Sandtray treatment is an efficient intervention with adolescents (Flahive & Ray). Relying on the age of the adolescent, therapists may need to modify the processing period of sandtray because several adolescents are not ready to think abstractly. As a standard rule of thumb, fifteen is accepted as an age at which most adolescents have arrived at Piaget’s formal operational stage of progress (Wadsworth, 1996). With more mature adolescents, sandtray therapist ought to be capable to use several of the facilitative responses that they use with adults but with youthful adolescents, they may possibly require to answer in a extra concrete method. For case in point, when I do sandtray with an older adolescent, I usually inquire, “What is it like to feel about that correct now?” This reaction can help shoppers to concentrate on feelings and remain out of their heads. But young adolescents may not be ready to respond to these types of a query since it is way too abstract. A reflective response such as, “You appear to be unfortunate when you assume about that,” would likely be much far more valuable to younger customers.
With young adolescents who show up to be in the concrete operational phase of development, I would recommend the adhering to.
· Pay shut focus to gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Nonverbal cues are even far more critical with this age than verbal material mainly because little ones this age commonly convey their feelings nonverbally. As I examine all over the e book, getting ready to examine nonverbal cues is pretty essential in the humanistic strategy to sandtray therapy.
· The processing time is much shorter with concrete operational little ones. Therapists should not hope a deep processing encounter.
· Communicate a nonjudgmental attitude. Even although this is important with any age, I believe that it is primarily vital with this age. Little ones will need to truly feel safe in advance of they will truly feel cozy enough to take a look at inner thoughts or problems.
· Focus much more on the physical format of the scene and remark on certain objects and their locale and relation to other objects. “This one particular is above here by alone.”
· Stay with the metaphor or symbol. If the shopper says, “The dog is in excess of in this article by by itself,” react by saying a little something about the canine. I may well say, “The doggy seems to be lonely.” Permit the boy or girl to have the symbol or maintain the security of the image. The youngster isn’t going to have to speak about how any of the symbols relate to her. Do not be in a hurry to change the aim from the image to the child.
Counseling with younger adolescents is similar to perform remedy: activity tends to be far more essential than text. Several youthful adolescents will be a great deal a lot more cozy conversing if they are undertaking anything at the exact time.
Most more mature adolescents are capable of for a longer time sandtray processing and several are rather snug conversing at duration with therapists if the therapeutic connection is potent. Like adults but possibly a lot more so, rely on is quite important in the relationship. If the romance is powerful, many older adolescents are inclined to communicate about and concentrate on main difficulties, which is not standard of youthful adolescents. This willingness permits humanistic sandtray therapists to aid awareness significantly like they would with grownups.
No matter of age, a fantastic therapeutic marriage is a lot additional essential than any procedure or facilitative reaction. Study obviously demonstrates that regardless of theoretical orientation, the quality of the romance is far more important in customer outcomes than precise techniques. Humanistic sandtray therapists anxiety a deep and trusting connection and a local weather that promotes advancement. If adolescents truly feel like they can be them selves, it is much more probably that they will grow and improve in remedy. Sandtray can be a single modality that is a component of this development procedure.