​“Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; ​safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives."

We have known sandtray therapy is powerful for years (since the 30s) but have only recently realized WHY it’s so powerful. We now can peek inside the brain with fMRI’s and understand how our brain processes information. Information is processed with pictures first and THEN words and linguistics are attached to it. This makes sense if you think about it – we can process images WAY before we can process words developmentally.

I bet if you think about it, this still happens. Have you ever seen a picture that affected you a certain way in your body and mind, but struggled to put it into words? That’s because information is processed first with pictures and images in the right part of our brain, and this information may never get moved to the left part of the brain (where words happen). 

The right side of the brain is where all our early trauma lies, as well as our feelings and emotions. Seems like the right side of the brain is where the big meat of the therapy stuff lies, doesn’t it? AND – you get one other HUGE benefit – when you show me your world in the sand, I understand more about you, and will then be able to help you get better faster!

 These are photos of sandtrays completed during sessions at Northern Light Counseling. My clients are given the opportunity to take a photo of their world with a digital camera. That way it can be captured exactly how intended. 

**CONSENT WAS OBTAINED FOR ALL SANDTRAY PHOTOS SHOWN**