© 2015 Sandplay Therapists of America / Journal of Sandplay Therapy

Eliana Gil’s most recent books are: Play in Family Therapy; Helping Abused and Traumatized Children: Integrating Directive and Non-directive Approaches and Helping Children Heal from Inter-personal Trauma: The Power of Play.

Rosalind L. Heiko is a Certified Teaching Member of STA and of the ISST. She is a Founder of the North Carolina Sandplay Training. Dr. Heiko is a past Board Member of Sandplay Therapists

of America.

PAINTINGS: pp.2-6

© Jenny Badger Sultan San Francisco, CA, USA

REFLECTIONS: BOOKS & EVENTS JOURNAL

OF SANDPLAY

THERAPY © 2015

INTRODUCTION TO SANDPLAY

BOLD AND KIND

Heroic & Compassionate Mentoring for Beginners

and Seasoned Professionals

by Rosalind L. Heiko 2014

A Reflection by Eliana Gil Gil Institute, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Teaching is a noble profession with great potential to make

meaningful contributions to the personal or professional growth and

development of others. Thousands of inspired, structured, devoted, and

motivated teachers seek to educate children, youth, and adults and yet,

their motivation often waxes and wanes as time passes. The opposite

could be said about Dr. Roz Heiko whose love of teaching and generous

spirit becomes more ample as she gets older and wiser. Dr. Heiko takes

her teaching responsibilities very seriously and pours the essence of her

person into conveying the passion she feels about sandplay therapy. This

videotape is a reflection of the heart and soul of her commitment: Yes, she

conveys some important basic information about sandplay practice, what

it is, its possibilities, and some of

the ways it can be used. But more

importantly, she has found a way

to bring alive the simple beauty of

sandplay and how it can touch

and transform those who are

brave enough to use it as a way to

gain profound insight which can

lead to a transformative

experience. She does this by

inviting several child and adult

clients to create trays and she

gives us little glimpses of their

creativity and investment in the

sandplay process.

Grey is a pre-teen struggling with his parents’ separation and impending divorce

when he reads a book that speaks to him. The book is about children who are killed in a

church in Birmingham. Dr. Heiko gently guides us to observe the work he does in the

tray as his hands take wooden blocks and begin to construct, first a foundation which

appears pretty solid and organized, and later a disheveled structure that has been bombed,

and its center exposed. One can’t help but think that this child hopes that the sturdy

foundation can overcome intense stressors and external assaults and can find a way to

stay erect. Alas, it doesn’t look like the foundation is sturdy enough to sustain the power

of the assault and the building collapses, leaving the center exposed and vulnerable. After

he makes this story in the sandtray, his little hand stays connected to the sand, as he digs

a little area, perhaps on some level, preparing for another foundation to be laid. Dr. Heiko

points out that there are many levels of interpretation as this child recreates a story that he

read and moved him, but also may have found a way to reveal his inner fears and

concerns about his own home imploding.

Descending the Mountain Tower © Jenny Badger Sultan

We don’t see the faces of those who build the trays in order to protect client

confidentiality; however, we see their bodies and hands as they create, and we see it in

fast motion, so that the sandtrays come to life more quickly than they do in real time.

This seems like a wonderful film technique to show those new to sandplay, how stories

emerge and take form. Seasoned therapists will find this compelling as often we don’t

have a chance to see how trays take shape in this particular way. The overall effect is one

of wonder, as we are able to see and feel the energy that clients bring to their creations,

part art, part conciliation, part integration, and always unique.

Star, another pre-teen, makes two trays side by side, one with images of light (most

objects in white), and the other a place of darkness and shadows. These are striking

contrasting trays, and you feel that something meaningful is going on for the client, who

is able to express and reconcile polarities. These might suggest that she recognizes

aspects of herself, and then finds a way to assimilate them by situating bright red fire

(contained energy) in both trays and then in the center where she places the image of a

cheerleader in a little basket. Dr. Heiko lets us know that this youth feels a great deal of

pressure from demands in her environment and her expression has felt constricted. The

energy she brings to this tray is like a well that overflows and the result is poignant and

impressive. Some watching this tape may miss hearing the actual voice of the client and

yet those familiar with sandplay will value the fact that these sandtray creations invite the

viewer to stay focused on the nonverbal process and what is communicated without

words. The clients speak volumes through symbol, metaphor, and story and clinicians

will appreciate the chance to think about (and interpret) the level of exposure and insight

that occurs when clients are working within a free and protected space.

Force Flower © Jenny Badger Sultan

As a matter of fact, Dr. Heiko interviews a parent who has entrusted her daughter to

her and this parent states, “I see the answers in her. I have my daughter back, front and

center as she used to be… everything has been handled along the way.” Such are the

possibilities in sandplay therapy when anchored in a trusting and secure therapy

relationship. Another adult client, Sara, shares her wisdom with the audience when she

states, “There is no right or wrong, it’s unconstrained with no thinking. We need to gain

access to the wisdom we have inside us, we have to be brave enough to look.” As I noted

at the outset, Dr. Heiko’s DVD reflects her passion and commitment to both working with,

and teaching sandplay Therapy and when she’s on the screen, you are taken in by her

gentle boldness and true kindness! You can see it in her eyes and hear it in her melodic

voice.

I first met Dr. Rosalind Heiko decades ago, and we made an immediate soul-full

connection and it has stayed that way since. I have seen her teach others, and I have had the

privilege of co-presenting with her, but most importantly, I have had many candid, sweet

conversations with her about life, our mutual love of sandplay, parenting, aging, integrating

personal and professional demands, etc. The most consistent feature of Roz is how she

brings her full person to each contact she makes with others. She is “all in” when she

interacts with others and she is “all in” when she witnesses her client’s creations in the

sand. She encourages her clients to find the answers, without placing her own clinical

knowledge in the forefront. We are all vulnerable to wanting to know what things mean

and to share these meanings. It is a unique gift to be generous enough to allow clients to

find things out for themselves by gently guiding the process, not taking over.

Dr. Heiko’s teaching is consistent with this philosophy: She provides guidelines for

beginning professionals but she also conveys deep respect for differences and she accepts

that each human being may approach things with unique perspectives. She

exudes unconditional acceptance and she guides

with a lack of rigidity. Her authentic recognition

of what is and is not known, and her respect of

others’ knowing, are true reflections of her solid

self. I think she fully met her goal of providing a

substantive introduction to clinicians unfamiliar

with sandplay therapy. I am left longing for

more and given her commitment to training, and

the fact that she has found a creative way to

contribute to a greater understanding of

sandplay, I expect to see other DVDs, with

progressive deepening of her work. She has

taken the first bold step and I can’t wait to see

what comes next!!

Spirit Spiral © Jenny Badger Sultan

ELIANA GIL, PHD, LMFT, RPT-S, APPROVED MFT SUPERVISOR is a Founding Partner of Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery & Education, LLC, a group private practice in Fairfax, Virginia. She is also a Circle of Security Certified Parenting Educator, a Level II Theraplay provider. Dr. Gil is also Director of Starbright Training Institute for Child and Family Play Therapy where she provides trainings on family play therapy and specialized therapy with youth with childhood trauma. In the last two decades Dr. Gil has directed two child sexual abuse treatment programs in Northern Virginia (Inova Kellar Center and Childhelp Children’s Center of Virginia) and she has worked in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment for the last forty years. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse. She is also a former President of the Association for Play Therapy and received APT’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Dr. Gil has written numerous materials on child abuse and related topics and has a number of educational videotapes available through Guilford Press, as well as a videotape on

Family Play Therapy. Her most recent books are Play in Family Therapy, 2nd Edition; Helping Abused and Traumatized Children: Integrating Directive and Nondirective Approaches and Helping Children Heal from Interpersonal Trauma: The Power of Play. Other books include Cultural Issues in Play Therapy (with Dr. Athena Drewes); Treating Abused Adolescents; Systemic Treatment of Families who Abuse; The Healing Power of Play; and Sexualized Children: Assessment and Treatment of Sexualized Children and Children who Molest (with Dr. Toni Cavanagh Johnson). Several of her books have been translated to other languages, including Spanish. She is originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Dr. Gil continues as partner in the Gil Institute, and consults and supervises via Adobe Connect. She also spearheads an annual April Conference in Virginia.

ROSALIND L. HEIKO, PHD, ISST, CST-T, NCSP is a psychologist and sandplay teacher who trains therapists internationally and nationally. Her forthcoming chapter “Tempered in the Fire: Self-Care & Mindfulness in Preventing Clinical Burn-out” will be published in the book: Integrative Family Play Therapy: A New Paradigm by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers in 2015. Dr. Heiko’s chapter on “Spontaneous Storytelling and the Sandplay Journey of an Emotionally Despairing Girl” was published in 2010 in Dr. Eliana Gil’s book: Healing Interpersonal Trauma: Honoring Children’s Natural Reparative Capacities, and she is also published in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy. Dr. Heiko is founder of the North Carolina Sandplay Training and is a past Board Member of Sandplay Therapists of America and Teaching Member of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy. She is the Director of Pediatric &

Family Psychology, P.A. in Cary, North Carolina. She has worked with children, adolescents and families professionally since 1983. Dr. Roz is an Approved Teaching Consultant in Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and is Level II certified in EMDR, also holding national certification in School Psychology (NCSP). She believes wholeheartedly in the power of laughter and the delight that sandplay brings to her clients and trainees. CORRESPONDENCE: email: info@drheiko.com website: www.drheiko.com

INTRODUCTION TO SANDPLAY: BOLD AND KIND Heroic & Compassionate Mentoring for Beginners and Seasoned Professionals (2014) by Rosalind L. Heiko

A Reflection by Eliana Gil Gil Institute, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

KEY WORDS: Reflection, sandplay, Introduction, DVD, 2014, training, teaching, child, adult, clients, free and protected space, trust, mentoring, beginners, seasoned, professionals. ABSTRACT: Eliana Gil reflects on “An Introduction to Sandplay: Bold & Kind by psychologist and Certified Sandplay Therapist and Teacher, Dr. Roz Heiko. Dr. Heiko’s strong commitment to quality teaching about sandplay therapy is on display in this wonderful DVD. She includes the work of child and adult clients and we see their work come to life, showing the remarkable depth that can be achieved without words, in the context of therapeutic trust and a free and protected space.

PAINTINGS ON THIS PAGE ARE DETAILS FROM PERSONAL EXCAVATIONS © JENNY BADGER SULTAN

ABOUT THE ARTIST

JENNY BADGER SULTAN, MFA has been an artist since she was a child, finding that working with art materials and using her imagination to create images was deeply satisfying. She attended Pomona College, where she received a BA in Art in 1962. Jenny went on to Columbia University, earning her MFA in Painting in 1963. After school she soon found that the world of inner experience--dreams, visions, symbolic representations of states of being--was the area that she wanted to express in her paintings. She has lived in the Bay Area since 1965, married Henry Sultan, a painter, and together they have raised two children, shared a studio, worked, traveled, shared dreams, and made art. For 33 years Jenny Badger Sultan taught painting, color, drawing and design at City College of San Francisco. She retired from CCSF in 2006, and has been continuing to experiment with new materials and ways of working. CORRESPONDENCE: jbadger@ccsf.ed

Dream of Fate of the Earth © Jenny Badger Sultan