The Importance of Embodiment in Psychotherapy With an Emphasis on Sandplay Therapy

Abstract

In depth psychology, the way to heal has mainly been through connection with patients’ minds in order to discover the unconscious roots of their problems and help them work on resolving their complexes or trauma. Underexplored in psychoanalysis is the relationship between the psyche and soma, in particular, the way emotions are carried in and expressed through the body. Donald Kalsched (1996) stated, “One danger of psychotherapy is that it becomes too ‘mental’ (wordy) and loses the link with the body” (p. 65). Carl G. Jung, a founder of depth psychology, said, “Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain” (as cited in Knaster, 1996, p. 19), which suggests that the hands, or body, may reveal the deeper mysteries of the unconscious and may provide insight into solutions to problems that have been otherwise inscrutable to consciousness. Research has shown that the memory of trauma is carried in the body as well as in the psyche and that the patient’s body can be a valuable guide at those times when he or she is caught in past trauma or complexes and cannot communicate verbally. This study thus explores the ways that using sandplay may help both therapist and patient connect to the psyche through the body when words cannot be found and consider if this process can lead to healing. Through interviews with therapists regarding the nonverbal expressions of their clients via sandplay, this dissertation will explore in depth the importance of embodiment in psychotherapy specifically through the incorporation of sandplay therapy. Utilizing a qualitative, phenomenological methodology, the research focuses on the relationship that exists between the body, mind, emotions, and the therapeutic process, with the goal of discovering what occurs when the therapeutic process attends to messages from the body. This inquiry questions in what ways, if any, including the body in therapy contributes to the healing process, even when treating something as devastating as trauma.