| The experience of cancer has the power to take an individual on a journey of darkness, light, and healing. All that is needed is an opportunity to open up to one's unconscious processes, to witness the imagery therein, and to honor one's unfolding psychic experience. This has a beneficial transformative effect on the individual by increasing consciousness and may enhance one's natural healing system.; This was a heuristic study which explored the adult cancer patient's psychic processes through a research venture called the Sandplay Project. The Sandplay Project was a psychotherapeutic experience which utilized the traditional therapeutic approaches of Jungian dream analysis, Jungian sandplay therapy, and non-directed guided imagery. It was a planned, time-limited program of ten, one-hour sessions, followed by a two-hour review. In this time-frame, five participants with breast cancer and one participant with ovarian cancer were encouraged to explore current psychic images from their dreams, guided imagery exercises, and sandplay creations.; This study examined, through a discussion and literature review, the relevant principles of Jungian and sandplay theory and how these disciplines could be of use to the adult cancer patient in a planned, time-limited format. The study also explored, through a second discussion and literature review, the idea that the Sandplay Project was a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), specifically for conventional cancer treatment. Finally, the Sandplay Project results were explored in depth through a presentation and discussion of two clinical case studies involving depression and preparation for death, respectively.; This study concluded that the Sandplay Project was successful in its planned, time-limited format, and also proved to be a useful complementary treatment intervention for women with breast or ovarian cancer. |
