Has Anyone Used A Sand Tray Or Modelling Clay In Therapy?

[Hashi]

I'm wondering how people use sand trays in therapy. I might try this at some point in the future but I haven't so far because I imagine all I would do is fidget with the sand (I'm very fidgety, especially during therapy) and I might as well just go on folding, unfolding and refolding a tissue. I also cry almost non-stop in sessions and I worry about getting sand in my eyes when I dab them!

At the same time, I suspect it might be something I'd like to do but feel intimidated about starting. There are a few things I've always felt too awkward about trying, like using crayons and paper, but wonder if they would help. I feel very self-conscious that someone would be observing me.

Which brings me to my other question, which is modelling clay. Has anyone done this and if so how did you find it? I suspect I'd really like to have this in therapy, but would have to take my own in. What sort of clay do people use? How big a lump?

I'm not actually having therapy at the moment. I'm giving a lot of thought to if/when/how I want to start again, and this is something I'm thinking about as part of that.

 

[Abstract]

Had both crayons and a sand tray before and found it a literal life line for me then. Sorry to be dramatic but that is how it felt!

Being trapped in silence was oppressive to say the least. Both these were my only real out from that frozen state and helped me communicate a small amount and stay more present.

Theoretically having something to engage in is apparently a form of dissociation on a very mild level that buffers the stress of the situation. The theory is that it lessons the distress in the situation. My t was a trauma t and was obviously used to managing trauma and a variety of situations.

It may not be useful to you in the same way it was for me but may still be a good way of making things less intense and more doable as well as helping you to express concepts more creatively and directly.

Clay is something I haven't done I am afraid. Sounds appealing though.

 

[InsideAWord]

I used clay as a de-escalation mechanism when I start to feel stressed. We used it for the sensory 1-2-3-4 method when I can feel myself escalating into a panic attack. I still carry little cups of play dough in my purse. ;)

 

[NicG]

I feel awkward about crayons at first but once my therapist told me to draw a person, and then draw my anger on top of the person. Had no idea what I was doing so I just drew angry scribbles everywhere. She looked at it afterwards and pointed out that I'd drawn all my anger inside my person and maybe I needed to learn how to let it out (this was at the very start of my therapy and was a big epiphany for me!!)

I like the crayons and paper thing at other times because it lets a part of my mind go somewhere else while I'm thinking about trauma. It's a little bit of a release that keeps me calm :)

 

[Hashi]

@NicG it hadn't occurred to me that one option is to draw things that the therapist prompts you to. I was imagining it as all coming from me. I can see that being helpful.

I think drawing in a session would be particularly awkward because I do art - I've studied it a little - so I also have to try to get past ideas about what I do not being good enough from an artistic point of view. It's also very important to me to express myself adequately through art. I do things outside sessions and take them in with me, and I like having enough time to work on what I want the image to say.

In fact, I wonder if this is a thing generally. I worry that if I create something on the spot it might not express things adequately.

@InsideAWord I think I would like the clay as a soothing thing plus as an expressive thing. I really think clay would be great for me. I like shaping things with my hands so much I nearly specialised in clay sculpture when doing art, but didn't. So it's a medium I like but I don't have the same hang-ups around it.

Unfortunately I'm not keen on Play Dough (smell, texture, associations) although I can see that having quite a soft clay like that would be helpful. And I've just realised that it would have to be a clay that doesn't require your hands to be wet. (These sorts of things don't occur to me easily, I'm not very practical!)

@Abstract would you be willing to give an example of how you used the sand tray. Did you write words in it? Draw pictures? What are the advantages of a sand tray over crayons and paper?

Thank you all for your replies.

 

[franciemarnie]

I never did it in t but it makes so much sense.

When I was involuntarily hospitalized once, the only moments of peace I felt were when we painted small balsa wood boxes or drew with crayons. I had so much going on inside and no other way to manifest it. At the time, words, etc. wouldn't do. It released pressure at the very least.

Clay would be cool.

 

[NicG]

@Hashi, I studied art a little in school too and it's hard to come to terms with knowing that what you do inside one session is not going to be up to the standard you want! What if you kept working on the same thing throughout your sessions? Then you could finish it and it'd be a little representation of the progress you made in the weeks of therapy time you used to draw it? Just a thought :)

 

[InsideAWord]

@Hashi , reach out and see if you can purchase modeling clay in bulk from a factory. We have those services out here in Chicago -- plus it's cheaper when it's from the factory. I usually use spray paints and mixed media for my art (lots of x-acto blades and spray adhesive) but clay is definitely fun to mess with and exert some energy. Look for wholesale clay distribution centers in your area.

 

[Barconian]

SITTING ON THE EDGE OF INDEPENDENCE
Sitting on the edge
Lonely in the dark
Not too far from the ledge
And still, no remark
Is it possible to be invisible
Is it possible to be completely alone
When friendship is no longer possible
Because you need to be as strong as stone
It is walked over every day
And is always being accused of being wrong
Yet it gets back up after been walked on in every way
Could it be, the teacher mistaken
And be teaching the ways of a lonely person
And is there incorrect knowledge been taken
Maybe it's time to close the curtain
And in this verse
I will end
And sit back and rehearse
And slowly, my heart will mend

Written by Emma Ostermann

Whether it be drawings or sand or clay or poetry or even words, there is always a way. This poem is one of many my daughter has written when she was starting her teens, to express herself to the world and her difficulties growing up.

 

[Julesnaz]

If you aren't in therapy now you could try using the crayons and paper at home with no one around. Maybe then you wouldn't feel self conscious and could just try it out and see how it feels.

 

[Hashi]

Thanks, @Junesnaz. Sorry, I wasn't very clear - I do art journalling at home, so I can do freer stuff. It feels great. I just don't like the idea of someone watching me do it. In front of someone else is when the whole art critic thing kicks in.

Although having said I do art journaling at home, I haven't been lately. Thank you for the prompt! I need to do more.

I'm realising from things that people have said, that for me there's also something about revealing the process that feels too personal and exposed. I manage to talk in therapy by feeling prepared to some extent. That gives me containment, so I feel safe, and within that I can be very open. For example, with talking there are a lot of things I'll say in the moment, or answer my therapist straight away, but there are some things that I say I'll think about and come back to the following week.

This isn't a problem - it works well for me and allows me to talk and make a lot of progress. So I'm not saying it as an obstacle to get round. It's helpful. I just need to consider how something like a sand tray or clay would fit into that and keep that good balance between expression and safety.

I think that's another reason I like the clay idea so much. It can be reworked all the time, can be smoothed over at any time. It would naturally be facing me and not my therapist, so I could choose if or when to show it to her.

.... gosh, why have I never used clay in therapy???

 

[Hashi]

@Barconian, I love the way your daughter uses writing. I agree that working with writing to therapy is very helpful. I take poems, my journal, my dream diary, metaphor exercises....

I'm thinking particularly about things that I would do while in the session. As discussed above, I have some boundaries around that. But I'm interested in what I might do within my safety zone.