The Purpose of the Therapist
“If the therapist does not interpret the trays then what is their purpose and how does it work.”
The assumption in sandplay is that the therapist has worked on their own unconscious and has used sandplay to do at least some of that exploration. The training guidelines are available from the national and international organizations. The therapist must have worked on their own unconscious. The therapist can only take the client as far into the unconscious as they have been themselves.They must have integrated and healed their wounds or at least be aware of their wounds. The client picks up unconsciously soon after meeting the therapist that it is safe to talk about things that they would not share with other people. For instance if something bad has happened to you, you do not share it with just anyone. You have a special friend who you share it with, with whom you know it’s safe. If you have suffered the recent loss of a parent you will tend to talk to someone you know who has had the same experience, who you sense will understand. That is why when you engage with a therapist you feel ok talking about things that you normally would not talk about. Essential to this is the fact that the content of the exchange is absolutely confidential, including as mentioned above the photographs taken of the clients work. This is what we mean by the protected space…. that psychic space between the personality of the therapist and that of the client. In sandplay the tray is the most important part of that and the pictures produced by the client must be regarded with the utmost respect. It is not too much to say, and often is, that it is a sacred space.