Phenomenological Sandplay Therapy:A Synthetic Inquiry

From phenomenological perspective,this dissertation is aiming to analyze the current situation of sandplay therapy,emphasizing analysis whereas deemphasizing experience,based on theories,practices of sandplay therapy and phenomenological development.Phenomenological psychology strictly follows philosophical viewpoints and concepts of phenomenology.First,this paper clarifies the main concepts of phenomenology,which defines intentionality phenomenological reduction,intuitive knowing and their usages in the context.Besides,main theoretical viewpoints are generalized and relationships between individual and world,consciousness and experience are clarified.Through discussing the transcendence of individual experience,therapeutic relation of intersubjectivity and evaluation and diagnosis,five principles of phenomenological psychological counseling and therapies are proposed.it is initial to provide theoretical evidence and context for the following part.Second,this dissertation explicates the link between sandplay world and life world.In sandplay therapy,sandplay world presents concrete images of individual feeling and experiencing,direct expressions of individual life experience and emotion,nature representation of life world which makes individual releasing from speculative knowledge.Individuals are able to arrive at purely subjective world in sandplay world.In other words,individual's transcendental part and experiential part are fused and are perceived in sandplay world,where transcendence of individual subjective sense occurs: clients as Dasein and counselors are of fallenness in sandplay world.This process points out a possibility: clients realize the awareness of natural existential self and return to daily existential self as well as completion of self-integration.Moreover,the integration is built on that the extent of clients' body consciousness manipulating pure experience and narrative expression of sandplay therapy.By applying the narration,clients can combine broken experience and dissociated self.Finally,sandplay therapy based on phenomenology puts elements of phenomenological psychological counselling and therapy into constructs of it,proposing the practical principles of intersubjectivity.It means openness to experience,mutual trust and respect,sincere acceptance and listening.Meanwhile,it dividesimplementation steps of phenomenological sandplay therapy and explores symbols,narrations and interpretation of sandplay.To certain degree,sandplay work is an entity of language which includes various layers of individual existence regarded as an extension from body experience to language.Finally,symbols and narration are emerging.However,in sandplay therapy,both clients and therapists focus on sandplay works.By analyzing the symbolic significance of sandplay equipment,locating,spatial layout,clients,as core of the therapy,are allocated as a bystander.He/her subjective experience,expressing feelings and individual narration are usually ignored.Therefore,clients are situated in fundamental position and councilors make efforts to understand their experience from clients' opinions.It is the guideline of psychological therapy in phenomenology.Besides,it is should be an interpretation process that counselors understand client's sandplay work,instead of a rationalized analysis.From the perspective of phenomenology,this dissertation illuminates standardized evaluation and artistic experience of sandplay therapy.