sandtray. Marvin began creating “his world” in the sandtray by placing a red fire truck in the top corner of his scene, and then filled the same side of the sandtray with five matchbox cars, a construction vehicle, and two palm trees. He carefully chose an airplane next, stopping thoughtfully to examine it before placing it in the corner of the sandtray (he later identified himself as the airplane). Next to the airplane, he placed an oxygen tank. In the middle of the sandtray, Marvin laid an open treasure chest. He filled the remaining sides of his tray with a tiger, a kangaroo holding a baby kangaroo in its pouch, a giraffe, and one army man pointing a gun towards the fire truck. Although Marvin did not specifically verbalize connections between the sandtray and reality, the presence and placement of the kangaroo and baby kangaroo, along with elements of danger, could parallel the traumatic events of his past. As we began to process his sandtray, Marvin shared his

rationale for creating his world, “I wanted to make a place to put all this stuff and I had to get it out there and kind of sort of place it. And of course the airplane landed out here so he had to have time, too.” As Marvin described his world, he said, “The fire truck . . . he’s out there waiting in case this airplane don’t make it. You know once in a while the airplane don’t make it up in the air.” I followed with, “Yeah what’s that like?” and he laughingly responded, “what’s that mean? Well that means sometimes he’s had it.” Marvin’s response that the airplane “has had it” seemed to parallel his own experience of feeling helpless or angry about his situation. Marvin laughed following this comment as though he related personally to what the airplane was feeling. When I reflected Marvin’s pride in his sandtray, he said,

“I did the best I could,” a statement that Marvin repeatedly used both when describing the airplane figure landing in the sandtray scene with “no wheels” and when being unable to save his family. When Marvin narrated the airplane landing, Marvin pointed out the animals in the sandtray surrounding the airplane that “came out to see what was going on.” Notably, he had chosen a kangaroo holding a baby kangaroo in the pouch. Marvin spoke about missing his wife and son. As he shared his powerful story, he vacillated between the metaphor of the airplane crash landing and

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describing the actual car accident in which he lost his family. He expressed that he had “done the best that he could,” but “it” still happened. In reference to the importance of self-reflection in therapy

for seniors, Flemming (2004) expressed, “life is full of choices and there are always many roads that were not taken by all of us. Everyone makes mistakes, including some major or even tragic ones. To be fulfilled does not mean that one has led a perfect life!” (p. 9-17). Such was Marvin’s sandtray experience. He certainly grappled with choices and mistakes in his past and communicated this through storytelling about the scene. Through his story, Marvin was able to externalize how his experience of not feeling in control of significant life events (i.e., deaths of loved ones, moving to a nursing home, losing his driver’s license) negatively affected his coping; this narration seemed to be a meaningful and cathartic experience for him. Processing the sandtray, in which the losses were illustrated, gave Marvin the opportunity to feel heard, understood, and validated. Sandtray provided an experiential opportunity for Marvin to make a number of choices during a single session (Roetan, 2011), therefore also suggesting a shadowed sense of integrity that is central to the psychosocial stage of older adults (Flemming, 2004). Marvin had control over what he represented in his world. At the end of our time together, Marvin expressed that creating his sandtray “worked his brain.” Using the creative, more right brain processes needed when creating a sandtray seemed to be a new way of expressing himself to others. In addition to “working his brain,” Marvin noted that he

enjoyed “helping me” learn more about people. Processing Marvin’s story worked my brain too! I enjoyed learning about the benefits of sandtray with older adults through my session with Marvin. Selecting miniatures and conceptualizing the sandtray provides opportunities for cognitive stimulation and reminiscing. Sandtray provides an avenue to build a therapeutic relationship between therapists and seniors. Sandtray therapy can be a cost- effective, creative, and beneficial approach to working with individuals in late adulthood.

artwithheart.org | proceeds benefit children in crisis 22 PLAYTHERAPY | September 2014 www.a4pt.org