When the World’s on Fire: Healing Existential Trauma with Sandplay Therapy

Existential trauma can emerge from life-altering events—natural disasters, sudden loss, political upheaval, serious illness, and more. These experiences overwhelm our ability to cope. Like an earthquake, existential trauma may leave us shattered, uncertain, and questioning the foundation on which we stand. Traditional trauma therapies often focus on symptom relief or coping strategies, but they may fall short of addressing the deeper issues of meaning, purpose, and connection that lie at the heart of human suffering.

This workshop explores Sandplay Therapy as a powerful method for treating existential trauma in children and adults. Sandplay offers a trauma-responsive, neurobiologically-informed approach that provides a nonverbal, symbolic, and creative means to explore one’s inner world. Through sandplay, clients can access the unconscious and activate archetypal energies for healing.

Dr. Lorraine Freedle, drawing from her experiences in disaster response during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption on Hawai’i Island and over 30 years of sandplay practice, will guide participants in understanding how sandplay can foster resilience in those facing existential anxiety and trauma. With a multicultural perspective that draws on myth, stories, neuroscience, and rich case examples, she will demonstrate how sandplay therapy helps clients reconnect with themselves, others, and the greater world.

Learning objectives:

By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

1. Describe three features of Existential Trauma.
2. Define the seven key principles of Sandplay Therapy.
3. Distinguish sandplay from other therapeutic approaches that use sand and miniatures.
4. Describe four components of sandplay that promote healing from a neuropsychological perspective.
5. Describe how sandplay facilitates meaning, purpose and connection in the treatment of existential trauma.
6. Apply course concepts to two case studies, assessing alignment with trauma-responsive practices.