Sandplay: The Image Speaks for Itself - by Lenore Steinhardt (Paperback)

About the Book

This essential guide offers ways to interpret and analyse the visual symbolism of sandplays, using a wide variety of cultural references and metaphors common across the human experience. In-depth case studies from the author's decades of experience illustrate the underlying theory, helping you to develop your sandplay practice.

Book Synopsis

Every sandtray is filled with symbolic meaning - the key is learning what there is to read and how to read it.

This book emphasizes the importance of visual imagery and meticulous observation to interpret sandplays, allowing practitioners to find the authentic meanings in clients' sandplay expression before applying theory or referring to a patient's history. It also explores the impact of the environment on creative work, both in the therapist's studio and externally. Detailed case studies exemplify the themes of each chapter, from practical considerations such as restricted budgets, the sand trays and the physical objects in the sand tray, to the conceptual interactions between developmental play, myth, human experience, art and nature, and the symbolic representations that form sandplay journeys.

Whether you're an experienced sandplay therapist or just starting your training, this book will guide you in reading the symbolic elements of your clients' work that support their therapeutic journey.

Review Quotes

Steinhardt dives deeply into work with image that is highly effective in working to resolve trauma and promote healing through a non-verbal exploration of one's inner world. Both beginning and advanced sandplay therapists will learn from her creative approach.--Jill Kaplan, MFT, MA, Teaching Member, International Society for Sandplay Therapists; and Teaching Member and Past President, Sandplay Therapists of America

I appreciate the way this mammoth text on the subject of Image in the practice of Kalffian Sandplay enfolds within the personal journey of Lenore Steinhardt's engagement with this practice. The content and richness of information will be of much interest to those coming through their Sandplay training into this field of psychotherapy.--Maggie Baron, Head of Training, British and Irish Sandplay Society, Teaching Member, International Society for Sandplay Therapy

Lenore Steinhardt's masterful work unveils sandplay's profound healing potential. Through archetypal insights, rich case studies, and mythic amplifications, she beckons readers into a symbolic world that nurtures the soul, fostering profound connections to the unconscious and the numinous. A must-read for all sandplay practitioners.--Shannon K. Yockey, LCSW, Jungian Analyst, CST-T, author and founder of Colorado Center for Jung and Nature Studies

About the Author

Lenore F Steinhardt MA, ATR, ISST-CST-T is an artist, art therapist, sandplay therapist, Jungian psychotherapist and supervisor, with over 35 years' experience in public and private practice. She represented the Israeli Sandplay Therapists Association (ISTA) on the Board of the International Society of Sandplay Therapy (ISST) from 2009 to 2017. Lenore has given presentations and training courses internationally, and has published articles in the STA Journal of Sandplay Therapy. She is the author of Foundation and Form in Jungian Sandplay and On Becoming a Jungian Sandplay Therapist.