misses a chance to integrate.

So many cars they are spilling out of the shelves

4. People

When working with school age clients and older, having a variety of people is extremely helpful. Try to collect as many different ages, skin colors, and diverse abilities as possible.

As you can see, I separated mine into gender and then had a shelf for groupings of people. I also made a separate placement just for what I think of as “milestone markers,” such as birth, weddings, graduation. Place these near the bottom so your kids can access people miniatures as needed.

My shelf o’ men. Not sure why I have more men than women? Interesting though..

Children shelf on the bottom (babies are grouped) and then the women shelf above it

Family shelf. Can you spot my favorite??

5. Fences

I have an entire shelf devoted just to fences. You really can never have too many fences. Kids will often line the tray with fences and have fences inside of fences. A variety of size and shapes are helpful. To find out more about fences in the tray, click here.

Fences on the top and treasure box/treasure shelf below

6. Treasure/Rocks

Just as fences get used in trays for all ages, so do treasure chests, treasures, and rocks. I try to place these near the middle on my shelves.

Don’t worry about sorting all of your rocks because the kids will choose what they need anyway (and you will drive your OCD self INSANE if you make this a priority.)

7. Religion/Death shelves

Seems like an odd pairing at first huh? But, if you think about it, religion plays a key role in how we see death, so it makes sense to have these near each other.

Clients of all ages will use these- adults again, perhaps more metaphorically but these two shelves do get a lot of use in my play room.

In case you can’t see, they are in the middle shelves.

Death and religion shelves

8. Miscellaneous

But what about all that stuff that just doesn’t have a category??

Round those up and put them on shelves you classify as “miscellaneous.” Adults LOVE these shelves. So many abstract thoughts and stories come from random miniatures.

Always keep an eye out at yard sales and flea markets for one-of-a-kind miniatures to fill these shelves. Often those miniatures where I have NO CLUE how they could be used end up being the most popular ones!

Some of my favorite shelves. Also near the middle

More miniature eye candy..

9. Houses/Bridges

I place my houses at the top because these rarely get used by little ones, but adults love to populate their trays with houses. A variety of houses is helpful for the client to find one that is “just right.”

Bridges are often used by adults to symbolize hope and connection. Any time you see a bridge come into a tray, know you are on the right track.

Bridges, bridges and more bridges in my sandtray room

Some houses

More houses

10. Breakable/abstract ideas

I keep my breakable stuff on the top shelves. However, this doesn’t mean that stuff never gets broken. If you are super worried about it getting broken, it doesn’t belong in your collection. Put that on a bookshelf somewhere where you can admire it.

Adults will be the ones who use these. Even then, it’s not super common for adults to use them. I think I have these for myself, if I’m honest.

Breakable pretties

Hope this was helpful to you! Stay tuned for the next post about space-friendly set-ups for miniatures.

Now that you’ve seen mine- I want to see your miniatures! Put a picture of your collection or your most favorite miniatures in the comments and then we can all have miniature envy!

***

Thanks to Amy Flaherty and The Southern Sandtray for this great post!

Visit Childtherapytoys.com to for all of your sandplay and child therapy needs!

No Comments

Categories : Reader Submissions, Sandplay/Sand Tray Therapy, Uncategorized

Tags : Play Therapy, sand tray miniatures, sand tray therapy, therapy toys

10 Categories for Sorting Sandtray Shelves: How, What, and Why by Amy Flaherty

Posted by Gary Yorke

· May 19, 2017

· 1 Comment

Confession time: I’m an addict.

What kind of addict you ask…

..the best kind: the sandtray miniature kind!!

I’m betting that if you are reading this super nuanced post about the details of doing sandtray therapy you should belong to a miniature meeting somewhere too, am I right??

Okay, so let’s get to it…

Last week I moved into a new, KA office where I have a spacious training room as well as a play therapy space.

I’m not gonna lie, moving sucked a big one, but one bright spot appeared in the whole process….

I got to rearrange and set up my miniatures just as I wanted them on brand new shelves!!

All My Pretties…

Since I’ve been doing sandtray therapy trainings for several years now (sign up here to grab your spot at my next training), many folks have asked the best way to arrange miniatures on shelves.

As an aside, don’t worry for you traveling, crammed-for-space-therapists- my next blog post will be just for you so be on the look out!

Now, back to the fun stuff.

Okay! Roll up your sleeves and let’s dig in shall we?

1. Animals

Groupings of domesticated animals- try to put the horses and other types of animals together. Kids will often make families out of these. Horses get used a LOT.

Groupings with zoo/wild animals

Birds/Cats/Dogs My cat and dog miniatures are also used all the time. You can almost never have enough of these.

Scary spiders go at the bottom. These are a MUST for working with little boys.

2. Fantasy Figures

Don’t worry- by placing an Elsa miniature there you aren’t guaranteed to hear the whole plot of Frozen. (Read this post to find out why).

Bottom to top shelves with fantasy figures. Nab these any time you see them!

Dragon shelf. Used for all ages but again little boys gravitate towards this shelf. Multiple-headed dragons are the best.

3. Transportation

So many cars they are spilling out of the shelves

4. People

When working with school age clients and older, having a variety of people is extremely helpful. Try to collect as many different ages, skin colors, and diverse abilities as possible.

My shelf o’ men. Not sure why I have more men than women? Interesting though..

Children shelf on the bottom (babies are grouped) and then the women shelf above it

Family shelf. Can you spot my favorite??

5. Fences

Fences on the top and treasure box/treasure shelf below

6. Treasure/Rocks

Just as fences get used in trays for all ages, so do treasure chests, treasures, and rocks. I try to place these near the middle on my shelves.

Don’t worry about sorting all of your rocks because the kids will choose what they need anyway (and you will drive your OCD self INSANE if you make this a priority.)

7. Religion/Death shelves

Seems like an odd pairing at first huh? But, if you think about it, religion plays a key role in how we see death, so it makes sense to have these near each other.

Clients of all ages will use these- adults again, perhaps more metaphorically but these two shelves do get a lot of use in my play room.

In case you can’t see, they are in the middle shelves.

Death and religion shelves

8. Miscellaneous

But what about all that stuff that just doesn’t have a category??

Round those up and put them on shelves you classify as “miscellaneous.” Adults LOVE these shelves. So many abstract thoughts and stories come from random miniatures.

Some of my favorite shelves. Also near the middle

More miniature eye candy..

9. Houses/Bridges

Bridges are often used by adults to symbolize hope and connection. Any time you see a bridge come into a tray, know you are on the right track.

Bridges, bridges and more bridges in my sandtray room

Some houses

More houses

10. Breakable/abstract ideas

Adults will be the ones who use these. Even then, it’s not super common for adults to use them. I think I have these for myself, if I’m honest.

Breakable pretties

Hope this was helpful to you! Stay tuned for the next post about space-friendly set-ups for miniatures.

Now that you’ve seen mine- I want to see your miniatures! Put a picture of your collection or your most favorite miniatures in the comments and then we can all have miniature envy!

***

Thanks to Amy Flaherty and The Southern Sandtray for this great post!

Visit Childtherapytoys.com to for all of your sandplay and child therapy needs!

1 Comment

Categories : Play Therapy, Reader Submissions, Sandplay/Sand Tray Therapy

Tags : Play Therapy, play therapy intervention, sand tray miniatures, sand tray therapy, therapy intervention, therapy toys

Spring Cleaning in Your Facility and in Yourself by Clair Mellenthin

Posted by Gary Yorke

· April 14, 2017

· 1 Comment

Hello Play Therapists!

With the wonderment of spring upon us, I have been thinking a lot about spring cleaning and the importance of doing this not just externally, but internally as well.

It is a great time to clean out your play room and go through your toys, dress ups, and art supplies.

Make a list to restock, repair, and reuse different items.

Once the outside is taken care of, now it is time to do some spring cleaning on the inside.

Think about cases or experiences you are carrying around with you and apply the same level of care and cleaning to these different issues. Are there things you are ready to discard, repair, or replace?

One of my favorite ways to do this for myself is to create a collage of my “two wolves”– the different parts of me that are in constant battle with each other.

When we can put the internal conflict into a tangible, distinct, separate space from us, we can see it in a different way and gain insight into why there is the conflict taking place and what parts of self we are neglecting or indulging.

Spring is a time of renewal. I hope that you will find a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and drive in your work with our little ones (whether they are three or ninety-three years old!).

***

Thanks to Clair Mellenthin, LCSW, RPTS for this submission! You can get more from Clair on her website.

Also, catch Clair in action at her upcoming PESI workshops in Oregon and New York.

1 Comment

Categories : Feelings, Play Therapy news, Reader Submissions, Sandplay/Sand Tray Therapy

Tags : feelings, Play Therapy, play therapy intervention, sand tray therapy, therapy intervention

What is Sand Tray Therapy?

Posted by Jacob Wilburn

· March 8, 2008

· No Comments

Throughout history, sand has been used as an essential ingredient in the construction of the world around us. Brick, glass, and concrete would not exist without sand and, thusly, neither would our modern framework as we know it. In a similar, more figurative sense, sand tray therapy uses sand to create a physical, symbolic model of an individual’s inner worlds and exclusive realities—or, perhaps more appropriately, their personal, psychological infrastructure. By using the sand tray as the canvas and a large assortment of miniature sand tray objects as the medium, sand tray therapy allows a burdened or distraught person to express him or herself in a way that is therapeutic for the individual and interpretable by the sand tray therapy practitioner. As simple as this process might seem, sand tray therapy intervention has been practiced, studied, and diversified for over seventy years and involves many different components and theories.

Sand tray therapy (also known as sandplay or The World Technique) was developed by Dr. Margaret Lowenfeld during the 1920s. Working as a pediatrician, she observed the importance of children’s play as a therapeutic device, as well as a window into their cognitive and psychological functioning. Applying this theory to child therapy, it was discovered that providing children with the tools to express themselves in their own unique way and learning to interpret the language of play can illuminate a great deal of important information about the child. When combined with the almost inexplicable soothing effects of sand, sand tray therapy was born as an innovative method of both healing and expression.

The physical tools involved in sand tray therapy (aside from sand) are a tabletop sand tray, a water source, and a large, assorted array of miniatures that can be manipulated by the sand tray participant inside the sand tray. A sand tray typically measures four-feet by three-feet, making it no larger than the sand tray therapy participant’s field of vision. Examples of sand tray miniatures include animals, people, furniture, vehicles, food, buildings, and so forth. The amount and variety of sand tray miniatures provided can correlate with the sand tray participant’s options for expression and, therefore, with the effectiveness of the sand tray therapy. Though all of these sand tray supplies are essential to the sand tray process, the most vital components of successful sand tray therapy relate to the technique of the sand tray therapist.

As with many other methods of play therapy, sand tray therapy must be conducted in a non-invasive manner. Since the goal of the sand tray therapist is to illicit and assess the true meanings of the world created in the sand tray, the participant must feel completely uninhibited and free to express him or herself in whatever way their feelings dictate. Sand tray therapy does involve interaction between therapist and participant, but in a non-authoritative environment. The sand tray therapist invites the participant to tell a story or, perhaps, recreate a memory with the sand tray miniatures on the landscape of the sand tray. The specific choices and manipulations of the objects must be acutely observed by the sand tray therapist and explored through careful inquiry. Discussing the participant’s sand tray world can lead to revelations about struggles or anxieties, in-depth self-exploration, the development of strong coping skills, and, ultimately, a profound healing experience.

Though sand tray therapy was originally developed as a method of helping children articulate their emotions and experiences, it has since been embraced as a mode of expression and coping for adults, as well. The combination of exercising one’s creativity, shrinking complex realities down to a manageable size, and finding enjoyment in the process is what makes sand tray therapy unique. As this method is continually researched and practiced, it becomes increasingly useful in a wide variety of situations.

No Comments

Categories : Uncategorized

Tags : sand tray therapy