Old and New Horizons of Sandplay Therapy

This thoughtful and comprehensive book sheds new light on Sandplay Therapy, a method founded in the 1960s by Dora Kalff. It is based on the psychology of C.G. Jung and Margaret Lowenfeld, with inspiration from eastern contemplative traditions. This method is effectively used for psychotherapy, psychological counseling and development of the personality with children and adults.

This book grew out of the collaboration of a supervision and research group with Italian therapists which regularly met for a period of over 10 years under the guidance of Martin Kalff. It focuses on how to understand in more depth the processes clients experience in Sandplay Therapy. An important feature of Sandplay is the possibility to create scenes in a box with sand. Worlds arise through the shaping of the sand and the use of miniatures, humans, animals, trees, etc. These creations manifest inner conflicts as well as untouched healing potential.

This book discusses a number of techniques based on mindfulness such as ‘spontaneous embodiment’, the use of colours, spontaneous poetry, ‘entering into the dream’, to understand the work done in a Sandplay process and dreams and presents examples of clinical cases. These techniques are not only valuable for supervision but can also be used in therapy to help clients reconnect with body and feelings.

Martin Kalff is a Sandplay Therapist and teacher of meditation. He is a teaching and founding member of the International and Swiss National Society of Sandplay Therapy (ISST/SGSST). He teaches Sandplay in Switzerland and different countries worldwide, with an emphasis on ERCS, the Experience Related Case Study and Supervision, which he developed.

Paolo Ferliga is a Jungian Therapist, former Teacher of Philosophy and History at the High School Arnaldo in Brescia, as well as Educational Psychology at the University Bicocca in Milan. He has published several books in the field of analytical psychology. He founded Campo Maschile a research-action group exploring male identity and chairs dream-related and active imagination workshops in Italy.