In Search of the Mature Masculine in Sandplay Therapy: An Older Man’s Journey

David M. Dermott, PsyD, LCMHC, CST-T

Abstract

The author describes the therapy of a man, age 68, who presented with anxiety, depression, marital difficulties, obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms, difficulty paying attention, etc. As a child, he was never “embraced” by his father or told that he was loved. He was not “blessed” by his father or guided as a boy or man. The client had difficulty disconnecting from the emotional abuse of his family and, as an and adult found it increasingly difficult to connect with others; the client felt he let himself and others down. He recalled traumatic details of his youth daily. Psychotherapy consisted psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and sandplay therapy. Some of the central concerns involved his marriage and a deeper level of masculine development. Much of the latter was not only discussed but also depicted in sandplay scenes created by the client. These included masculine themes of initiation and most importantly symbolic and archetypal images of the masculine. The author comments on Robert Bly’s Iron John referring to “Wild Man” and cites C.G. Jung, M. L. von Franz, Joseph Henderson, Robert Bly.

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