Sand Tray Therapy: How to Identify Themes in a Play Therapy Session

How do you identify themes in sand tray therapy sessions?

One of the most important skills for play therapists is learning how to recognize themes in play therapy, especially when working with sand tray therapy. 

Themes reveal the deeper emotional experiences children are trying to process through symbolic play.

In this week’s free weekly podcast episode, you’ll learn how to identify themes in sand tray therapy sessions and what to look for when a child creates a sand tray scene.

We’ll explore:

• What a theme in play therapy actually is and how to identify them
• How symbols in the sand tray communicate meaning
• What to notice about placement of miniatures (buried, elevated, outside the tray, or stacked)
• How use of space and proximity between symbols can reveal relational dynamics
• Why what a child says—and doesn’t say—during the play therapy session matters
• How your theoretical play therapy model influences how you understand themes

You’ll also learn the important theoretical distinctions between sandplay therapy and sand tray therapy.

Understanding themes in play therapy helps play therapists move beyond simply observing play to developing a clinical lens for case conceptualization and therapeutic intervention.

If you’re a play therapist who has ever wondered:  "What does this sand tray scene mean?"

That’s exactly what we’re discussing during this week’s free podcast episode that will help you begin recognizing the patterns and themes that emerge in symbolic play.

Resources for Play Therapists

If you're looking to deepen your play therapy skills, explore training opportunities, consultation, and community support:

🌿 Play therapy and sand tray therapy trainings
🌿Play Therapy Academy for strategic play therpay skill building
🌿Play Therapy Elevation CIRCLE community for support and feedback
🌿 Resources for working with children and adolescents

Visit:
https://rhplaytherapytraining.com

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Transcript

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Welcome to Next Level Play Therapy. A weekly podcast dedicated to supporting the next generation of child and adolescent therapists to provide exceptional play therapy services. We'll explore all things play therapy to elevate your work with children and adolescents using the therapeutic powers of play. I'll discuss practical tips and ideas so you can provide a transformative experience for your young clients and make a real difference in their lives. So get ready to take your play therapy skills to the next level and make a lasting impact in the lives of children, adolescents, and families. Welcome. Welcome to this week's episode of Next Level Play Therapy. We are back live today, so if you are watching the live stream, then welcome. Post your name in the comments, we'd love to hear where you're from, what population you work with, and are you working with sand tray in the Play Therapy Pro process? So today we're gonna be talking about one of the most important things for our play therapist to kind of master. And it's a process. I, I think it's one of those skills that you learn over time. It's kind of a hard one to master, I think, without a lot of good support. And that is that whole idea of recognizing themes and understanding what it, what is the theme that the child is using to communicate what's going on and what it is they're working through. So that is what we are talking about today. Themes are, are typically the way that I think about themes in play therapy is typically like what are the deeper social, emotional, or psychological issues that are going on for that child internally? How are they making meaning of the different things that they're experiencing in life? And typically these are the things that are causing them distress that are bringing them into therapy. And so we're gonna talk about that for specifically for that sand tray making process. So if you're joining live, feel free to post in the comments, questions. If you're watching the replay, feel free to post in the comments. Message me. I'd love to hear from you guys. If you're listening to the podcast, feel free to send me an email or connect with me on Instagram at Renewing Hearts Training, and let's get started for today. So, full disclosure, I have been struggling with a really bad case of laryngitis. If you haven't, I am like, I am sucking down some of these halls candies to try and coat my, my throat. You could probably hear it, um, in my voice. I'm a little scratchy today. I have, I have been struggling with my voice for, oh my gosh, we're going on three weeks, maybe even four. At this point. I'm getting tired. I sound a little bit like a squeaky mouse. I, I, I feel like I sound like a squeaky mini mouse. So it's gonna be a little bit shorter today than I normally do, just because I, I don't know how long my voice is gonna hold out, which I think probably for those of you listening to the podcast, it might sound a little funnier. Um, so if you're a play therapist or maybe you're using sand tray therapy with your clients, feel free to post in the comments. If you're listening to the podcast, I would love it if you would leave a review. And also if you are watching on YouTube and you're a play therapist or you're using sand tray in your work with clients, feel free to follow me and click on that notification button so you get notified when I go live again. All right, let's get started so we can, we can move along before my voice gives out. Today's topic is how do I, uh, in sand tray therapy, how do identify themes in a play therapy session? So, first, let's talk about what is a play therapy theme? So a play therapy theme is, the way that I think about that is that it's that psychological manifestation of what the child's experiences are and the meaning that they've made of those experiences. And so what they're doing is they're using that play process to figure it out, to explore it, to try to make sense of it, try to gain a sense of mastery, improve their self self-concept, feel better about themselves more positively. This is the internal work. And when we're talking about themes in play therapy, we're talking about looking for the clues that are helping us figure out what our clients are working on. And there's, um, in the, in the sand tray, there are, there are ways that we can do that as well. We're looking at their sand tray scene or their sand tray play, and we're looking for the clues. Excuse me, to get a better sense of what's going on with our clients. Here's the bottom line, though. We don't really need to know. Not really in order for the client to heal. So the client, theoretically the client is gonna use that play therapy process when we provide that free and protected space to work towards healing and wholeness. They don't need us to figure out their themes in order for them to heal. So especially if you're new and you're just beginning, don't get hung up on that. Don't get overwhelmed by that to the point that it shuts you down and you're not being effective. Let it go. Trust the process. Trust your play therapy model. Get support, get training. We're gonna talk a little bit more about that, that in the meantime, that's a, you're just gonna be fully present. Use your model the best way that you can if you're still learning one. The main thing I'm trying to say here is with my scratchy voice. Is that, don't get hung up if you're in the process of learning play therapy themes. Today I'm gonna talk about some tips that are gonna help you figure that out. I also don't think identifying themes is a, is a skill that we can master on our own. I know I couldn't, I needed lots of help. Especially in the beginning. And to be completely honest, I still sometimes need help with this. Um, and to me that's the benefit of being part of a play therapy community to help give you that support and, and taking some training to help you figure that out. Um, so for today. We're gonna, we're gonna talk about that a little bit. So we kind of talked about what is a play, uh, theme in play therapy in general. And now we're gonna talk a little bit about how do you identify themes in the sand tray. So with the T tray making process, we're really looking at the symbols. So the symbols are the sand tray miniatures. We're looking at how the symbols are used and how the child is using that sand tray making process for healing. So we're, so we're looking at what symbols are used. A k, a miniatures in the sand tray. We're looking at how they're used, where they're placed, what they're close to, what they're not close to, what was put in, what was taken out, what was moved around. That gives you a sense of your client's process of how their using it, like are they using it? And you can tell they are, because they're kind of deep in that process. Some clients do a, uh, especially the younger ones, will do like a narrating story from beginning to end. That's more of an active sand tray. And in that one you're looking at, um, the elements of the story as well as what they're doing in the sand tray. And so you may be looking at what symbols are used. Is it buried? Is it kind of half buried? Is it on top of something else? Is it, where is it placed in the sand tray you are looking at, um, what's said during the sand tray making process? Like what is said in the story, what's said, sometimes they like to explain it to you. Your clients like to explain it to you while they're creating it. Um, so you're looking at what they're saying. You are looking at proximity, what specific miniatures are near each other, which ones are separated, which ones are kind of far apart? You're also tracking those themes from session to session to session. So you're not, it's not just a one and done in the play therapy process. Um, it's also what it is being, um, what is, what is being communicated through that play therapy process from each session. You're looking at changes in the sand tray over time, meaning from session to session, looking for any shifts, even the subtle shifts that take place. And the other thing that you're Thinking about is the way that you're making sense of these themes is gonna be heavily influenced by your play therapy model. So there's some general themes across all play therapy models, and I'm gonna cover those next. Also, the way in which you make sense of those is gonna be influenced by your play therapy model. Because your play therapy model influences how you make sense of what the problem is and what's being communicated through the play or through the sand tray in the training and how you're making sense of that for for the overall kind of getting a sense of what it is your client is doing and how are they using the sand tray making process to make sense of things. So for example, if you're using, there's a difference between sand play and sand tray. So Sand Play Therapy has got its roots in the work of Dora Cough. Um. Using a Jungian psychoanalytic theory. So if you are talking about sand play, you're talking about using more of a Jungian and um, psychoanalytical model, which means it's gonna be non-directive and you're not gonna be doing any interpreting because that's, that's the model of the sand of sand play, and you're also gonna be thinking about the miniatures in terms of their symbolic representation. So sand play therapists do a lot of symbol work, really looking at archetypes and complexes around archetypes, cultural and historical. Um, meaning of symbols and how that fits into that psychoanalytic ian psychoanalytic model versus if you're using sand tray therapy. sand tray therapy is basically everything else. So play therapist tend not always some, some play therapists are trained in sand play and certified in sand play. Some of us, like myself, most of my training came from people who were more sand play oriented. Um, but you're, if you're saying, I still say I use sand tray 'cause that's not my only model. So sand tray therapy, it could be using the sand tray and you're a Gestalt Play therapist, or you're using the sand tray and maybe you're doing EMDR. So you're looking at it through an EMDR lens and making meaning of it. Or maybe you're a cognitive behavioral play therapist and you're looking at the what's used symbolically in the sand tray through your CBT lens. So CBT and I would, I would say EMDR are more likely to be a lot more directive. Adlerian play therapy and Gestalt play therapy. I would prob um, probably you're, it's sometimes you are leading, sometimes the client is leading depending on what's going on. But the way that you're making sense of what your client is working through is gonna be through those lens, through a Gestalt lens or through an Adlerian lens, or an e MDR lens. So how you're making sense of it. And how you're identifying what those themes are and making sense of those in terms of what your client is working on and where they are in terms of progress and play therapy is going to be, is gonna be influenced by those theoretical models. Now if you're using child-centered play therapy, you're just using child-centered play therapy in the sand tray and it's completely non-directive and you're not doing any, sorry, I am crunching on my halls. My halls throat lo, if you're hearing any crunchy sounds, um, then child-centered play therapy, you are gonna make sense of the themes based on that child-centered lens. And again, I wanna kind of highlight again, your focus is not really during the session itself. Your focus is not really on, oh, what theme is this going on and trying to analyze what's going on in this session? Your primary focus is really being fully present and attuned, congruent with empathic understanding, and, um, creating that sense of safety and following what your play therapy model says to do. Typically, play therapy themes, I figure those out later. Afterwards to kind of help me figure out where my client is in the change process. I typically do that when I'm writing my progress notes. Um, but also that's something we talk a lot about in Play Therapy Academy. We will look at what is, uh, what is going on in the sand tray. We'll, we'll kind of staff that with, uh, other Play Therapy Academy members. So I'll talk a little bit more about Play Therapy Academy as well as Play Therapy Elevation Circle. Um, to give you a sense of what those are, if you're looking for more support, those would be two options. That would be really good. I'll also talk to you about my training coming up for Sandtray therapy. It's coming up actually next week. So the, the best way really to learn how to identify themes is to have support and do training. Like I said, in Play Therapy Academy, when somebody is staffing a case and they're doing their case presentation, they might show us a photo of a sand tray scene and will use that to kind of, um, analyze what, what was going on in that sand tray scene using the collective wisdom of the Play Therapy Academy members. That's something also we can do in Elevation Circle as well, because we do monthly consultation meetings in Elevation Circle. So some of the general themes that are pretty common across all play therapy models, I would say are themes of power, a control that might be that kind of, that need to feel empowered, which is a, a need that we all have. Feeling empowered or maybe, not feeling like they have external control for safety. So maybe they're feeling like they want to gain control and some mastery over what's going on in their life. Keep in mind, some of these are just typical child development things, kids. Don't feel empowered most of the time in their life because grownups are in charge. Because we're in charge of making sure kids are okay. So sometimes grownups set limits the kids don't like, like I wanna stay up and play video games all night long, and parents are gonna set a limit. Like, Nope, you can't do that. It's not good for your health. So for a child, some of that is just normal, typical development. When we're looking at it in terms of themes in play therapy, we're kind of seeing how that measures up or how that not measures up, but how that relates to what's going on in their life. And we're using our case conceptualization, which is AKA, a fancy word for our working hypothesis or, how are we making sense of what is at the root of the problem that's going on? That's our case conceptualization. So we're also kind of lining up what goes on in the playroom with that case conceptualization and our play therapy model to make sense of what's going on. So if you're seeing themes of power and control, you're kind of looking at, and kind of figuring out, well, how does that line up with what's going on in their life as well? Also, themes of helplessness and hopelessness, maybe struggling with an ill inability to get their needs met or a belief in a better future. You may see signs of safety and danger. Maybe they're not experiencing a sense of safety in their life. They may have a lot of fear. So maybe kids with anxiety struggle with this a lot. You'll see this in, um, with children who've experienced traumatic, traumatic experiences. You may see some of these themes. You typically see those themes in there. Or maybe an overwhelming need to find ways to contain feelings that feel bigger than they can manage, and so they're kind of scary to them. The other is conflict. We see this a lot, so it's kind of internal conflict. Maybe external conflict, what's going on in their life, but what's also going on internally. And then I always, um, I always look at things through an attachment, a neuroscience lens. So I think we are also kind of looking at, 'cause we're also working with kids and we're looking at their attachment relationships. So we're looking at some themes of maybe what's going on in their attachment relationship. Are there any unmet attachment needs? Are they, do they have a need for attachment security? Sometimes you might see this when there's been a divorce, which is a, a disruption, uh, an attachment rupture for kids whose parents are separated or divorcing. The goal would be to kind of help the child and the family kind of navigate through that and reestablish that sense of safety and security within those attachment relationships. So you may, you may see that in there, you may, you may see it other ways as well. But those are generally kind of five themes that we see across the board, in most play therapy models. So that is it for today, and I can hear my voice is really starting to get give away. But let me go through and do a little bit of a recap. So essentially a theme in play therapy refers to the way that play therapists make sense of the play behaviors to better understand what's going on, and also using that to figure out where they are in the play therapy change process. In the sessions though, it's really important to be attuned, to be present, to create that sense of safety and security while you're following the application of your play therapy model. We can figure out what the play things are later. You're not necessarily doing that during the session. You might be doing a little bit to kind of help you figure out how are you tracking things. Essentially, though, um, we don't wanna get bogged down is basically what I'm trying to say. Don't get bogged down trying to figure out themes in the session. You can do that after the session. And you can also, I highly recommend getting support to do it it's a hard skill to learn on your own. So when we're thinking about how are we identifying these themes, we're looking at a variety of factors. We're looking at the symbols used, how are they used in the sand tray? We are looking at what's said during the sand tray, what's not said during the sand tray. We're looking at shifts over time from session to session. And, and making sense of what's going on that way. And then finally, just some general themes that we tend to see in the sand tray making process. I would say in play therapy in general, we'll see power and control themes, some mastery themes, helplessness, hopelessness, safety, danger, attachment. Those are generally ones that you kind of see across all play therapy models. So that is it for today. It's kind of a short one today. If you're interested in learning more about re and using the re therapy process in play therapy, I do have a two-day training coming up. It's an in-person only because I'm a really big fan, the best way to learn how to use, how to hold and process sand tray with children and clients is to actually get your hands in the sand and do it with a, with some of your like-minded colleagues. I keep these sand tray trainings really small because we're gonna be, we'll, we'll do some. I'll do some teaching, but we're also gonna be doing, um, some processing, meaning you're gonna be making sand trays, we're gonna be looking at sand trays. We're gonna be learning what to look for, how to hold that, how to make sense of it. And that's all gonna be in person. That'll be in St. George, Utah, if you're, if you're interested in that, then pop over to my website at rh play therapy training.com. That's renewing hearts play therapy training.com, and you can check out the trainings. I have another training coming up as well, so if you're interested, um, in some other trainings, you can look to see what I have going on on my website. Here's the thing, I am a firm believer that we cannot do this work alone. It is hard to be a play therapist because we are holding things day after day, session, after session, after session we're, we are holding those and that's hard. It's hard no matter where you are in your, your professional journey. I think we all need support. And so one of the things that I've done for my sand tray training coming up in April, as well as the one coming up in June, uh, working with trauma for those two trainings, coming up when you register, your registration includes 60 days of access for free, for new members to, um, to get access to support. So. In in Play Therapy Elevation Circle. We do monthly consultation calls. So if you need support to be able to figure out what's going on in your client's sand tray or maybe figure out what's going on in their play therapy session. Then you can staff that case during the monthly consultation call and get feedback from me. So you get, you get my almost 35 years experience plus all of the collective wisdom in Play Therapy Elevation Circle. We have a monthly book club. We are reading the book called Being a Brainwise Therapist, uh, which is basically using the interpersonal neurobiology. Um, theoretical lens that was developed by Daniel Siegel. We're looking, we're looking at, um, how to take that information and use it in the play therapy sessions when we do our monthly book club. And I'm very excited because coming up soon, I think in, um, I think it's either May or June, we're gonna be reading the chapter and discussing the chapter on, using sand play therapy with clients using that interpersonal neurobiology lens. So anyway, in Elevation Circle we have monthly book club as well. We have, um, group chat features so you can get support in there. We do mini trainings like last month in March, we did a little mini training in there on how do you identify play themes in general. So if you're interested. And maybe you're just interested in Elevation Circle, then hop over to my website and get on the wait list. If you take the training in April, the sand tray training, or the one in June, you get access for free for 60 days to try it out, but also to get some support so you can take what you learned at the training and get support applying that in Play Therapy Elevation Circle. So also if you're interested, maybe you are interested in, um, really honing your play therapy core competency skills. Maybe you're wanting to get consultation to work towards your play therapy, um, your registered play therapy re My mouth isn't working 'cause my voice is giving up Registered play therapist credential. Play Therapy Academy is where you would wanna do that. Not everybody in Play Therapy Academy is pursuing that RPT credential. Most people are in play Therapy Academy. We go a lot deeper. We do a deeper dive, we meet more often. Um, so it's heavily skilled based. So if you're really looking to develop your play therapy skills and you want a lot of support. Play Therapy Academy would be the one. So if you're interested, pop over to my website at rh play therapy training.com. Check out my upcoming trainings, check out the other things, and I will see you next week. Bye for now. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy. I hope you found the discussion valuable and gained new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families feel. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information. Remember. Play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth. Whether you're a new play therapist or experienced, I encourage you to continue your learning journey to unlock the potential of play in your own work in relationships. If you have any questions or topics, suggestions for future episode. I'd love to hear from you. Connect with me on social media and visit my website at Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training to stay updated on upcoming episodes, trainings, and resources. Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy. Until next time, keep playing, learning and growing.