VISTAS Online is an innovative publication produced for ACA by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 900 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to 2017.
2016
Utilizing Sandtray With Adolescents in Individual Counseling
Kellie Giorgio Camelford and Erin Dugan
2016
The number of mental health disorders in adolescence is growing, and counselors must apply appropriate counseling techniques that meet the developmental needs of this specific population. Counselors are turning towards expressive interventions, such as sandtray, as a way to connect and engage with adolescent clients, who are between childhood and adulthood. Sandtray interventions assist in creating a collaborative relationship between the counselor and client, as well as fostering autonomy and freedom of expression for adolescents in the therapeutic setting. The authors explore the utilization of sandtray as an expressive technique with the adolescent population by highlighting the uniqueness of adolescent development, defining the sandtray technique, and providing a case example from a private practice setting under the service of a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
Keywords: sandtray, adolescent counseling, expressive counseling, adolescent development