Adoption is a journey filled with love, growth, and transformation, but it can also bring up deep, complex emotions that are difficult to put into words. Grief, identity struggles, attachment challenges, and trauma can manifest in ways that adoptees and birth parents may not always know how to express.

This is where Sandtray Therapy becomes a powerful tool. Through symbols, storytelling, and tactile expression, individuals can explore their emotions in a non-verbal, safe, and deeply meaningful way.

At the Gladney Center for Adoption, we exclusively offer Sandtray Therapy at our counseling center in Fort Worth,Texas and via telehealth to help adoptees, birth parents, and families navigate their adoption experiences with creativity, self-discovery, and healing.

What is Sandtray Therapy?

Sandtray Therapy is a non-verbal, expressive form of therapy that allows individuals to use miniature figures, symbols, and objects in a sand-filled tray to create scenes that represent their inner thoughts, emotions, and life experiences.

As counselor Robin Elkins, LPC, puts it:

“Humans are symbolic creatures; words are spoken symbols. Sandtray allows for a more direct use of symbols in helping people communicate what could be too difficult to say with words, or what words can’t just quite effectively communicate.”

Unlike traditional talk therapy, Sandtray Therapy does not require a person to verbalize their pain, fears, or memories outright. Instead, the therapist observes and gently guides the individual as they use figurines and storytelling to process their emotions in a way that feels natural and safe.

This form of therapy is especially effective for:

• Children who struggle to articulate their emotions
• Adoptees with pre-verbal trauma or fragmented memories
• Birth parents navigating grief and identity
• Families working through attachment or communication challenges

Why is Sandtray Therapy Effective for Adoption-Related Healing?

Many adoptees, birth parents, and even adoptive parents carry emotions that feel too overwhelming or abstract to talk about. Sandtray Therapy provides an alternative pathway to expression, allowing individuals to:

1. Process Adoption-Related Trauma & Identity

Adoptees may experience loss, identity confusion, or attachment wounds that they struggle to explain. Using symbolic representation in the sandtray can help them:

• Explore feelings of belonging and self-identity
• Work through early-life transitions or separation
• Address grief in a safe, contained way

2. Release Stored Emotions Without Pressure

For many—especially children—talking about emotions directly can feel intimidating. Sandtray Therapy offers:

• A non-verbal outlet for complex feelings
• A safe space to express emotions without judgment
• Insight for therapists into patterns and triggers

3. Strengthen Family Connection & Communication

Sandtray Therapy can also help adoptive families and birth parents improve communication and emotional connection by:

• Encouraging storytelling between parent and child
• Helping parents better understand their child’s emotional world
• Offering birth parents tools to process grief or find closure

4. Promote Emotional Regulation & Healing

For adoptees who experience anxiety or difficulty trusting others, Sandtray Therapy can:

• Support emotional regulation and resilience
• Reduce stress and anxiety related to trauma
• Empower individuals to take control of their healing journey

What Makes Sandtray Therapy Unique?

Robin shares another powerful reflection on what makes Sandtray such a transformative form of therapy:

“Sandtray is a humbling form of therapy since you cannot interpret the figures for the client—it is totally up to the client to share with you what they are experiencing in the moment. Additionally, sandtray is a psychological scalpel that cuts directly to the soul… as a sandtray therapist you have the ability to partake in what Irving Yalom described as an occupational privilege to minister in human despair.”

He continues:

“Dostoevsky says that the darker the night, the closer the dawn, the deeper the despair the closer is God. What I take from these two giants is that when working with clients in therapy, who are typically in deep despair, is that I have the privilege of ministering in despair and the honor and opportunity to see as people hear the voice of God in their soul…”

This deep, soul-level healing is what sets Sandtray Therapy apart. It's not just about communication—it's about connection, transformation, and hope.

Why Choose Gladney?

At Gladney, our therapists are trained in trauma-informed, adoption-competent care that respects each person’s story. We believe Sandtray Therapy is one of the most powerful tools we can offer to help clients express what they can’t always say out loud—and move toward healing at their own pace.

With locations in Fort Worth, Addison, and Houston, our counseling centers provide accessible, expert care for children, adults, and families throughout Texas.

Learn more and get started today by visiting Gladney Counseling Services.