She was no longer haunted by her sorrow and intense doubts about her professionalism. Latika shared a sense of healing when she reviewed her story for this publication.
Conclusion These vignettes reveal the power of Lowenfeld’s sandtray method to aid therapists in resolving countertransference evoked by clinical work. Both therapists manifested unconscious aspects of their experiences that heightened their personal resources. Both women improved their professional functioning, thereby protecting their clients. Latika came came with only a vague sense of unease. Both therapists displayed a strong ethical commitment towards their clients and the willingness to face their own contributions to the disharmony they experienced. Sara changed her perspective and created a restorative plan after a single session. Latika suffered a sudden shock with ongoing triggering events, such as the memorial service and the legal investigation. Each therapist protect themselves and their clients.
Figure 2
As her witness, I shook with intense feeling, and I thought, “This is the death of her own childhood,” which gave me a hypothesis to use in a later aspect of the session. Subsequently, Latika placed the empty crib, the turned over cradle, and the open hand. Lastly, and unseen in this view, she placed a screaming woman. Latika described the white block within the rock woman’s “hiding place” as a shower. She then blurted able to make direct links between this mother’s bereavement, the loss of her own hope for them, and her own early deprivation.
Latika revealed that she was permanently separated from her birth mother at a very young age. She had an adoption disruption and was in front of her, Latika shared how the stone woman wants to hide in her world, and not face Ian’s death or her own loss of a joyful and receptive parent. Despite the two layers of walls (“to help keep feelings out”), and the shower (“to purify and wash away pain and grief”), the woman in the sand knows her losses. Latika began to weep openly. She expressed Sacajawea holding her infant near the owl and open hand, Latika began of miniatures as “my spirit guides.”
During the subsequent four sessions, Latika formed a deeper self- compassion, a more consistent self-care plan, and managed her grief in a manner that did not interfere with her job. She increased her compassion for Ian’s mother, even prior to the release of the coroner’s death. Latika became clearer about her authentic attachment to clients and how to have appropriate boundaries with them. Latika reported that her sand worlds better equipped her to serve her supervisees and future families by strengthening empathy and boundary-setting skills.
References Berthold, S. M. (2017). Vicarious trauma and resilience (Continuing
Lowenfeld, M. (2012). Understanding children’s sandplay: Lowenfeld’s world technique. published in 1993)
Miller, L. (1998). Shocks to the system: Psychotherapy of disability syndromes. New York, NY: Norton.
traumatic
Rae, R. (2013). Sandplay: Playing to heal, recover, and grow. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.
Schore, A. N. (2003). Affect regulation and repair of the self. New York, NY: Norton.
Siegel, D. (1999). The developing mind. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Siegel, D. (2010). Mindsight. New York, NY: Bantam. Stern, D. (2004). The present moment in psychotherapy and everyday life. New York, NY: Norton.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Roxanne Rae, MSW, LCSW, BCD, has worked author of Sandtray: Playing to Heal, Recover, and Grow (2013). Roxanne maintains a private practice in Ashland, Oregon.
playwithrox@gmail.com
www.a4pt.org | June 2019 | PLAYTHERAPY | 41
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