ABSTRACT
Chapter 1, “Introduction”, begins by exploring the mysterious quality of sand and its profound symbolism, central to sand-tray therapy. The reader is introduced to what sand-tray therapy is, giving a brief history of its development. The focus then moves to the present day, with a critical review of the predominance of Jungian sandplay and the gaps this presents for the therapeutic community. The main argument is that besides Jungian sandplay, existing literature on sand tray underpinned by theory is sparse, providing little theoretical understanding of the client’s process. This chapter informs the reader that the book will introduce a new theoretical framework: pluralistic sand-tray therapy. This unique approach fills the gap for therapists who are not Jungian trained but want to use sand tray as an intervention underpinned by pluralistic theory with its humanistic foundation.
