myths symbols sandplay

Sandplay With Adolescents

I have heard some cautions regarding sandplay with adolescents. The issue of possibly interfering with the constellation of the Self, which leads to ego development as defined by Eric Newman, has been a topic in consultation groups. My experience has been that ego strength may have been enhanced through identity exploration during the sandplay process. The discovery, expression, and defining of the self in the trays of adolescent clients has been remarkable to witness.

Now, to get adolescence to “play” in the sand is another matter. If they were young and at the beginning of their teens, they were more willing to create a scene or do a series of trays. I also found female teen clients were more drawn to the tray than male teens. Creative types were usually eager to explore another media or avenue of expression.

In light of the developmental tasks of adolescents, I found their scenes were helpful and added another dimension to my understanding of the level of difficulty related to their mastering a particular task or stage. In viewing the tray, I looked for information regarding the tasks of separation, social competence, and the developing sense of self. The ways in which a client reveals their developmental stage or task might be through the use of symbolic imagery, items, or action in the tray or might be portrayed with items more like their real word world parents, peers, or easily identifiable self objects.

The issue of separation might be shown with the placement of parent-child dyads and might be represented by pairs of animals or humans. If there is a separation anxiety issue, the figures may be overly close or bonded. Are the figures placed together in the tray and relating to each other? Are they combative or distant? As an adjunct to the information shared by both parents and adolescents, I may be able to determine the unspoken nature of the relationship as shown in the tray. The scene or series of sandplay trays may reveal the level of separation struggle for the teen (and possibly the experience of the teen of their parent’s ability to allow separation to be mastered by the adolescent).

For adolescents, social interaction throughout middle and high school can be the focus of their existence or be the bane of their existence. In early adolescence, to “fit in” is the goal. In later years, finding a group to “hang” with is optimal. For teens who do not find peers to interact with, adolescence can be lonely and painful. It is okay to be different, as long as you have someone to be different with.

Usually, if teens were feeling accepted by peers or have found a group to connect to, the issue of social competence may not be represented in a scene. Feelings of isolation may show up in sandplay as a lone figure or item. Animals may be outcasts or apart from the group. The scene may look or feel bleak. A figure may appear to be alone in a crowd of figures or may appear to be defeated.

A developing sense of self may be revealed by the choice, placement or “groundedness” of the figure or item. What objects or figure has been chosen? Have the miniatures and sandplay experience enhanced the formation of the self and made it more conscious? Does the item chosen more concretely represent the self? Where is the miniature placed? Is it in the center of a tray? Does the item have a sense of groundedness? By this I mean the way in which the item or figure is placed in the tray. Is it tentatively set on the sand or firmly placed?

While there are many ways to interpret and understand sandplay scenes, my experience with adolescents was that it was helpful for me to ask myself these additional questions related to developmental issues. When working with adults needing to complete or to master adolescent developmental tasks, I also kept these questions in mind.

Adolescent Development

Adolescence is a time of many developmental changes. Adolescence is also time to complete or to master developmental tasks. Understanding these tasks and challenges may help in viewing sandplay work of adolescent clients. I also find this information helpful when analyzing the sandplay work of adults. Scenes may be created which reflect an adolescent stage the adult needs to master. Following is an overview of theories, stages, and tasks related to adolescence.

Piaget's theory is based on an understanding of cognitive development. During adolescence, Piaget states that young adults are in the Formal Operational Thought stage. Teens begin to think more abstractly, begin to use hypothetical deductive thinking, and begin to form cognitions related to moral concepts.

Erickson’s theory focuses on psychosocial stages. Between the age of 12 to 19 years, Erickson defined the developmental task as Identity versus Role Confusion. He believed this state of identity crisis and role confusion was essential to the individual's sense of self and ego strength.

A theory based on moral development was proposed by Kohlberg. He viewed adolescence as having two stages covering two tasks. From the age of 10 to 13 years, Kohlberg stated that young adolescents were in the Conventional Morality stage. At this stage, their sense of morality was based on their decision to abide by the standards of others to avoid disapproval. After the age of 13, Kohlberg believed their sense of morality was based on a personal moral code.

The main developmental tasks during adolescence are separation, social competence, and a deep searching for the self. The central task of separation from the parents usually results in conflict and/or withdrawal. To master the task effectively, the adolescence must learn to renegotiate the bond and leave the family without alienation.

Social competence involves dealing with the changes in interpersonal relationships. At this crucial time, adolescents experience high drama and extended hours talking with peers. There is a constant redefining of the sense of self in light of social and societal realities.

The search for identity results and experimentation and struggle. The adolescent is at the height of ego-centrism which is often perceived as selfishness. Writer and psychologist Theodore Lidz describes these developmental issues very well:

(Adolescence) is a time of physical and emotional metamorphosis during which the youth feels estranged from the self the child had known. It is a time of seeking; a seeking inward to find who one is; a searching outward to locate one’s place in life; a longing for another with whom to satisfy cravings for intimacy and fulfillment. It is a time of turbulent awakening to love and beauty but also a time of days darkened by loneliness and despair. It is the time of carefree wandering of the spirit through realms of fantasy and in pursuit of idealistic visions, but also of disillusionment and disgust with the world and the self. It can be a time of adventure with wonderful episodes of reckless folly but also of shame and regrets that linger. The adolescent lives with a vibrant sensitivity that carries to ecstatic heights and lowers to almost untenable depths.

Twins: The Power Of Two

In Egypt, Gemini was symbolized not by twins, but by a woman and a man holding hands. In Sanskrit, they were called Mithuna or Maithunia.

In Roman mythology, they were Apollo and his sister Diana. In Babylonia, twins of indefinite gender were known as Mastabagalgal. Patriarchal revisions told of male twins, the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. Previously, old myths told of androgynous twins and twin parings of Gods and Goddesses, spouses, and mother-child. An androgynous view of the heavily Twins is more accurate as an interpretation of the union of the opposites, much like the yang and yin symbol.

The Mother of Time, also known as the Two Ladies, symbolizes the transitional gate of midwinter, looking both backward and forward. She rules the Celestial Hinge at the back of the North Wind around which the universe revolves.

The cycles of nature were renewed by the Egyptian Vulture Goddess, Nekhbet, and the Serpent Mother, Uatchet, archaic Goddesses known as the Two Mistresses. All pharaohs ruled by their authority.

Egyptian Revival Nekhbet Brooch- Silver & plique a jour enamel. Circa 1925. Image from www.veniceclayartists.com

Near Delagoa Bay, in southeast Africa, the Baronga tribe believes twins influence weather. The name Tilo is given to a woman who bears twins and her infants are called children of the sky. These women are responsible for performing a series of rituals to bring down the rain in times of drought.

The number two, embodied in myths as twins or the aspects of twin-like gods or goddesses indicates universal beliefs regarding the power of two and “two” symbolism related to duality, transition and new beginnings, cycles, and the ability to influence nature as numbers are thought to be an integral part of the harmony of the universe.