Silent group sandplay activates healing

Abstract

Background

This paper describes the effect of silent group Sandplay (SP) with early adolescents as observed and reported in circumstances of deprivation, neglect and abuse.

Objective

The objective was to explore with childcare staff, group SP as an intervention with early adolescent participants.

Participants and setting

Nine childcare staff participated in an in-depth SP exploration involving a series of six group SP sessions with five children at a child protection organisation in a resource-constrained context.

Methods

Group SP offered in a particular way in a protective child and youth care environment facilitated an opportunity for inner processing and self-discovery. In-depth semi-structured interviews with childcare staff conducted both before and after group SP provided descriptions of the SP experience for both children and adult participants.

Results

The before-SP reports of the children's behaviour and demeanour highlighted wounding and after-SP observations indicated healing patterns. The before-SP topics included overwhelmedness, vulnerability, constrained resources, the need for change and culturally appropriate, accessible interventions. Themed descriptions after SP included a newfound desire to play and activation of healing for both child and adult participants. Healing processes indicated a desire to play, cooperation, openness, increased awareness, adaptation, grounding and belonging. The implications are potentially far-reaching in terms of the accessibility, efficiency and cultural suitability of providing group SP in child protection and community-based settings, particularly in contexts of deprivation, neglect and abuse.