ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature of complex trauma and the specific advantages of using sandplay. It focuses on sandplay's unique contribution to trauma work found in the concept of the four archetypal relational fields: the field of oneness and merger; the field of twoness and rupture; the field of differentiated oneness and transitional space; and the numinous field. The chapter provides case material that reveals the healing power of sandplay concerning dissociation, a hallmark of trauma, and the integrative power of full attunement in the free and protected space. Complex trauma is associated with insecure attachment, anxiety, depression, shame, numbing, fear of remembering, and dissociation. Trauma disrupts the healthy flow of energy in the psyche and symptoms emerge. Integration is the main goal in trauma work. D. Siegel spoke of the river of integration as one's window of tolerance expands. Sandplay integrates energy and information into a cohesive flow, which is clearly observable in a sandplay series.
