Sand Stories: Paths to Healing

Collection of papers from the First Russian Conference on Jungian Sandplay Therapy, October 3-4, 2020.

Content

From the editors

Victoria Andreeva, Carlo Ruffino
A few words about Sendplay therapy

Denise Ramos
When the heart beats quickly. Peter's case.

Galit Ben-Amitai, Rivka Lahav, Paz Toren
The Sendplay technique in psychiatric assessment of children
with reduced verbal abilities

Tatyana Rebeko
Secrets hidden in the sand.

Victoria Andreeva
IVF ethics in clinical practice.
Analysis of ethical issues in the field of assisted reproductive technologies.

Elena Bortuleva
Therapy with a child: destruction and manic defense against pain and loss in images

Tatyana Shatunova
Symbolization disorder in psychosomatic clients

Inna Kirilyuk
The feminine principle as the core of sand therapy.
Healing and deep regression in sand paintings.

Elizaveta Molostova
Transgenerational trauma: dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious.
Analytical Sandplay Process of a Teenage Girl.

Tatyana Pervushina, Maria Prilutskaya
The image of the wolf and the transformation of aggression in Sendplay therapy

Tatyana Osintseva
Sand painting on a given theme.
Possibilities of working with thematic instructions.

Svetlana Semenova
Poison and Medicine: The Transformative Power of the Snake.
The symbolism of the snake in the work of a child and adolescent in a developmental crisis.

Vera Povetkina
"Silent grief" manifested in the sand.

Svetlana Salnik
Transference-countertransference as a bridge of emotional connection.

Liana Grigoryan
A story about rage, intolerance towards people and love for horses.
The work of a symbol as a way of saving the soul.

Elena Zakharova
The invisible creator of reality.
Symbolism of the beaver.

From the editors

The past year, 2020, will be especially memorable for everyone, but we have reason to remember it fondly. Amid the global upheaval associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to hold the first international conference on Sendplay Therapy. For safety reasons, the conference was held online, but this did not hinder its debut, and we hope that nothing will prevent it from becoming an annual event in our professional calendar. This collection of papers is also expected to be the first in a series of similar publications. The development of any psychotherapeutic method is impossible without the mutually enriching exchange of knowledge and clinical experience among colleagues, and Sendplay Therapy in Russia, after many years of practical application, has finally taken the next defining step along this path. This scientific and practical conference is a dynamic organizational and methodological body that has begun to function, bringing together all those who practice "sand" and speak Russian. The conference presentations demonstrated the importance of maintaining the connection between the practice of the method and its theoretical roots—analytical psychology and psychoanalysis in general—and the therapeutic opportunities this support for understanding case material offers. The high standard of all the presentations is noteworthy, especially considering the high bar set by the leading teachers of the International Society for Sendplay Therapy (ISST). Familiarity with their ideas and approaches is a key component of high-quality and systematic training in this method of depth psychology. We are pleased that our teachers, mentors, and inspirers participated in the conference. Carlo Ruffino (Italy), PhD, psychotherapist, training analyst at the Jung Institute in Zurich, member of the International Association of Analytical Psychology (IAAP), training specialist for the Italian Society for Sendplay Therapy and the International Society for Sendplay Therapy (ISST), and Vice President of the European Section of the ISST. Galit Ben-Amitai (Israel) is a child psychiatrist, a training member of the International Society for Jungian Sendplay Therapy (ISST), secretary of the Israel Sendplay Association (ISTA), a Jungian analyst, and a member of the Erich Neumann Institute of Jungian Psychology in Israel. Denise Jimenez Ramos (Brazil) is a doctor of clinical psychology, professor at the University of São Paulo, head of the Department of Advanced Training in Clinical Psychology, president of the Brazilian Society of Analytical Psychology, and a curator for the IAAP development groups in Latin America. We are also grateful for the participation of all colleagues from Latvia, Hungary, Portugal, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia—each one's contribution was invaluable. Special thanks to Yuliana Puchkova for her work on this collection of articles. We look forward to seeing everyone at the next conference, scheduled for December 2021.

Victoria Andreeva