Winter, Rosalind
THE ELUSIVE OTHER IS FOUND IN THE TRAY
Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume 9, Number 2, 2000
KEY WORDS: elusive other, sandplay therapy, clinical example, analysis, anxiety, false self, false ego, colitis.
ABSTRACT: This case presentation focuses on Ann’s sandtray work that took place during the final ten months of a seven-year analytic process. Ann, a 27-year-old extraordinarily creative and verbal woman, first came to work with me as her conventional marriage and extroverted life based on collective roles were falling apart. Due to severe early wounding and shared anxiety between Ann and her mother, Ann had split off most of her internal experiences, and as such living a false ego or collective persona. Ann did approximately 20 trays in a 7 month period. Her process followed alchemical symbolism, with extensive use of eggs. She used very few miniatures. Our ultimate goal was to give her the opportunity to birth her self. “To arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, the remembered gate. . .” (T.S. Elliott).