Sand therapy

Sand therapy is one of the methods of art therapy, which involves interaction with the sand. It is a way of communication between a child or an adult with the outside world and himself, as well as a means of relieving internal stress.
Such therapy can be implemented in three ways. We will talk about them in this article.

The easiest: conducting classes using a regular street sandbox. But this method has more disadvantages than advantages. To work, the sand must be clean, and the street sandbox cannot guarantee this. Also, this method is very dependent on weather conditions. As well as the likelihood of unauthorized children. It can only be used for home unloading of a mother with a child.

With a professional approach to sand therapy, there is a need to conduct classes indoors. There are two options: a sandbox with diode backlight and an interactive sandbox.

Let’s start with the first one. Light box on which sand is present in a thin layer on top. This method makes it possible to draw and show imagination in a child, although it is more used for entertainment purposes.

The second, more modern way is an interactive sandbox. The positive impact of such sandboxes on health is scientifically substantiated by Canadian experts (Hancock, 2010). Its advantage is the spectacular effects of building a landscape, the search for artifacts and treasures for a while. All that is needed is the availability of various toys (animals, premises, people, etc.). Today, such therapy is more exciting, which helps to completely disengage from where you are.

Psychologists say that people create in the sandbox what is happening in their real life or what they want to add to it. Building a plot in the sand that a child holds in his head, he directs and watches the story himself. At such moments, evaluating the situation from the side, the child ceases to be afraid of it.

Sand therapy can be used as a means of supporting psychological health, as well as in private practice, in schools and kindergartens, in centers for correctional and educational training and rehabilitation, in centers for out-of-school work, in psychological consultations, etc.

The difference between sand therapy and other methods is that it allows you to create a world that opens the way to dreams and fantasies. This world can be seen, felt, experienced, changed, discussed and photographed.

The timing of such therapy varies depending on the situation and age. And the session itself is conditionally divided into three parts: a preliminary conversation (approximately 15 minutes), direct work with the sandbox (20 minutes), and a final conversation (15 minutes).

Sand therapy is a multifaceted method of therapy for both a child and an adult. Interaction with sand helps the teacher to better interact with children, and the child, in turn, can safely open his inner world.