Sandplay
Sandplay therapy in Rotherham: a non-verbal therapy using sand trays and miniatures to help children and young people express trauma, worries and feelings.
Sandplay therapy is a non-verbal therapeutic approach that uses a sand tray, miniature figures and sometimes water to create scenes – small worlds that reflect a person's inner thoughts, struggles and concerns. It is a form of play therapy, alongside approaches such as imaginative play with toys and puppets, and bibliotherapy.
Who is Sandplay for?
Sandplay is a hands-on therapy often used with children who have experienced trauma, neglect or abuse. It is especially well suited to young children who can't yet express their feelings in words, and it also helps teenagers and adults who find it hard to express themselves. It can support anger, low mood, anxiety and relationship difficulties such as parental separation, as well as learning difficulties.
How it works
Sessions use box-like sand trays. The child chooses from a large collection of miniatures and builds a small world in the tray that reflects what is happening in their life. The therapist observes the choices and arrangement without interrupting.
Afterwards, the child and therapist may explore the choices, arrangement and meaning of the scene together. Often the child chooses to make changes to the world they created. By changing their make-believe world, children are often empowered to make similar changes in their real world. Sandplay can last a few sessions or continue over a longer period.
Sandplay is often part of Play Therapy and other creative therapy sessions, and can also be used within consultation, supervision and Therapeutic Parenting sessions.
Children's Therapy Services is an approved Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) provider, so this service may be funded for eligible adopted children and children under a special guardianship order. Read about the Adoption Support Fund.
How to get started
To find out more or to make a referral, email us at info@childrenstherapy.online or use our referral page. We are based at Office 6, Fitzwilliam Road, Rotherham, and work with families across South Yorkshire, including Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Wakefield.