art therapy workshop (Sand Tray)

The theory of psycho-dynamics states that the resolution of emotional conflicts and traumatic experiences is an essential mechanism in the treatment of individuals. Individuals repeat the developmental conflicts and traumatic events that they have lived through and experienced. Many of these experiences are expressed through informal play, it is a tool to repeat one’s unpleasant experiences so that these experiences become within the scope of self-control.

Sand Tray is considered a treatment and intervention, as well as a conflict and trauma assessment tool that provides a unique, safe and protected environment that allows the cases to reconstruct their traumatic story.

Rasha Al Saheely has conducted an art therapy workshop for a group of cases that frequent Life Foundation, by urging the cases to take a risk on the sand to make each individual the creator and author of their world.

The workshop focused on the following objectives:

• Allow the cases to express their point of view through pictures and stories in the sand.
• Building a mini-image using toys and colorful sand, creating work that reflects one’s own life, and providing the opportunity to resolve conflicts, as well as remove obstacles and gain self-acceptance.
• Sand tray is a three-dimensional project, so the images does not “fade” as it does with dreams and some other forms of treatment. The sand tray scene is constructed in concrete form.
• Open lines of communication they may not have already followed.
• Provide a level of diversity that helps individuals express themselves in multiple ways.
• Working in a sandbox allows the cases to move to a deep levels more quickly than relying on words alone.

Strategies used:

• Foresight.
• The strategy of the humanitarian approach .. It depends on the case to find solutions to her problems, using sand as a tool for healing .. Through creative expression, a person can show  in the sand things that will be hard to speak about or address in traditional treatment.

The workshop resulted in:

• Helping them “communicate and innovate” both through re-events or creative freedom.
• The cases became more aware of what stands in the way of their continued growth or personal growth.
• The emergence of very different sensations; the cases sympathized with each other and tried to find solutions to make the stories constructed on the sand happy.
• The use of sand and sculptures can open the way to feelings that we could not reach by talking alone. For people who tend to rely heavily on their thoughts to exclude their feelings.
• The physical movement of representational objects on the sand has had a beneficial effect on the body, especially in people who have experienced painful experiences – more than just talking about memories or thoughts.

It is worth mentioning that these activities are part of the “Start_Life” project, funded by Drosos Foundation, which was founded late 2003 as a private non-profit organization to support community development, located in Zurich, Switzerland. The Foundation is committed to empower marginalized people to live a decent life. Drosos seeks to achieve long-term change through the projects it supports in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Switzerland and Germany.

Drosos has been working in Egypt since 2007. The foundation strongly supports the following areas: income generation and harm reduction for vulnerable groups, social protection and reintegration, encouraging youth creative activities, as well as environmental protection.

Until the beginning of 2016, the Foundation supported 54 projects in Egypt, serving a wide range of beneficiaries including marginalized youth, women and children.

Drosos Foundation is ideologically, politically and religiously independent.