Timeline of Sandplay Therapy

Sandplay Therapy, developed by Dora M. Kalff in Switzerland in the late 1950s, is a psychotherapeutic method for children and adults. It involves creating three-dimensional scenes in trays of sand using miniature figurines and objects, facilitating expression and mediation between one's inner and outer worlds. This process can promote psychological healing and consciousness expansion, especially when development is disrupted or psychic wounds exist. Sandplay helps address psychological distress by concretizing inner conflicts and fostering resolutions, ideally leading to transformation and healing.

Below is a short timeline:

H.G. Wells (1866-1946)

• Science Fiction Author, Futurist

  • The Time Machine  (1895)

  • The Invisible Man    (1897)

  • War of the Worlds   (1898)

• Floor Games     (1911)

  • Noticed children acting out their internal issues when they played

  • Noticed that by giving them toy figurines and objects, they were better able to create expressive scenes

Margaret Lowenfeld      (1890-1973)

• Inspired by  Well’s “Floor Games”

  • Formalized the idea of studying children by watching them play with figurines & objects

• Developed the “World Technique”  (1929)  (now known as “Sandtray Therapy”)

Dora Kalff        (1904-1990)

• Swiss student of Carl Jung

• Studied later with Margaret Lowenfeld

• Developed “Sandplay Therapy”  (1950s)

  • Related the symbology of the figurines to “Jungian archetypes”

  • Developed Sandplay Therapy as a form of Jungian psychotherapy

• Popularized Sandplay around the world

  • Spoke many languages

  • Taught Sandplay in many countries