Sandplay and the Therapeutic Relationship: Play, alchemy and neuroscience

Playing is an essential part of psychotherapy, and sandplay in particular allows for the development of an active tie between the therapist and the patient. This book analyses the elements that are introduced into therapy through sandplay: implicit memory, the embodied self and empathy, as well as the relationship that is created through the process of this type of therapy. Napoliello focuses on sandplay, but the use of the ideas here extends to the importance of activating a dimension of play in a patient as a way to bridge a link between the conscious and subconscious, on the importance of body language and using past experience to decipher the meaning of physical movements.