Sandplay is a nonverbal, nonrational, form of therapy in which small figures are selected and placed in the sandtray by the client to give concrete outer expression to internal experience. In this process the role of the analyst is to witness, to observe, and appreciate the process, never to judge or evaluate. The sandtray scene exists as both and outer and an inner reality and functions symbolically between both worlds. Sandplay can be understood as embodied active imagination that can access and free repressed energy promoting healing and psychological growth. The effectiveness of Sandplay is based
on the assumption that there is a fundamental drive toward healing and wholeness in the human psyche. Sandplay provides a free and protected space which enables that process.
