Play Therapy &
Sand Tray Therapy
Supporting growth and resilience by giving shape to what’s hard to say out loud.
Sometimes, the words just aren’t there. For children, especially, emotional pain often surfaces through behavior, withdrawal, or imaginative play.
At Revive Counseling and Wellness, we offer play therapy & sand tray therapy to help children, teens, and even adults make sense of what they’re carrying inside.
Play therapy creates a space for self-expression, allowing individuals to explore feelings through toys, storytelling, art, and movement. It helps build emotional awareness in a natural, non-intimidating way.
Sand tray therapy, a specific form of play therapy, involves using miniature figures and sand to build symbolic representations of internal experiences. It can be profoundly healing for those who find verbal processing difficult or overwhelming.
Our trained therapists use these methods with care and intention, promoting emotional growth at every age. If you or your child is feeling overwhelmed or uncertain, we welcome you into a space where healing can unfold gently and at your own pace.
Experiences That Benefit From Play Therapy and Sand Tray Therapy
CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
Events like abuse, domestic violence, divorce, or serious illness can overwhelm a child’s ability to process what they’ve experienced. Play and sand tray therapy offer safe, symbolic ways to explore these overwhelming emotions without pressure to speak. This gentle engagement helps children regain a sense of control and emotional understanding.
EMOTIONAL NEGLECT
Children who lack a consistent emotional connection may struggle to recognize or trust their feelings. In a play-based setting, they’re invited into a relationship where expression is welcomed and respected. Over time, they begin to feel safe enough to explore emotions they’ve previously shut down or never had the space to understand.
BEHAVIORAL OUTBURSTS
Frequent meltdowns, aggression, or withdrawal are often signs of unspoken distress rather than defiance. Play therapy helps surface the emotions and unmet needs that may drive these behaviors. As insight grows, children build more effective ways to express themselves and relate to others.
GRIEF AND LOSS
Loss through death, separation, or life transitions can leave children and adults carrying emotions they don’t know how to release. Play and sand tray therapy offer gentle ways to express sadness, longing, or confusion. This process supports healing without demanding to explain what they aren’t yet ready to say.
EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION
Children and adolescents questioning their worth or place in the world often benefit from therapies that nurture exploration. Play and sand tray work help externalize self-perceptions and open the door to more compassionate self-understanding. Through this process, identity is explored and strengthened.
SOCIAL ISOLATION
Children and teens who feel disconnected may retreat inward or struggle to connect with others. In therapy, symbolic play and relational activities gently encourage interaction in ways that feel safe and nonjudgmental. These experiences help build confidence, empathy, and the foundations of healthy relationships.
TRAUMATIC EVENTS
Experiences like car accidents, bullying, natural disasters, or sudden change can create lasting emotional disruption. Through symbolic play, individuals can revisit and rework these events in a way that feels contained. This allows trauma to be processed rather than stored, restoring a sense of balance.
CHRONIC ANXIETY OR WORRY
Persistent fears about school, relationships, or the world in general can leave children feeling overwhelmed. Expressive therapies help externalize these worries, giving shape and distance to what feels consuming. Through creative play, individuals begin to discover inner resources for courage and self-regulation.
ATTACHEMENT WOUNDS
Living in environments marked by conflict or instability can leave children feeling emotionally unsafe. Expressive therapy creates a consistent space to explore confusion, anger, or fear without judgment. Over time, this helps children make sense of their experiences.
A Safe Space To Explore and Express
Whether your child is struggling with emotional expression or you’re an adult working through trauma, healing doesn’t require words alone. These therapies provide a different path: gentle and creative yet powerfully effective.
Every emotion has a reason for showing up. At Revive Counseling and Wellness, we make room for those emotions to speak, whether through movement, imagery, or the placement of a single figure in a tray of sand.
Our therapists create a space where expression feels natural, not forced. Rather than rushing insight, we let it emerge organically through the process. This approach builds a sense of safety, especially for individuals who struggle to name their experiences.
Here, it’s okay to take your time. You’ll be supported by a team that listens to and welcomes your story.
Our Approach to Play Therapy & Sand Tray Therapy
in Scottsdale, AZ
Therapy should meet you or your child exactly where you are. Our approach to play therapy and sand tray therapy at Revive Counseling and Wellness reflects this belief.
We take time to understand each individual’s current needs and use appropriate evidence-based approaches to support emotional safety and expression.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT)
Structured interventions from CBT can be woven into play or sand tray sessions to support emotional insight and behavior change. By identifying unhelpful thought patterns and trying out new responses in symbolic form, individuals can develop more adaptive ways of thinking, feeling, and engaging with their world.
INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS (IFS)
IFS supports individuals in identifying and externalizing different parts of the self — a process that aligns naturally with symbolic play. Using miniatures or figures in the sand tray, they can explore internal conflicts and begin healing relationships with wounded aspects of themselves through gentle, guided reflection.
SOMATIC EXPERIENCING
Trauma often lives in the body, not just in the mind. Somatic Experiencing helps regulate nervous system responses by tracking physical sensations and restoring balance. When developmentally appropriate, SE principles can be incorporated with play or sand tray work to deepen the child’s emotional processing and promote embodied therapy.
SENSORIMOTOR PSYCHOTHERAPY
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy enhances play and sand tray work by helping clients connect body sensations to emotional experiences. Therapists observe physical cues like tension, movement, or stillness to better understand how the body holds past stress. The insights gained can guide the session and support emotional processing in ways that don’t rely on verbal explanation.
POLYVAGAL THEORY
How an individual’s nervous system responds to safety or threat shapes how they engage in therapy. Understanding these physiological states allows our therapists to create environments that support calmness, playfulness, and trust. This approach gently fosters regulation and more profound relational healing within play and sand tray sessions.
Creative, Compassionate Care for Emotional Healing
Healing can take many forms, and we’re here to help you discover what feels right. At Revive Counseling and Wellness, our therapists bring creativity, training, and heart to every session.
If you’re ready to explore a new way of healing, we invite you to connect with us and take the first step.
Your Journey Toward Emotional Clarity Starts Here
When life feels heavy or unclear, reaching out for support is a meaningful first step. At Revive Counseling and Wellness, we walk alongside you with intention and care.
We aim to offer a therapeutic space where healing is possible. Through expressive modalities like play therapy & sand tray therapy, you’ll find new ways to process big emotions and move forward with greater clarity.
FAQs About Play-Therapy & Sand-Tray Therapy
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Play therapy is a broader approach that uses toys, creative activities, and games to help individuals, especially children, express and process emotions. Meanwhile, sand tray therapy is a specific type of play therapy that involves using miniature figures and a tray of sand to create symbolic representations of one’s internal experience.
While play therapy often includes direct interaction between therapist and child, sand tray sessions are typically quieter and more reflective, inviting deeper insight through imagery and metaphor.
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These therapies are beneficial for addressing trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges, emotional regulation difficulties, family transitions, and neurodevelopmental differences such as autism or ADHD.
For adults, sand tray therapy can support healing from unresolved childhood trauma, burnout, relationship challenges, and life transitions.
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Play therapy is typically used with children ages 3 to 12 but can be adapted for teens. Sand tray therapy is effective across the lifespan (from young children to older adults) because it supports expression without requiring verbal explanation. At Revive, we tailor each approach to the client’s developmental stage and emotional needs.
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The length of therapy varies depending on the client’s goals, challenges, and progress. Some clients may attend for a few months, while others benefit from longer-term support. We’ll collaborate with you to create a supportive and sustainable plan.
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Parent involvement is often part of the therapeutic process. When appropriate, we may include caregiver check-ins, updates, or family sessions to support healing and connection at home.