While adults are able to verbalise their personal problems, feelings and anxieties at counselling sessions; children often have difficulty putting these things into words. This is especially so in the face of trauma or loss.
Sandplay Therapy offers children a beautiful way for spontaneous expression and emotional relief with play being the child's natural language. Here the children are given the opportunity to play out feelings about what they have experienced, express their needs and gain perception of self.
In a sandplay session the children are encouraged to use miniature toys and figurines to create a sand picture or sand story in the sand tray. The therapist through complete acceptance of the child provides a safe and secured space for the child to surface inner issues which may be conscious or subconscious to them. Through the creation of a sand picture or sand story the child develops a sense of being in control which is essential for healthy emotional development.By playing out an experience or problem over and over again the child finds it less daunting and gains confidence to cope with it.
“Enter into children's play and you will find the place where their minds, hearts, and souls meet.”
– Virginia Axline, (Psychologist who pioneered play therapy)
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