I would like to present a case concerning a 13-year-old girl with trichotillomania. Non-verbal psychotherapy, such as drawing, sandplay, and play, were attempted. While drawing, the patient and therapist took turns, which helped to establish and strengthen the therapeutic relationship. During the sandplay, the patient expressed a theme of “taking nutrition”, “developing rapport” and “rearing”. During the play, the patient expressed her emotions to the therapist. The therapist also interviewed the mother, which also including sandplay, and the mother came to develop much greater empathy towards her daughter. Finally, the mother-child relationship improved considerably. The patient stopped pulling out her hair and became more able to express her emotions toward her mother. This case suggests that in cases of trichotillomania, it is important to consider non-verbal psychotherapy in order to help such patients express their emotions and facilitate the patient's inner growth.

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The aim of this study was to examine how the image generated through a making process changes and what kinds of experiences the makers have, when talking about sandplay. Thirty participants were engaged in sandplay and talked about them freely. I subsequently asked them about their experiences using an interview, the remake, and the SD method.
As a result, participants were classified into 4 types. In the Unchanged type, they indicated that their images were not changed, but that they were conscious of the therapist when talking about sandplay. In the Clear type, they appreciated their images more deeply and clearly. In the Story type, they felt their images more widely and consistently. In the Objective type, they felt discomfort in their sandplay and could not verbalize their images well. In conclusion, I was able to suggest various relations between images and words and found that talking about sandplay could include important experiences that could affect psychotherapy.

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This study of play therapy with a third-grade girl, who is troubled by truancy and urophobia, is from the viewpoint of autonomy of the unconscious. The girl had difficulty expressing herself, a fear of adults, and weak eyesight. In play therapy, she expressed her internal problems by drawing pictures and using clay to make a one-eyed rabbit as a projection of her self-image, and the eyeball of an alien as a symbol of her fear. “Blood” representing the “water of life” coming from the destroyed eyeball of the alien was reproduced as the right eye of her rabbit. In this manner, imaginative play with a therapist prompted the expression of autonomous images; e.g. through the image of “water of life”, she could restore her body image and childlike vigor. Thus, autonomy of the unconscious can restore connections with others and the universe, and renew the life force.

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This is a report of sandplay therapy for a university student with social anxiety disorder. Many recent studies on anthropophobia or social anxiety disorder have conducted pathological investigations based upon observable symptoms, such as “fear”, “anxiety”, and “avoidance.” The client's complaints were consistent with these symptoms. However, she expressed aggression or anger in her sandplay. This suggested that beneath her “anxiety” lay aggression that could not be verbally expressed, and she came to recognize and accept her feelings through the therapy process.
The sand trays she created appeared as static. However, despite this appearance, she effectively expressed the dynamics of her emotions that were difficult to express verbally. In recent years, several cases of static expression have been seen in sandplay. Thus, this case may be useful for examining sandplay processes in a contemporary context.

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As a special education coordinator, I have had many encounters at school with children requiring special support, and have practiced sandplay therapy as a method of support. This paper's subject, Child A, displayed hyperactivity-related impulsivity and a short attention span, and was often scolded by teachers for trouble with classmates. At the point of my involvement, Child A had a grim expression and decreasing self-esteem. After implementation of sandplay therapy as a psychological aid, Child A was able to express feelings through sandplay that he had been unable to put into words. Through Child A's sandplay therapy, my fellow teachers came to understand it as a support method for children in school, and it has became a means of support for other children requiring special assistance. This paper reviews the process in which sandplay therapy has been put into use for AD/HD diagnosed children, describes how the school has familiarized itself with sandplay therapy.

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The shock and confusion accompanying a diagnosis of cancer can shake the foundation of life, and the fear can continue for a long time. The purpose of this research was to show the effect of sandplay therapy on cancer patients to reduce their fear, to understand their fear and the healing process. This paper presents the case of Mrs. A, who had a fear of metastasis. After providing informed consent, Mrs. A underwent an interview session followed by sandplay therapy once per month. During this research, the notable themes included her family, the “life-review” and the holy content. At the last session, Mrs. A expressed her will in her sandplay to live without being threatened by any fear against death. She said that she was relieved and did not feel like a cancer patient. We conclude that the sandplay likely inspired self-healing.

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The aim of this paper is to interpret the Japanese fairytale “The Story of Aoyagi” psychologically. The story is summarized as follows: a young man gets married to a beautiful woman after overcoming several obstacles, loses her suddenly without any reason, and finally, when he finds the tree stump where they met for the first time, becomes aware that his wife was the spirit of a willow tree. My interpretation of this story is that while the actual process of a marriage between the man and the woman and the loss of the wife are told in the foreground, we see the theme of a psychological marriage behind it. I suggest that “marriage” means psychologically the “reunion of opposites and equals” according to the nature of the soul's logical life. Our story shows us that reunion can only be completed in one's thought.

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The aim of this paper is to interpret the Japanese fairytale “The Story of Aoyagi” psychologically. The story is summarized as follows: a young man gets married to a beautiful woman after overcoming several obstacles, loses her suddenly without any reason, and finally, when he finds the tree stump where they met for the first time, becomes aware that his wife was the spirit of a willow tree. My interpretation of this story is that while the actual process of a marriage between the man and the woman and the loss of the wife are told in the foreground, we see the theme of a psychological marriage behind it. I suggest that “marriage” means psychologically the “reunion of opposites and equals” according to the nature of the soul's logical life. Our story shows us that reunion can only be completed in one's thought.

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