Helping Children: Child Psychology Services
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The Red Room:
Exploring the Depths of the Mind through Sandtray Therapy

At Helping Children, our playrooms are thoughtfully designed to reflect common play modalities at different developmental stages, providing a nurturing environment for children to express themselves and grow. However, the Red Room sets itself apart from the Yellow and Green Rooms as a unique sandtray room, offering a captivating form of expressive therapy.
 
In the Red Room, we introduce children to the transformative world of sandtray therapy, a powerful method of self-expression. This therapeutic approach allows children to create representations of their inner world using miniature figures, sand, and sometimes water. Through the sandtray, children can access both their conscious experiences and unconscious feelings and perceptions. Sandtray therapy can take two main forms:
  • INDIRECT Sandtray Therapy: Here, children are encouraged to build their own world in the sandtray, without specific directives or predefined themes, allowing their inner world, imagination, and emotions to take the lead. By selecting miniature figures and shaping the sand, they can process and gain insight into their conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions, often discovering aspects of themselves they might not be fully aware of.
  • DIRECT Sandtray Therapy: This variant involves the use of a sandtray to create representations of the child's immediate environment or specific life experiences. In this therapeutic approach, the child is guided to build a tray that directly reflects their current home(s), relationships, or any significant events they may be facing. This focused approach helps them explore and process feelings and challenges related to their immediate environment, providing a safe space to work through complex emotions.
The therapeutic benefits of sandtray therapy are extensive, making it a valuable tool in addressing various mental health challenges, including: Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Social Challenges, Trauma, Family Changes (e.g., divorce) and Emotional Regulation.
 
In the Red Room, Dr. Johnson guides children on their sandtray journeys, providing a safe and supportive space for exploration and healing. The sandtray becomes a canvas for children to express their perceptions and emotions through symbolic representations. This method is especially beneficial as it allows children to process conscious and unconscious experiences. If a child wishes, they can choose to share their sandtray creation and verbalize the thoughts and emotions behind it, promoting further understanding and healing. Sandtray therapy enables children to navigate complex emotions, develop resilience, and gain valuable insights into their inner world.
 
Sandtray therapy is typically utilized with children aged 8 years and older, in conjunction with other therapeutic approaches. Each child's treatment plan is customized to address their unique needs and challenges. ​
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Helping Children Live Happy and Healthy Lives.

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Disclaimer:
This site is not intended to function as a replacement for mental health therapy.
Helping Children does not receive any monetary incentive from resource books,
they are provided as a reference should families choose to use them.
Helping Children is not liable for any use or misuse of this website.​
Images used on this site are from the Helping Children Clinic, Canva and Unsplash.
No photos of clients or their work is used on this website.
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Photos of the clinic are copyright, and reproduction is strictly prohibited. 

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  • Home
  • Approach
    • Our Therapeutic Model
    • Child Therapy Approaches
    • Preparing Children for Therapy
  • Child Psychology Services
  • The Clinic
    • Meet Dr. J
    • Playrooms
    • Fees
    • Location
    • Philosophies & Practices
  • Contact