Indicators of trauma in a single sand tray scene of a rural school youth

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which a rural school youth indicates trauma in a single sand tray scene. An empirical study of limited extent, which was conducted from the interpretivistic paradigm and qualitative by nature, was undertaken. A clinical case study was utilised as research design and document analysis was employed as data collection method. The case record of a Grade 9 learner with a complex trauma history, who attended a secondary school in a low-resourced community in Mpumalanga, was selected as the principal participant in the study. Sandplay assessment, trauma indicators and rural youths were the main concepts guiding the study. The findings of the empirical study were, firstly, that the ways a rural school youth indicated trauma in a single sand tray scene corresponded with trauma indications in Sandplay literature, of which, secondly, scenes appearing hostile, sexualised, bounded-off, rigid, obstructed or empty and devoid of life (e.g. people, vegetation) and scenery were examples. This reflected the universal dynamism of trauma. Another finding was that the utility of a single sand tray scene as a screening tool for trauma with a rural school youth was high and valuable as it identified different types of trauma and trauma-related suffering (symptoms).