ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the author examines the early parental relationships of two nine-year-old boys, whom she will call Jason Aronson Incand Derek, and how sandplay helped to restructure their wounded beginnings, providing them with the possibility for better outcomes in life. She explains to Jason that he could create his own world, or story, in the wet or dry tray, using any of the tools or miniatures. The cases that follow demonstrate how Sandplay allowed two boys to access the attachment issues that began during infancy and pre-verbal development. Sandplay was a gift in the form of an unconscious, symbolic language for both of the boys. During the first Sandplay experience, Derek created both a dry tray and a wet tray. Even though Derek did not come anywhere near completing a Sandplay process, the author chooses to focus on the positive aspects that Sandplay provided him.