This study reports on the process of sandplay therapy for a 10-year-old boy (A) with recurrent alopecia. A enacted a world of pre-adolescent boyish battles during sandplay therapy. The chaotic world was organized using expressions in which friend and foe and good and evil were inverted, cycled and stopped. Three gods eventually emerged and a new order was created. Initially, A’s parents understood him to be over-adjusted and brilliant. However, during counseling and in the examination room, A presented as slow-paced and with no control over his behavior. He also scored “below average” on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Thus, there was a gap between his parents’ image of him and reality. In a parallel parent-child interview, we consulted with the parents about setting up an environment and level of involvement that would suit A’s unique characteristics. A’s parents’ understanding of his characteristics improved; moreover, his hair loss gradually improved as well. A reported that, “The stress is gone.” Thus, sandplay therapy, which can allow psychological themes to be worked on at an unconscious level, not only expressed A’s hair loss conflict, but also supported his growth.
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