The Effects of Sandplay Therapy on Improving the Self-Differentiation, Depression, and Mother-Child Relationship of Mothers with Teenage Children

Abstract

Mothers with teenage children by the nature of their ages under­ go a number of biological, social, and psychological changes. Along with physiological changes, their physical ability is reduced due to aging, and they lose confidence in their looks and feel iso­ lated in their social relationships, which are otherwise limited to their husband and children. In particular, mothers in Korea of­ ten settle for the role of wife and mother while giving up their own career despite high levels of education. Therefore, their sense of crisis is likely to be more serious compared to that of mothers in other countries (Kim, 2011). To Korean parents, the existence of children is their future and implies the potential to realize their unfulfilled dreams and goals. Most mothers do their best to support their children psy­ chologically and economically until they enter a university. On the other hand, teenagers live their lives relying on their parents due to the excessive emphasis in middle and high schools on the goal of entering university, while delaying other developmental tasks that should be realized during this period. In addition, mo­ thers also consider their life cycle in accordance with the ages of their children or the cycle of their family life, and then experi­ ence the period of “an empty nest” after their children leave home. At this time, they ask themselves, “What have I accomplished in my life?” As this shows, the mother­child relationship that em­ phasizes a deep emotional bond can become an important ele­ ment in the psychological development and social adaptation of individuals. Jung (1954), the founder of analytical psychology, held that the developmental phases of human beings last for the duration of their lifetime and adulthood is the most important period in human development. Entering their forties, an important turn­ ing point in life, human beings undergo the process of individu­ ation through which they find their real self and have their own life by turning their attention from the outer to the inner world. This is the work of finding one’s true self and the process of build­ Original Article Symbols and Sandplay Therapy 2014;5(1):1-6 http://dx.doi.org/10.12964/jsst.130011 eISSN : 2288-5188 pISSN : 2234-0556