Search results

The present study applies a therapeutic modality known as sandtray to help 10 graduate students at New Mexico State University (NMSU) reflect on themselves. A shallow, rectangular sandtray, measuring 28.5 inches by 19.5 inches and 3 inches deep, half-filled with sand, is the basic instrument. The basic element of every sandtray is sand which is the basic element of the earth that connects people to their soul. I will introduce the sandtray therapy as a simple, nonverbal method in which small toys are representatives of real phenomena – namely, deep personal issues. Furthermore, I will bring together various approaches toward sandtray therapy as presented by different researchers, along with a personal disclosure of my own experience using this method and by providing photographs of my sandtray. My experience was in accordance with Carl Jung who explained that sandtray figures are characterized in a way that corresponds to the four essential phenomenological functions or personality types identified as the following: thinking, feeling, intuitive, and sensate. In the last part of this chapter, I will discuss the ways in which my sandtray represents my background as a person coming from Persia along with a Persian culture living in the United States while adapting myself to a new life.

The goals of a mentoring relationship are important to the development of mentees. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the specific needs of students and junior faculty in counseling programs.

The authors used a psychological phenomenological research approach to understand the role and significance of a mentor and the mentoring relationship. In this qualitative research study, pre-tenured faculty, doctoral- and master’s-level students in counselor education programs in the USA were interviewed (n=30), to explore the mentorship needs.

In the study, the authors identified 28 codes that emerged from the participants’ lived experiences, which then were organized into seven meta-codes. The seven meta-codes were: relationship between mentor and mentee; communication style or patterns; preferred gender of mentor; introduction to the relationship; mentee needs; mentee benefits; and experiences as a mentee.

In the paper, the authors sought to explore the mentoring needs of students and junior faculty in counselor education programs and how these needs can begin to be addressed effectively.