Loss of a Twin: A Young Boy’s Encounter with Death and Dying

This workshop explores the sandplay therapy process of a six–year–old boy with acting out behavior in the home while his twin brother received medical care for recurrent leukemia. His process begins when his brother was undergoing a bone marrow transplant, and goes on to illustrate a deep journey of grief, loss, fear, and transformation as this boy courageously prepares for his brother’s certain death. The intense love for his brother is profoundly felt in his sand pictures, along with a powerful co–transference with the therapist. Many of the sand trays contain images from Egyptian mythology. The three trays that his twin brother completed will also be presented. In his sand trays, this dying boy shows the need for his mother to realize that he is dying— the unspoken word in the home.