ABSTRACT

In humanistic sand tray, therapists establish an empathic and accepting relationship, facilitate a reconnection to inner experiencing and awareness, and restore a sense of trust in the clients' perceptions and emotions. Humanistic sand tray therapists believe in the preeminence of the therapeutic relationship and the importance of facilitating a process of awareness and growth. In humanistic therapy, unconditional positive regard is viewed as one of the curative factors in the therapeutic relationship. Humanistic therapists believe, and numerous meta-analyses support the position, that the primary factor in psychotherapy that influences positive client change is the quality of the relationship. The therapist should be a congruent, genuine, integrated person. Both sand tray and sandplay place great value on holistic aspects of humanistic psychology. The chapter provides a rationale for humanistic sand tray therapy, an explanation of phases in a humanistic sand tray session, and a description of the facilitative responses used by humanistic sand tray therapists in the processing phase of therapy.