5 Tips for the Space-Deprived Sandtray Therapist

You\’ve been to a sandtray training, are in LOVE with this method, but NOW feel frustrated, fed-up, and in a foul mood that you just don\’t have the SPACE to for all of your miniatures…

Although it may seem like there\’s NEVER enough space, I\’m here to help you out.

Here\’s 5 quick tips on making the most of even the cramped space….

1. Explore your inner closet

Take a note from the book of this space- savvy therapist, Vicki Knipmeyer.  She used a closet within her office to organize and display her miniatures.

She simply added some shelves and now she has an awesome miniatures area that can easily be closed off when not in use.

2. Don\’t forget your shoe pockets

Don\’t have space for shelving at all but need something to help put your miniatures in on the wall? Therapist Sarah Fray created this inventive sandtray miniature area using a plastic pocket hanger left over from her mother\’s teaching days.

Label the pockets to keep them assorted as best you can.

Plastic pouches from shoe organizers are a great option to keep it all out of the way when not in use.

Space and money-saving you say?? Yes, please! Check them out here.

3. Hats off to this space-saving therapist

When faced with creating a sandtray space in a small, multiple-use office, creative therapist Virginia Willis arrived at this unique and oh-so-cute solution.  She bought the hat boxes at Hobby Lobby and then labeled each by it\’s content.

The kids learned very quickly what was in each box.  When finished after a session, she scooped up the miniatures and packed them away easily for the next client.

4. Custom-made solutions

For those of you who may have the luxury of more time and money, you may want to take to take notes of how therapist Devorah Kroll made the most of her small space.

She had these shelves custom-built for her office to make the most of a small corner.  Using shallow shelves and smaller space between shelves on the wall makes for the best use of your space.

Get too large of shelves and you will end up with a lot of extra \”air\” space because your miniatures won\’t be large enough to warrant the taller shelves.

Also, it\’s more difficult to keep deeper shelves neat and tidy. Clients inevitably knock miniatures over; it\’s also more difficult to see what you have with the deeper shelves.

5. Pay attention to your population!

Perhaps the best tip I can give you doesn\’t have so much to do with the space itself as to how you choose the miniatures for it.

For example, if you only work with little kids, you aren\’t likely going to need a huge collection because the little ones mostly focus on animals, transportation, or just moving the sand itself. Getting abstract symbol miniatures, such as a world or a clock, is going to take up space in your already-cramped office.

Trainer Pam Dyson uses only a handful of miniatures in her actual playroom and then has a separate office for the other miniatures used more by older kids and adults.  You can check out how she has it set up here.

I hope these tips help your brain get going with the creative solutions for your situation. Feel free to share your creativity by posting below- the more solutions- the better!

Want even more tips and tricks of the sandtray trade??

Click HERE to grab my one-step, no-fail guide for creating solutions in your sandtray sessions every time.