Troudart, Michal
LOSING A FATHER: THE HEALING PROCESS OF BOY AND GIRL TWINS

Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume 13, Number 1 , 2004

KEY WORDS: loss, sandplay therapy, clinical example, child, twins, ego, mourning, war, grief, trauma.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this comparative case study is to demonstrate the role of sandplay in mourning and in healing the wounded aspects of the psyche, when the family container is broken after the death of a parent. The article describes the sandplay processes of five-year-old boy and girl Israeli twins, whose father was killed in war. The conclusions are: 1. Sandplay enabled both the boy and the girl to mourn over the father. 2. The boy used sandplay mostly to strengthen his ego and to heal his wounded ego ideal, whereas the girl used sandplay mostly to restore her feminine Self. This finding is compatible with Neumann’s concept of masculine and feminine development.