Integration of Psyche and Matter and Sandplay Therapy in the Era of Pandemic (Mask, Tal)

Abstract

In this paper, the symbolic meaning of the pandemic and the role of the sandplay therapist in integration of psyche and matter were attempted to be understood from an analytical psychology perspective. Traditionally, in Korean culture, when an epidemic spreads, mask dance plays such as Byeolshin Tal Chum Gut Nori, which is a shamanistic mask dance where individuals play, and rituals such as these were offered to appease the gods who brought diseases, hoping the god would leave minimal damage while the people waited for it to pass. In that sense, the expression ‘Byeolshin’ refers to both a god and a contagious disease: smallpox as a pandemic in ancient times. The use of the mask, tal, in these shamanistic mask dance plays and rituals is related to the meaning of the ‘mask’. The word “mask” in Korean means mask, but it is also a word that means diseases, problems, breakdowns, shortcomings, difficulties, etc. Also, the “playing” is an interesting part of the ritual, which means that playing has a healing effect and is a way to appease the archetypal fears and anxieties caused by the divine plague. Just as our traditional culture did, in the era of the corona pandemic (mask, mask), sandplay therapists are in a time and situational position to play a role in making clients realize that matter and psyche/spirit, that is, external things, are internal projections. This is because sandplay therapy is a way of playing and a ritual, and it is a symbolic and healing approach that allows each person to meet their inner ‘god’, that is, their true Self. This process must occur first in the therapist, and only the therapist who has experienced such a process can understand the client's process in terms of the archetypal transference-countertransference relationship. Also, it tries to explain the archetypal fear of the pandemic by linking it with the personal complex, and the symbol of the pandemic that appears in sandplay therapy was presented along with the symbols of the earthquake disaster in Nepal.