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Sandplay Therapists of America

Interview with David M. Dermott

The Link Interview with David M. Dermott, Psy.D., LPA, LPC, NCP, NCC

What is the story of how you were first introduced to sandplay?

I was first introduced to sandplay during my Clinical Psychology internship while in graduate school at Pepperdine University in 1985. My site supervisor, therapist and author Greg Steckler, M.A., MFCC, incorporated Kalffian sandplay into an integrated play therapy approach for children and adolescents. I remember being awe-struck by the power of sandplay to reach the depths of the psyche and to facilitate the healing/growing process. It just felt right to me and touched me deeply and personally. My interest and practice of Kalffian sandplay, and play therapy as a whole, was born from this rich training experience and has never waivered. I continue to be in awe of sandplay.

Currently, what symbol holds most interest for you and what about that symbol draws you? Do you have it in your collection? Did you make it/were you presented with it/how did you find it?

As I expect is the case with many sandplay therapists, we are often drawn to particular symbols which seem to hold more profound meaning for us. Some of us may have used the symbol in our own personal process or have adopted it as our totem. Most recently, I have been particularly drawn to the universal symbol of the circle. I noticed that there did not appear to be a substantial freestanding study of this symbol in the literature so I made this the topic of my first symbol paper for certification. Many figures that contain the essence of the circle are found among my collection. What draws me to the circle is best conveyed by a poem I wrote during my exploration:

Circles

Whole, un-cornered pathways
on our journey within
to the depths of our Selves.
When our memory fails us
your instinct guides us on a familiar course
You are known to all.

You speak to us with no words
the enlightenment of endless time
from all places and peoples.
Up… down… in all directions… and around again.
You are seen and felt everywhere
from deep within to the heights of the heavens above.

God’s eye
Numinous reminder of creation.
From the first seed… egg…womb…
Our essence is contained within your sacredness
And yours within ours.
Your ancient journeyway brings us to our homeplace.

Is there a favorite Sandplay story from a client session, conference or workshop that illustrates how you work in sand or what especially draws you to Sandplay?

I have had so many wonderful experiences with my clients in the sand. I was once working with a woman who had cancer and had been told by her doctors that there was nothing more they could do. She was grieving her own mortality and loss. During her first sandplay she used a small porcelain horse, leading other animals on a path into a forrest. Unknown to my client at the time, this tiny horse had been given to me by my sister Nancy shortly before she died with cancer a year earlier with a request that it be added to my sandplay collection. This long-treasured horse had been a freedom symbol from my sister’s youth, which had guided her passage from this world to the next at her life’s end. Now this gift horse was guiding others on their journey. I felt quite connected to my client, my sister, and to the collective.

This and a multitude of other syncronistic and numinous moments are constant reminders of what draws me to sandplay.

Is there a teacher, presenter or therapist who has influenced your perspective or work in Sandplay who you’d like to mention? In what way did this person influence your journey?

I have been fortunate to enjoy the influence of many sandplay therapists who have molded my perspective. There are too many to mention, but I thank them all collectively.

As mentioned above, in a very poignant time in my therapeutic awareness my first internship supervisor/teacher Greg Steckler taught me how to respect the individual’s own self-healing nature and the therapists use of the free and protected space to assist the process. I am also deeply influenced by consultation with Alexander Shaia and the work of C. G. Jung.

Tell us about your current therapeutic work interests.

I enjoy operating a busy private practice in a small town setting, close enough to major universities, in which I have taught, to professional colleagues, and to the airport…but far enough away to set my own professional path with ultimate freedom. As part of my practice I enjoy utilizing sandplay with children, adolescents, and adults coping with adjustment difficulties related to divorce, handicapping medical conditions, depression, grief and loss, and general “stuckedness.” I have an interest in advancing the growth of sandplay as a respected psychotherapeutic tool through imperically-based research and education among therapists of diverse schools of training.

Do you belong to a regional or consultation group? What’s that been like?

I belong to the North Carolina Association of Sandplay Therapists (NCAST). Before this organization was formed, I felt isolated as a therapist using sandplay. The personal and professional relationships that I have experienced with other sandplay therapists through NCAST have enriched me tremendously. I enjoy learning or presenting at regional trainings held once or twice a year. Of special value value to me is participating in monthly peer supervision meetings in which sandplay cases are explored and relevant sandplay themes are given forum.

What STA/ISST conference(s)/workshops have you liked the best and why?

Although each conference/workshop has contributed a great deal to my experience, I would have to say that I have enjoyed the Santa Fe National Conference in 2002 the most. The subject matter and training was of course informative and meaningful as usual, but I value this conference more for the collectivity I felt with other therapists while there and which accompanied me for many months after I left. Relationship with others was strongest here. I also was honored to be asked to fill in for a colleague as a co-presenter with Vince Pastore, Ph.D., on Merlin the Magician in the sandplay process.

Anything else you’d like to mention?

I am excited to be in the final stage of certification with my final case finding it’s way to the readers as I write. I am looking forward to attending the International ISST conference in Rome in the summer of 2005. I hope to see you there!

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