Anderson, Marion
FLOODING AND RENEWAL: A GIRL’S PROCESS OF STABILIZATION AND RENEWAL

Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume 18, Number 1, 2009

Keywords: analytic psychotherapy, Jungian analysis, sandplay therapy, flooding, solutio, child, feminine, transference, sandplay, clinical example, female, child, divorce therapist’s pregnancy, therapeutic relationship.

Abstract: This article describes the psychic development of an eight-year-old girl during two and a half years of analytic psychotherapy and sandplay therapy. The child expresses her suffering regarding her parents’ divorce through repeated floodings of sandplay scenes. A stabilization and progressive, positive development of her inner growth is seen in this sandplay process. The theoretical framework of analytical psychology and sandplay therapy was used to trace parallels with the alchemical process of solutio. The article also examines the transference and the therapist’s pregnancy is a transforming factor in the therapeutic relationship. The images of flooding contributed to the child’s improvement and to the therapist’s understanding of the child’s internal and external situation.