Three Reasons Why One Sand Tray Might Not Be Enough

How many sandtrays are too many?
 
From standard size trays, to smaller trays, virtual trays, person shaped, heart shaped, or circle PLUS with all different shades and varieties of sand the sky is the limit! And with playroom space being a priceless commodity, most play therapists don’t have a full room or endless space to dedicate to the sand tray setup.
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So if you have one tray or are just thinking of starting sandtray - I want to encourage you to consider two trays in your practice.  I wanted to share the top three reasons you should consider two trays, and why two trays don't need to break the bank! 
 
First, two trays allows you to hold distinct and separate space for two concepts at the same time for processing.  You can absolutely do this in a larger “split” tray where you divide one tray in half BUT sometimes and for some issues it is more powerful to do this with two trays. 

Prompts for this might look like “create a tray of your life before you started therapy and where you are now” or “create a tray for what life is like for you now and one for what you want it to look like after you’re done with therapy!”.  Having two separate trays can also be invaluable for clients that need to constantly transition between environments such as with children of separated or divorced families.  
 
Next, for some clients I work with a standard larger tray feels too big and expansive for sandtray work.  When given the option there are some clients that prefer the containment that a smaller size tray can provide and with the smaller tray it helps decrease overwhelm that may come for some clients with a standard size tray. 
 
Lastly, one of the areas I use dual trays the most would be family trays! Whether siblings are coming into session together or we are using the trays for parent child work, amazing things can happen when two members engage in the sand tray process together!  For these cases each person in the dyad can have their own separate tray! 
 
So, there you have it! My top 3 reasons why you need more than one sand tray in your practice! AND it doesn’t have to be expensive. Check out these options HERE or I have three of these HERE in my office now and they happen to be my favorite smaller trays! 

If you are interested in getting trained in sandtray you HAVE to check out my training Creating Worlds: An Introduction To Sandtray Play Therapy! This training will prepare you from start to finish to start using Sandtray in your practice with kids and teens.  Say hello to your step-by-step guide to sandtray HERE! ​


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