This is a reflective tool which can be profoundly effective for people of all ages, as well as being easily accessed by children. It is a form of expressive therapy, similar to incorporating drawing exercises into counselling sessions, but instead of drawing a picture, one builds up a picture in the tray using figures or miniatures.
That’s to say, miniatures of everyday objects such as people, animals, buildings, plants, mythical creatures, symbols, the elements, etc. are selected as a conscious or unconscious representation of aspects of one’s life, mind or emotional state.
This makes it possible, by means of these figures and the arrangement of the sand, to set up a three-dimensional visual world corresponding to one’s internal world.
Sand Tray can be a good starting point, or a way to pause one’s thoughts by just putting “everything on the table,” without having to deal with it either immediately or all at once. It can also be a lighter, more circumspect approach and can be used directively or non-directively.