Sandplay Therapy: Identity, Diversity, and Cultural Humility

Sana Loue, JD, PhD, MPH, MSSA, MA, LISW, CST-T, AVT

Abstract

Significant emphasis has been placed in recent years on the need for mental health providers to become culturally competent in order to serve the needs of diverse clients. However, a “cultural competence” approach often leads to stereotyping and an inability to view each individual as unique. In contrast, the concept of cultural humility rests on the basic assumption that in each and every interaction, there is something that we do not know or understand. Interaction premised on cultural humility is characterized by active engagement, a commitment to reciprocity on the part of all individuals, and the exercise of humility in each and every encounter. The concept of cultural humility is congruent with sandplay practice in that it encourages us to develop a multidimensional understanding of individual clients and their multifaceted contributions to the larger whole, while recognizing that there is a larger whole.

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