Interpreting Dreams Through Humanistic Sandtray Therapy

Interpreting Dreams Through humane Sandtray TherapyAaron GlogowskiDr. Michael E. Dunn retch, K. L., Schottelkorb, A. A. (2013). Interpreting Childrens Dreams Through Humanistic Sandtray Therapy. International Journal of butterfly Therapy, 22 (3), 119-128. doi 10.1037/a0033389Swan and Schottelkorb open this article with a recital on ideates and adolescence. They first not that studies have shown that fryren as young as three years old are adequate to(p) to rec tout ensemble their trances. round studies have even hypothesized that baberens dreams can reveal what they think close themselves. after(prenominal)ward, they proceed to show an example of how childrens dreams change as they develop. Children be given to take on a more active circumstances in their dreams as they get older, and their dreams from ages 4-12 be list scarier, based on events in their lives. In this way, traumatic experiences could wind up playing a large part in childrens dreams. In their analysis, Swa n and Schottelkorb determined that they wanted to knock an approach to aid children in examining their dreams for various thoughts and feelings that whitethorn be confidential within them. But to do that, they needed to develop a system of experimentation first, and they wound up choosing the sandtray method.According to their research, Margaret Lowenfeld is the person responsible for creating the manhood Technique, which gave the base for the development of sandtray therapy. The sandtray method is meant to allow children to re take sentiments from their dreams on a sandtray, which they are wherefore able to explore.Through their experiment, Swan and Schottelkorb hoped to determine whether the childrens dreams could be based on medieval or present events, in addition to providing them with an outlet to explore their dreams. To carry out their experiment, they began by creating quaternary distinct levels by means of which the study would occur. These included the pre presen tation conformation, the reality phase, the dream treat phase, and the post impact phase. Each phase had a very precise goal affiliated to it.In the first phase, the precreation phase, the aim was to alleviate the children recreate the dreams in their mind, and to found them to a state of relaxation. The phase began by putting the child through a sense of meditation. The healer took them through a series of steps to relax them and help them focus their mind. They started by giving them simple statements round themselves or their environment, before moving their attention to the dream aspect of the therapy. The therapist would take up them a series of questions near the dreams to get the childs thought military operation foc practice sessiond on the dreams details. formerly they were done asking questions about the dream, they proceeded to the next step.In phase two, the creation phase, the focus shifted to the childs creation of their dream. At the beginning of phase two, the child was given a sandtray to recreate their dream to the best of their ability. They were told to use as much or as little as required to properly create the dream. Swan and Schottelkorb note that it is imperative that the therapist girdle engaged and focused on the child, watching their process silently, in localise to maintain the proper therapeutic environment for the child to continue to create their dreams in the sand. It was offered that the therapist may note their thoughts and feelings as they probe to shack the course of the dream. Once that phase concluded, they moved on to the actual dream processing.Phase three, the phase of the processing of the dream, was divided up into several steps. This phase was designed to help better understand the dream and the feelings associated with it. The dream processing phase began with the therapist asking the child to explain the scene that they had created. Swan and Schottelkorb note that by doing this, the focus was a ble to shift from the child to the creation in the sand, thus making it easier for them to discuss the dream, and any issues or problems that may go along with it.In the first step of the process, the therapists goal was to get a firm idea of the world of the dream, asking the child very unique(predicate) questions about the objects that they had created within the sandtray. At that point, the therapist would ask questions about what happened between certain objects. In the next step, the therapist would ask the child about how certain objects made them feel. The therapist would try to follow along in a way that mimicked the childs feelings, for example, telling the child about things that they saw with them when they were talking about a certain object. The goal of this portion of the phase was to take notice of how the child felt toward certain triggers. Step three involves the therapist and child try to figure out what the child sees or imagines when he is presented with a spec ific object from the set. The hoped to use this step to discover hidden heart and souls with objects, and how they may be associated with other experiences that the child may have had. Step four is about examining any possible events that could be in some way colligate to the formulation of the dream. Swan and Schottelkorb say that the therapist may need to ask questions in a more solid way to get the specific responses required based on the issue of determining specific triggers for past or present memories. The final step is about reflection, or move to piece all of the information together. The therapist may ask the child some questions about how they feel about what the dream means, allowing the child to come to terms with the dream as well.The final phase of the study was the postprocessing phase, in which the main goal was to determine the ultimate meaning behind the dream. The therapist asked the child to create a title for the sandtray creation. They hope that this title would help to create a single idea for the meaning of the dream. The child was then asked to create a phrase to sum up how they discovered the meaning of the dream. They drive it clear that a picture should be taken of all of the dream scenes to monitor the therapeutic process. They also caution against resetting the dream scene in the sandtray until the child leaves, as it may serve as an credit of the unconscious.Swan and Schottelkorb note one particular case in which a ten year old patient by the name of bloody shame was subjected to this form of therapy. Marys mother had brought her in to therapy because she was worried about Mary being abnormally anxious and sad. The therapist used the sandtray process to uncover the meanings behind a dream that Mary had involving an attacking clock, a fighting wolf, and a protective dog. Through the process, Mary and the therapist were able to determine that she was having these feelings of sadness and anxiety because of her parents recent d ivorce. After the session was over, Mary revealed that she was now feeling more at relaxation method with everything. Swan and Schottelkorb note that the sandtray method used in this instance seemed to explode a healing process for the patient.They end their study by stating that dream based therapy may prove useful for children experiencing emotional difficulties, but where in that location is no official evidence on the specific type of therapy, counselors should make sure that they obtain full consent before using the method.