Monday, May 31, 2010

Healing With Sandplay Therapy


I remember playing in the sandbox at my Grandma's house, mixing in water, forming shapes, digging into the sand.  As a little girl, I often made "cakes and pies."  I felt so free as I played in the sandbox--I could respond to whatever impulse I had at the moment--it was pure joy.  No wonder I became a sandplay therapist--the process spoke to something deep within me.  The contemporary of Freud, Carl Jung, found that, when he gave himself permission to build castles and buildings and roads and rivers, he was directly,connecting with his 11 year old self--his structures were a bridge between his adult and his child, and they somehow healed a breach between the two.  Carl's job was to respond to his deep need to do this work of his unconscious--even though he didn't know why this seemed so important--and his own innate momentum to heal did the rest.

When a client decides to let her or himself "play" in the sand, in the free and protected space of the therapist, therapy room and the sandtray itself, this healing process can be engaged.  As the client chooses miniatures from all parts of life and mythology and places them in the sandtray--using either wet or dry sand, and digging into or molding the sand or not, the parts of themselves that need maturing or healing or bridging are embodied in the creative process in the sandtray and a journey is begun.  This journey can end in one touching the Self, that most sacred part that connects with all life or energy.  Pieces of oneself that have been disconnected and unknown are brought into the whole of the person.  Sandplay therapy has the potential to heal preverbal and very early hurts, as well as to clarify current phase-of-life concerns.  It is an exciting and gratifying journey, and I am honored to be the sacred witness to it.

Monday, May 17, 2010

My Therapy Philosophy

Hi, I'd like you to learn more about me and my philosophy of psychotherapy. 

"I believe each of us has the right to
become the very essence
of who we are meant to be."

Each of us has an innate drive to transcend and transform.  Therapy is meant to help people deal with whatever may be keeping them stuck, so that this natural push to grow is freed. 

I believe that each person has a right to decided his or her own therapy path, whether that is a few sessions or a longer, deeper kind of therapy.  Results can be seen in more positive relationships, enjoyable work, good health, feelings of fulfillment and creativity, and a sense of a spiritual connection to oneself and the world. 

I work with adults, couples, teens and children.  I have a special interest in loss and grief and health issues.  I have helped many of my clients deal with their physical and/or sexual abuse.  We frequently deal with stage-of-life or developmental passage issues.  Each stage carries its own fears and opportunities.  I encourage people to explore their family and cultural backgrounds as a means to better understanding the present. 

Yoga is a central part of my own life, and I use its teachings and explorations in my own life and in my practice of therapy. 

In my home above the St. Louis River, I have tried to create a comfortable, beautiful and private place for those who come to see me.  Because I no longer bill insurance, I have been able to lower my fees, and I have a sliding fee scale.  I am comitted to maintaining my own emotional, physical and mental health, and I also participate in regular consultation with my peers. 

To contact email me at calarsen@charter.net or call me at 2218-733-9903.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Kaleidoscope


Like a kaleidoscope,

we tumble apart

and then come

together

in a new and

beautiful design.