Sandplay therapy & EMDR — Morristown, NJ

Where the psyche
finds its own way
through.

Depth psychology reaches the parts of the psyche that talk therapy alone cannot access. If you have done the surface work and something still hasn’t shifted — this is that kind of work. Slow, symbolic, and held with reverence.

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Discover Sandplay

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

— Joseph Campbell

Miniature scene with trees, figurines, and decorative items on a sandy surface, enclosed by a low brick wall at the front.

The method

What is sandplay therapy?

Sandplay is a depth therapeutic method developed by Dora Kalff in the 1950s, rooted in the theory of Carl G. Jung. Working in a tray of sand with miniature figures, clients give concrete form to their inner world — not through words, but through image and symbol.

This is not art therapy. It is primarily nonverbal — a spontaneous, creative process that reaches parts of the psyche that talk therapy alone cannot access. The efficacy of sandplay comes through the act of building in the sand, not through cognitive analysis of the completed tray.

Over a series of sessions, and within the free and protected space of the therapeutic relationship, something begins to shift. Sandplay is used with both adults and children.

Approach

Sandplay therapy

Jungian & symbolic

Rooted in the lineage of Dora Kalff and Carl Jung. Nonverbal, symbolic, and deep. Ruth trained in Switzerland, including time at the Jung Institute Zurich.

EMDR

Trauma reprocessing

Bilateral stimulation to help traumatic memory complete its processing. Highly effective for unresolved trauma held in body and mind.

Relational depth

The therapeutic relationship

All of Ruth's work is held within an attuned therapeutic relationship. The relationship itself is part of what heals.

Whole-person care

Mindfulness & resonance

Ruth is a practicing yogi and integrates mindfulness, attunement, and resonance throughout her work.

Professional trainings

For therapists who want to go deeper.

Ruth offers training in sandplay therapy for therapists, counsellors, clinicians, and anyone drawn to working symbolically with the inner world. The Into the Sand series runs as live, one-day immersions at Lord Stirling Park in Basking Ridge, New Jersey — open to participants at any level.

Learn more about the training programs →

Fall Dates Coming Soon!

Meet the therapist

Ruth Castellano

MA CST LPC

Ruth Castellano has been working with adults and children in depth psychotherapy for over 20 years. Her practice draws from the Jungian tradition — the unconscious, the symbolic, the patterns we carry without knowing why. Sandplay is her primary method. It gives form to what can't yet be spoken.