Presented by: JoAnn Ponder, PhD
This special presentation will examine castles as historical structures in reality and as symbols that may appear in sandplay therapy with children or adults. Castles are magnificent structures that capture our collective imagination. My own fascination with them began when I was a young child living in Darmstadt, Germany. From the third-floor balcony of my family’s apartment, I could see the ruins of Frankenstein’s Castle atop a nearby mountain. There are ruins of these medieval structures all over Europe, originally built by wealthy barons as fortified residences to defend against attack. While castles are not endemic to the U.S., their distinctive architectural features have been revered and copied. As such, there are even a few castles in Austin, Texas, the city where I currently reside. Based on the history and purpose of these structures, they have come to symbolize power, protection, refuge, wealth, and status. They also serve as metaphors for the mind, for example, its defenses and resources. Not surprisingly, castles may appear in clients’ sandplay scenes.