Humanistic therapists view the client as self-actualizing and “endowed with an inherent tendency to develop his or her potential” (Cain, 2002, p. 3). Clients are seen as having the ability to use inner resources for growth. Humanistic therapists believe that people are capable of being self-aware and responsible for the choices they make. Clients are [...]

What is the value of a experiencing a feeling fully during the processing phase of a sandtray session? Actually, allowing oneself to experience feelings fully has several payoffs. First, there is an issue of being comfortable with what goes on in my own skin. How comfortable am I with my own experience? I like to [...]

Sandtray provides clients with another medium through which they can express themselves. As I have mentioned, I only use sandtray with clients who trust me on a fairly deep level. I am not comfortable with the idea of selling the client on the idea. If the client is reluctant to do sandtray, we do not [...]

I typically begin the processing phase of the session by saying “Tell me about your scene.” However, if the client is feeling something during the creation phase, I try to start where she is. Excerpt from Sandtray Therapy: A Humanistic Approach (p. 68)
The humanistic approach to sandtray that is described in this book steers away [...]

During the creation of the scene, I try to be as present as possible but I do not talk. It is important for clients to have an internal experience of connecting to and selecting miniatures. I do not want to interrupt their internal process but I want them to know that I am with them [...]

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