Online Sand Tray+ Prompts
Online Link + Prompts!
(Online Sand Tray by Dr. Karen Fried")
Sand tray therapy is a technique where individuals, often children but also adults, express themselves by creating scenes in a tray filled with sand and miniature objects. Here is a great online version if you don’t have access to one in person. Here are 20 sand tray prompts specifically tailored for telehealth.
Emotional Expression
"Create your feelings today" - Use the objects and colors to show me what's happening inside you right now. Choose things that match your emotions.
"Build a world where everyone feels safe" - What objects would you place? What colors would you choose for the background?
"Show me what anger looks like in your sandbox" - You can use objects, change the sand texture, or arrange things however feels right.
"Make a scene about a time you felt really proud of yourself" - Drag and drop objects to recreate that moment. What was happening? Who was there?
Family & Relationships
"Create your family using the people figures" - Show me how everyone fits together in your world. You can resize and position them however feels right.
"Build a scene showing how you and your friends play together" - Use the objects and settings to show what you like to do and where you go.
"Design your perfect family day" - Choose the setting, add activities, and place family members to create that ideal day.
"Make a world where everyone gets along" - Select objects and arrange them to show what would need to happen for everyone to be happy together.
Trauma & Processing
"Create a world with both challenging things and safe things" - Use different areas of your sandbox to show how they exist together. You can use barriers or bridges between them.
"Build a healing place for someone who was hurt" - What objects would help them feel better? What kind of environment would you create?
"Show me what strength looks like using the available figures" - How do you picture someone being strong or brave? What objects represent strength to you?
"Make a scene about getting through something hard" - What objects represent the challenge? What helped overcome it? Who supported you?
Hopes & Dreams
"Build your dream world using all the tools available" - If you could create any world you wanted, what objects would you choose? What would it look like?
"Show me what you want to be when you grow up" - Use objects, people figures, and settings to create that future life.
"Make a world where all your wishes come true" - What objects would you add or remove? How would you arrange everything?
"Create a magical place where anything is possible" - Use the fantasy objects, change colors, and let your imagination run wild in the space!
Self-Concept & Growth
"Build a world that shows all the things you're good at" - Select objects that represent your strengths and talents. Arrange them to celebrate who you are.
"Show me your journey from little kid to now" - You can create different sections or use areas to show how you've grown and changed.
"Create a scene that shows who you really are inside" - Choose objects, colors, and arrangements that represent what's important about you.
"Make a world where you're the hero of the story" - What adventure would you design? What objects would you need? What would you accomplish?
Online Session Notes
Allow 20-45 minutes for creation and exploration
Use screen sharing so you can both see and discuss their creation
Guide them through the tools: "Try clicking on that object" or "You can resize that by dragging the corner"
Ask the same open-ended questions: "Tell me about this..." "What's happening here?" "How does this character feel?"
Take screenshots (with permission) to save their creations for future sessions
Some children may want to clear and rebuild multiple times - that's perfectly fine
Be patient with technical difficulties - focus on their emotional expression, not perfect skills
Consider having them give you a "tour" of their creation, describing each element as they click on it
