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Sandplay Therapists of America

Turner, Ph.D., Barbara A. Symbolic Process and the Role of the Therapist in Sandplay  

Turner, Ph.D., Barbara A. Symbolic Process and the Role of the Therapist in Sandplay

Volume 3, Number 2, 1994 (Volume III, Number 2, 1994)

KEY WORDS: therapist, symbolic process, sandplay therapy, role of therapist, symbolic function, symbol, sign, clinical example, observing ego.

ABSTRACT: This article examines Jung’s definition of the symbol and its function to bring about psychic healing and transformation. The author explores the impact of the presence of the therapist on sandplay, and suggests that the interacting fiends of observing attitude of therapist and client can work together to stabilize and strengthen symbolic transformation. The article explains the appearance of the opposite poles of the symbol and their function in the process of psychic transformation. The transcendent function is defined and illustrated by the case vignette of a seven-year-old girl, whose sandplay addresses issues of feminine identity.

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