ABSTRACT
This chapter presents results from our research in which we found that tracking the themes in sandplay scenes is helpful in following the movement in therapy, as well as in observing a client’s stage of development and the therapeutic progress. We found that specific themes often repeated themselves across varied clients and that it is possible to cluster these themes into two groups: themes of wounding and themes of healing. We realized that the themes are archetypal patterns that appear during a sandplay process and that these patterns are inborn, unconscious, archetypal structures residing within all human beings. The twelve wounding themes and twelve healing themes are described in detail, including examples, psychological implications, and potential behavioral goals.
The themes are illustrated in a sandplay case of a 37-year-old woman who communicated her feelings of dissatisfaction with her current life, her two teenage children, both her women and men friends, and ultimately dissatisfaction with herself. It was illuminating and helpful to follow the evolving movement of her psyche in her trays, using the set of process themes presented in this chapter, as well as monitor psychological changes and determining how she was responding to therapy.
