Alchemy, sandtray and art psychotherapy: Sifting sands

Abstract

To an art psychotherapist working with sandtray the material itself—the sand—may be central. Traditional sandtray largely sees the sand as a backdrop to the narratives created by the objects, as ‘ground’ rather than ‘figure’, the stage on which the action happens rather than the action itself. The paper starts from a specific ‘child-led’ innovative process of sieving sand and amplifies this with mythological and symbolic material to clarify how profound issues may unfold through attention to the drama: what is done, as well as the stories told about what is done. Sandtray is easily represented as though it is a ‘diagrammatic’ process. In this paper physicality, embodiment and enactment in relation to the material are re-emphasised, developing an art psychotherapy perspective on sand itself as an art material. The place of performance art as part of art therapy practice is briefly considered. Clinical vignettes are illuminated by parallels from Jungian psychotherapy and one of its central metaphors: alchemy. The ‘alchemical’ processes of dissolving, separating and purifying prime material—the sand—are explored as key psychotherapy processes. The accompanying images arose out of the therapist's reflective practice about the case.

Keywords:

• Art psychotherapy
• sandtray
• alchemy
• Jung
• imagination
• problem solving

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Malcolm Learmonth and David Maclagan for their thoughtful, supportive and significant comments, and to Andrew Marshall Tierney for his helpful suggestions.

Notes

1. Correct quotation: ‘Sometimes I sits and thinks and then again I just sits’ (King, 1906).