Sandplay Therapy in Denver
& Greenwood Village
Use hands-on therapy to heal your mind.
Heal naturally with Sandplay therapy
With some of our clients, we use Sandplay therapy, also known as sand tray therapy, a hands-on therapy that facilitates the mind’s natural ability and capacity to heal.
Sandplay therapy is a combination of play therapy and art therapy. It’s used to assess, diagnose, and treat a variety of mental health issues. People create a physical manifestation of their imaginations using sand, water, and other small objects to communicate what’s on their minds.
This type of therapy is often used with younger clients, but it can work with people of all ages. It’s used in combination with traditional talk therapy to create positive change and process what someone has been through. Research has shown that sandplay therapy can help improve emotional expression and reduce the distress that comes with sharing traumatic events or experiences.
You might’ve heard of Sandplay therapy, or it might’ve been recommended to you. However, you might be having a difficult time finding someone who is trained in using Sandplay therapy for you or your child. At My Denver Therapy, our Denver-based Sandplay therapist is trained to use this powerful therapeutic method in combination with traditional therapy to help you or your child process, heal, and move forward.
What is Sandplay therapy?
Sandplay therapy is a non-verbal form of therapy that was developed in the 1950s. During a therapy session, people use a sand tray or sand box, figures, and other objects to reflect inner thoughts, struggles, concerns, and feelings. The objects in the box or tray are used to create a play world that represents some aspect of real life.
Because the sand tray is used as a communication tool, Sandplay therapy is frequently used for younger children’s therapy who might not be able to communicate everything that they’re feeling or what they’ve experienced. After giving someone time with the sand tray, a trained therapist observes how the tray is arranged and allows the person to find answers with how they’ve arranged their world.
Once a sand tray is set up, the person and therapist have a conversation to analyze what it represents. After discussing the sand tray, people often make changes to their tray as they gain a deeper understanding of the world they created. By making changes to their make-believe world, people become empowered to make changes in their real world as well.
Who is Sandplay therapy for?
Most often, Sandplay therapy is used for people who have experienced trauma, including neglect or abuse. Even though it’s most often used with younger people, it’s also used with teens and adults who might have trouble expressing themselves verbally.
Especially in cases of severe trauma, the use of a sand tray can provide another way to share something that might be difficult to talk about or fully express.
What can this type of play therapy help with?
Despite the name, play therapy can be used to help children deal with many serious emotions and situations. Through play, children can develop physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Here are some of the issues that Play therapy, like sandplay therapy, have been proven to help with:
- Grief and personal loss
- Anger management
- Family issues, including divorce
- Trauma and crisis situations
- Depression
- Anxiety
- ADHD
- Life changes, including moving, changing schools, or family dynamic changes
- Abuse
- Problems at school, academic or social
- Separation anxiety
How Sandplay therapy can help children
Play therapy is one of the most effective ways to help children express difficulties and work through them. Sandplay therapy gives children the power and freedom to share what’s on their minds in a different, safe, way that helps them communicate.
Through play therapy, children can:
- Develop more successful coping strategies
- Feel more confident in their ability to change
- Learn how to create solutions to problems
- Understand how to respect themselves and others
- Have a new way to express emotions and develop empathy
- Improve social skills and relationships
- Become more responsible for their behaviors
Frequently asked questions
about Sandplay therapy
What Is Sandplay Therapy?
Sandplay therapy is a powerful, non-verbal form of therapy that was created in the 1950s. By using a sand tray as a communication tool that people, especially children, can use to recreate some aspect of their lives, it helps individuals share what's on their minds and often identify solutions.
Who Is Sandplay Therapy For?
Like other forms of play therapy, Sandplay therapy is generally used with children, but it can be used with teens and even adults who might have a hard time verbally communication what they want to share or something that they've gone through.
How Is Sandplay Therapy Different Than Play Therapy?
With Sandplay therapy, people use a sand tray with objects, figurines, and more to create a scene that represents something that's on their mind. While play therapy is a broad term, Sandplay therapy can be particularly effective because of how it can quickly connect to the real world.
Can Sandplay Therapy Help With Serious Issues?
Absolutely. Sandplay therapy can help children and adults deal with many serious emotions and traumas. It has been shown to help people develop emotionally, physically, and emotionally. It can help build confidence, develop empathy, and identify solutions by putting them at someone's fingertips.
Other specialities
Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are.
Rachel Naomi Remen
Meet our therapists
My Denver Therapy is one of the largest woman-owned therapy private practices in Colorado with many of the best, most requested mental health therapists in the Denver Metro area.
As a therapist-owned practice with decades of combined experience, we care about seeing our clients heal, grow, and thrive. We’re one of the only therapy practices in Colorado with licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, addiction counselors, social workers, and psychiatric nurse practitioners who actively see new clients. Whether you’re an adult, teen, young adult, couple, or family, our inclusive therapist team is built to specialize in you.
Our practice started with one therapist in a shared office suite, but we’ve grown to help thousands of people in Colorado by providing in-person therapy at our conveniently located Denver Metro area counseling offices in Denver, Greenwood Village, and Lone Tree, plus online therapy for clients throughout Colorado. Because of the way our team works, our therapists also provide consultation for other therapists and private practices in the Denver Metro area.
Our inclusive therapists provide some of the most innovative, effective, and in-demand forms of therapy available today, including EMDR, Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, CBT, and IFS. We also have more therapists trained in Ketamine-assisted therapy, EMDR, and more teen therapists and young adult counselors than nearly every other private practice in Denver.
We know that clients want to find the best therapists in Denver, so our team includes therapists with different backgrounds, specialities, and experiences to help you find the right fit. We’ll match you with one of our therapists who is the best for your goals, location, budget, and schedule to help you get started quickly.
We’re out of network for insurance, Tricare, and are unable to take Medicaid, but most of our therapists’ rates are lower than the local and national averages for therapy.
All of our therapists take a client-focused approach to counseling and approach each session with a commitment to your progress and growth.
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- With therapists and counselors in Denver, Greenwood Village, and Lone Tree, My Denver Therapy provides in-person mental health counseling for adults, teens, couples, and families in Colorado.
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