ABSTRACT
We can speak of a dream language in the sense that a dream is a message from the unconscious of the dreamer to their consciousness. We can similarly speak of a sandplay language. In a sand scene, the experience of the sandplayer is also recorded in a non-verbal, largely unconscious language that we therapists, if we know enough, can pick up on. The extent to which we understand this sandplay language allows us to tune in to or, as Harriet Friedman says, “track” the process. We can read the story of what is happening, what the sandplayer is experiencing. This helps us to empathize. It also keeps us alert and aware.
