Virtual Sandtray: Professional Play Therapy Made Portable and Limitless

The Sandtray is a tried and true process used by many Play Therapists with clients of any age. The Sandtray process is ‘elementally therapeutic by promoting play and relationship’ (Homeyer and Sweeney, 2011). However, difficulties of the traditional office Sandtray set up can include cost, portability, storage and display of the tray, sand and miniatures. The Virtual Sandtray App is a revolutionary tool for therapists to utilize in multiple settings where these concerns prohibit traditional Sandtray use. With the Virtual Sandtray App, a qualified therapist can work with clients in settings such as hospitals, crisis intervention sites, practicum and internship sites. Basically, any settings where traveling with traditional Sandtray setup is cumbersome or impossible. In addition, the virtual elements allow for the expansion and use of items and concepts which are impractical in traditional Sandtray. These elements include saving of environments for later use, screenshots of environments, backgrounds, rotation of the tray, weather elements, fire, limited animation and resizing items. Expansion packs can be purchased in addition to the basic sandtray pack and a fabulous collection can travel with the therapist anywhere.