Sandplay therapy could be a method to decrease disease activity and psychological stress in children with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective Although the prevalence rate of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) is far lower than that of adults, cSLE has a high rate of organ involvement, rapid development and poor prognosis, which is more serious than that in adults. And studies have shown that a wide range of physiological, functional, nerve, and organ damage will have a great impact on the mental health of children. At present, there is no relevant psychological intervention research for cSLE in China. This paper aimed to explore the effect of Sandplay therapy on mental health and disease activity of children with cSLE. Methods Forty childrens with cSLE were randomly divided into control group (CG) and intervention group (IG); the CG were treated with glucocorticoid, immunosuppressant and other drugs, while the IG were treated with Sandplay therapy in addition to drug therapy, at the time of 0, 2, and 4 weeks after initial diagnosis, respectively. The questionnaire evaluation and related clinical indicators of the two groups were compared and analyzed (before psychotherapy intervention) at 0, 2, 4, and 12 weeks after initial diagnosis. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in the evaluation of questionnaire and related clinical indicators at the time 0, 2 weeks after initial diagnosis respectively. At 12 weeks after the intervention, the score of Short version of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI-S) in the IG was significantly lower than that in the CG, the score of The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) scale in the IG was significantly lower than that in the CG, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0) showed that the scores of social function, school performance, and emotional health of the IG were higher than those of the CG ( p < 0.05), and the clinical indexes of the IG were better than those of the CG ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Sandplay therapy may help to slow down the occurrence and development of anxiety and depression and reduce disease activity in patients with cSLE.

Inter-Brain Synchronization During Sandplay Therapy: Individual Analyses

Interactions between the client (Cl) and therapist (Th) evolve therapeutic relationships in psychotherapy. An interpersonal link or therapeutic space is implicitly developed, wherein certain important elements are expressed and shared. However, neural basis of psychotherapy, especially of non-verbal modalities, have scarcely been explored. Therefore, we examined the neural backgrounds of such therapeutic alliances during sandplay, a powerful art/play therapy technique. Real-time and simultaneous measurement of hemodynamics was conducted in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of Cl-Th pairs participating in sandplay and subsequent interview sessions through multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy. As sandplay is highly individualized, and no two sessions and products (sandtrays) are the same, we expected variation in interactive patterns in the Cl–Th pairs. Nevertheless, we observed a statistically significant correlation between the spatio-temporal patterns in signals produced by the homologous regions of the brains. During the sandplay condition, significant correlations were obtained in the lateral PFC and frontopolar (FP) regions in the real Cl-Th pairs. Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed in the FP region for the interview condition. The correlations found in our study were explained as a “remote” synchronization (i.e., unconnected peripheral oscillators synchronizing through a hub maintaining free desynchronized dynamics) between two subjects in a pair, possibly representing the neural foundation of empathy, which arises commonly in sandplay therapy (ST).

A Case Study of Sandplay Therapy for a Boy with Tic

Objectives: This study examined sandplay therapy in an elementary school boy with tic problems. The goal of the therapy was to reduce his tic problems by offering a free and protected space of sandplay therapy.Methods: The sandboxes were analyzed focusing on analytical psychology and theories of sandplay therapy using Turner (2005)’s content themes, which were the most comprehensive themes.Results: Seventy-seven therapy sessions were performed. The client showed a race car that was stuck in the sand and then rescued by forklifts in the initial phase of therapy (1-2, a race car stuck in the sand). In the intermediate phase of the therapy (3-70, struggle), he showed regression, meeting the opposites, victory of small animals, construction, and death. In the final phase of therapy (71-77, race, death II, adaptation to reality), he showed race, death, and adaptation to reality.Conclusion: The client who was entering adolescence saw life as a race. However, the race car that was moving toward masculinity was stuck in the sand. Therefore, the car was sent for repairs. In the middle of the therapy, the boy showed various fights, accidents, and construction. Lastly, there were deaths of an alligator and a bear. By showing a football match, the long journey of developing ego ended. During the therapy, archetypal patterns, such as regression to the primitive psyche, the journey of masculinity as a boy, and confrontation between good and bad, appeared. Sandplay therapy, in a free and protected space, relieved the client’s tic problems with improvement of his daily life. Thus, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of sandplay therapy.

Effects of Image-Sandplay Therapy on the Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being of Children with Autism

Background: Autism significantly affects mental health and lowers subjective well-being (SWB). The rehabilitation therapy of autism is attracting widespread attention. We aimed to explore the effects of image-sandplay therapy on the mental health and SWB of children with autism. Methods: A total of 90 children with autism treated in Changchun Women and Children Health Hospital from Jan 2019 to Jun 2020 were enrolled by convenient sampling method. They were randomly divided into control (n=45) and observation (n=45) groups. The observation group had a 12-week image-sandplay therapy based on conventional rehabilitation therapy. In the image-sandplay therapy, the one-to-one intervention was provided once a week, 60 min in each. Autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC), autism behavior checklist (ABC), Conners parent symptom questionnaire (PSQ), satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), and positive and negative affect scale for children (PANAS-C) of the two groups were assessed. Results: After intervention, the observation group showed lower scores in ATEC scale and ABC scale than the control group, and the difference show statistical significance (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the observation group showed significantly lower scores in PSQ scale than the control group, showing a significant difference (P<0.05). The observation group shows higher scores in SWLS scale and positive affect scores than the control group, as well as significantly lower negative affected scores than the control groups, showing a significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion: Image-sandplay therapy can improve the symptoms of children with autism and is conducive to promoting mental health and increasing SWB. It is a feasible and effective rehabilitation method.