Personality disorders are often misunderstood. They are not simply “difficult behavior” or a series of bad choices. Instead, they reflect deeply ingrained patterns in how a person thinks, feels, and relates to others. These patterns are persistent, pervasive, and rigid, affecting relationships, work, and everyday life.

Modern psychological research shows that personality disorders are often extremes of normal personality traits, such as heightened emotional sensitivity, difficulty trusting others, or intense interpersonal conflict. Key features can include unstable self-image, identity fragmentation, turbulent relationships, unconscious defense mechanisms, and challenges in regulating emotions. These traits are particularly pronounced in borderline, narcissistic, and complex personality profiles.

Why Personality Disorders Are Hard to See in Therapy

Conventional trauma-focused therapies, such as CBT or EMDR, rely heavily on verbal processing and symptom reporting. While effective for many trauma-related issues, they often miss deeper structural personality patterns.

Clients with personality disorders frequently have hidden or split-off self-states that may not surface in standard talk therapy. Even experienced therapists can be unaware of these internal divisions because the client unconsciously protects or conceals them.

Sandplay Therapy: A Window into Hidden Personality Structures

Sandplay therapy provides a nonverbal, symbolic approach to therapy. Using a sand tray and miniature figures, clients create scenes that reflect their inner world. This method allows hidden self-states, defensive patterns, and fragmented aspects of the personality to emerge in a safe, contained space.

Through sandplay, therapists gain insight into underlying personality structures and relational patterns that may never be expressed verbally. For clients, the process offers a gentle, creative way to explore and integrate parts of themselves without feeling pressured to put their experiences into words.

Why Sandplay Complements Traditional Trauma Therapy

Sandplay therapy does not replace conventional trauma-focused interventions. Instead, it enhances understanding of personality dynamics that often remain invisible in talk-based therapy. By providing a symbolic, nonverbal pathway, sandplay helps both therapist and client uncover patterns, understand internal conflicts, and begin the process of integration and healing.

In short: Sandplay therapy illuminates the unseen parts of personality disorders, offering a unique and powerful tool to uncover hidden self-states, integrate fragmented aspects of the psyche, and support deeper healing.

I love being part of the healing journey of my clients, but what excites me most is discovering the layers that often remain buried – in both ourselves as therapists and in the clients we serve. True healing begins when we face what has been hidden, reconnect with our ability to communicate, and allow transformation to happen.

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I’m Dr. Celia van Wyk, and my CPD-accredited Sandplay Therapy training, a one-year online program with two practical weekends — is about to begin. If you’re a mental health professional interested in exploring the deeper dynamics of personality, trauma, and unconscious material, or if you simply want to have a one-on-one discussion about what Sandplay Therapy can offer, I would love to connect with you.  Reach out today — let’s talk about how this training can enrich your practice and deepen your understanding of the psyche.  +27 72 145 1437 or message me at training@sandplay.co.za.