Free Virtual Sand Tray for Telehealth

Build a world in a calm virtual sand tray: 300+ figures with skin tones, drag, turn and resize, draw or add water, bury figures, then make a picture for your notes.

Adults Kids Name feelings Play therapy

20–40 minutesIn person and on videoFor clinicians

Free interactive tool

If someone is hurting you or you don’t feel safe, tell a teacher, a doctor or another grown-up you trust. Childhelp (US and Canada): call or text 1-800-422-4453. In danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the US and Canada, a grown-up can help you find a helpline in your country. Teens and adults in crisis: call or text 988 (US and Canada) or your local crisis line.

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Use with care

Trauma material can emerge; for use with a trained clinician, not unsupervised.

For clinicians

Sand tray work is led by a trained clinician. Witness and wonder aloud rather than interpret, and pace carefully: trauma material can surface. Hard-theme figures (weapons, death, substances) stay hidden until you switch them on.

About the technique

Sand tray work invites a client to build a scene in a tray of sand using miniature figures and then explore what they made. Margaret Lowenfeld developed the World Technique in London in 1929 as a way for children to express experience without relying on words, and Dora Kalff later shaped it into sandplay, a Jungian therapy (Mitchell & Friedman, 1994).

The tray offers a contained, bounded space in which inner experience can take visible form, and building a world uses play and the senses rather than only verbal reflection. The therapist mostly witnesses, inviting the client to describe the world and its story. Reviews report positive effects for sandplay, especially with children, but most studies are small, often non-randomized and of limited quality (Roesler, 2019). A meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials in autistic children found improvements in social communication (Ren et al., 2024). A digital tray has not been studied and lacks the feel of sand, so treat it as an adaptation, useful on video or when a physical tray is not available.

It suits children, teens and adults in individual work, from early engagement through deeper phases. Trauma material can surface quickly in symbolic form, so use it with a clinician trained in sand tray or play therapy rather than as unsupervised homework, follow the client’s pace, and avoid imposing interpretations on the scene.

For therapists: how to run it

Goal

Let the client show, without words, how their inner world or situation feels, while the clinician witnesses and asks about it rather than interpreting.

In session

On video: share this tab and press Full screen. Younger clients can point and tell you where each figure goes while you drag. Or send the client link so they build on their own device and share their screen back.
In person: hand over a tablet. Figures drag with a finger; the round ↻ handle turns and resizes.
Invite: "Build a world, any world" (or "your family", "the problem"). Then stay quiet while they build.
Afterwards ask about the scene ("Tell me about this part"). Press Make a picture of my tray, then Save picture, Copy (figure list) or Print for the record.

As homework

Not given as self-guided homework. Use it together in session.

Mandated reporting

Exercises like this can lead to disclosures of abuse, neglect or risk. Know your reporting duties before you start, and pause if one comes up.

Good to know

Figures are emoji plus a drawn fence, so they look a little different on each device. Hard-theme figures are under More on the figure shelves. The picture is made in the browser and nothing is uploaded.

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Sources & credibility

Method: Sand tray / sandplay (World Technique)
Developed by: Margaret Lowenfeld (World Technique); Dora Kalff (Jungian sandplay)
First described: 1929 / 1960s
Approach: Play therapy / Jungian
Evidence: Practice-based (limited trials)Reviews report positive effects for sandplay, especially with children, but most studies are small, often non-randomized and of limited quality; a meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials in autistic children found improvements in social communication. A digital tray has not been studied.
Read more: 10 Best Therapy Activities for Teens

References

Roesler C. (2019). Sandplay therapy: an overview of theory, applications and evidence base. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 64, 84–94. Source
Mitchell R. R. & Friedman H. S. (1994). Sandplay: Past, Present and Future. Routledge.
Ren Y. et al. (2024). A systematic review of the effect of sandplay therapy on social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 12, 1454710. (One specific use: autism and social communication.) Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

What is sand tray therapy?

Sand tray therapy is an expressive approach where a client builds a scene in a tray of sand using small figures. The scene can show feelings and experiences that are hard to put into words.

Can sand tray therapy be done online?

Yes. A virtual sand tray lets clients build scenes on screen during telehealth sessions, either by sharing the therapist's screen or opening a link on their own device. It works best when the therapist is trained in sand tray methods.

Is there a free virtual sand tray?

Yes, this one is free and runs in the browser with no download or sign-up. It has 300+ figures with skin-tone options, water and drawing tools, and lets you save a picture of the tray.

What are good prompts for sand tray therapy?

Non-directive work starts with "Make a world in the sand." Directive prompts give a focus, such as "Show me your family", "Show what the worry looks like" or "Build a safe place." Afterward, invite the client to tell you about the tray rather than interpreting it for them.

Can adults do sand tray therapy?

Yes. Adults use the tray to show relationships, transitions or parts of a problem that are hard to put into words, and the clinician helps them reflect on what they built. Training in sand tray or sandplay is recommended before using it as a main method.

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Your game designer

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

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