Many theoretical approaches to therapy emphasize the importance of addressing the underlying or core issues of clients rather than merely treating their symptoms. These core issues emerge in sessions as themes or patterns in the lives of clients. These themes and patterns have a behavioral component and accompanying beliefs and emotions. Patterns of behavior can [...]

Many adult clients (and therapists) like to focus on the past when they are in a therapy session. Clients like to tell stories about the past and may tell therapists very specific chronological details about what happened and when it occurred. Certainly if clients are recounting a traumatic event these details are very important and [...]

One of the distinctions of the humanistic approach to sandtray is our emphasis on awareness and experiencing rather than insight and analysis. This focus contrasts sharply with sandplay, cognitive-behavioral therapy and many others. Insight appeals to many clients and many therapists as well. Similarly, analyzing feelings, motives, and events attracts people because we all want [...]

Have you ever had a client who won’t stop talking long enough for you to respond? If not, you probably do not work with many adults because many adult clients—and some younger clients—talk for extended periods and do not expect the therapist to enter in to the exchange. In fact, some of the adult clients [...]

When is it appropriate to touch clients? How should it be done? Should it ever be used with some clients? Why is it helpful?
These are some of the questions we answer in this video lesson. In humanistic sandtray therapy, touching clients may be one way that therapists convey empathy, support and connection. Novice therapists do [...]

Humanistic sandtray therapists work in the here and now and focus on the experience of clients in the moment. Clients experience emotion in their bodies so humanistic sandtray therapists pay close attention to breathing, tension, facial expressions, body language and movement and tone of voice. This lesson stresses the importance of therapists noticing all of [...]

In this first lesson, we’re going to take a short clip from Part 1 and explain the humanistic approach to bridge the transition from scene creation to processing.
In the humanistic approach, it is usually best to start out with a focus on experience rather than content.
I typically ask, “What is it like to create this [...]