Let’s Dig Deep: Why The Sand You Use Matters in Sandtray

The most exciting part about sandtray? The miniatures - hands down.
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A borderline obsession for most sandtray therapists is collecting, selecting, and cultivating the absolutely perfect miniature collection.  Also likely paired with showing off your favorite minis to your office neighbors and play therapist besties. 

Want to grow your collection? Check out more resources with tons of ideas HERE and HERE! ​

But something equally as important as the miniatures?

Yup - the sand. 

And if I can get real personal for a minute I am a LOVER of sand. It is my happy place both in and out of the therapy office. Whether I am sticking my toes in one of my favorite sandy Minnesotan beaches or am in total vay-cay vibes, the beach and the water is where everything slows down.

This is not a new thing for me.  12  year old pre-teen Ann was cultivating Zen sand gardens all around her bedroom with a careful selection of stones and sticks for mindful drawing of designs and patterns.

All of this to say, as much as I'd like to believe I am, I’m probably not unique.  For a lot of people and cultures, sand is special and sacred.  And even clients that may not have access to sand in the ways that I have experienced above, something absolutely magical (and neuroscience backed!) happens when we run our hands through the sand. 

So I wanted to share with you the top 7 reasons why the actual sand you put in your tray matters!!

My co-pilots and trusty resources for this post?  Two of my favorite sandtray texts - Advanced Sandtray Therapy and Sandplay Therapy! 

So enough waiting - let's dive in to why the actual sand in your tray really does matter! 

Sand is a symbol for the earth.  And sand is actually part of the earth.  Sand is both symbolic and metaphorical and grounds us to the world outside and the world inside the tray. 

The sand is the literal foundation for the world being created. This foundation can be shifted, moulded, used to bury, can be used to cover, open up, or destroy. 

Sand is regressive.  Being in contact with sand can regress clients into earlier states.  Yup, it's that powerful! 

Sand is experiential and expressive.  A large range of emotions can come up and be connected to through acts of smoothing, pouring, patting, hitting, and sifting the sand. 

Sand is integrating.  The sensory experience of touching and seeing the sand allows for meaning making and integration. Bonnie Badenoch describes this integration as a “connection between body, feelings, and (sometimes) thought” in the book  Advanced Sandtray Therapy.  

Grit matters. Lobovitz Boik and Goodwin suggest that courser sand can be more grounding while finer sand can evoke a deeper altered state. 

It’s practical. Having enough depth of sand allows for more complexities in the world.  Characters or objects that wouldn’t normally “stand upright” can now be at higher or lower levels, upright, or at angles.  Additionally with the depth of the sand clients get to choose how much or little of something is exposed from just a teeny tiny spec to the whole nine yards.

And this ability? It adds literal (and metaphorical) depth and clinical complexity to the tray. 

My hope is this blog got you just as excited about the sand in your tray as you are about the miniatures! 

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