‘We Are Only Playing’: Reflections on the Pandemic's Effects on Immigrant Preschoolers' Mentalisation and Play During the Sand Play Workshops

Abstract

Mentalisation and symbolisation are important processes to support children in understanding their lived experience. By expressing what is most salient to them through pretend play, children can normally develop their capacity to mentalise and symbolise, which helps them cope with adversity. Yet, the stress associated with the pandemic of COVID-19 and the resulting restrictive measures impacted many aspects of children's life, including play. Following intervention research centred on classroom-based sandplay workshops that took place in Canada during the pandemic, this article explores how the play process of two 5-year-old immigrant boys, in a (post-)pandemic context, might have been related to their mentalising and symbolising capacities. Analysis of the workshop facilitators' field notes and photographs of the sandtrays suggests that participation in the Sand Play workshops in a post-crisis context can provide the opportunity to explore in a safe space, to transform play behaviours in order to break away from perceived rules and to be seen by their peers and workshop facilitators, which would support their mentalising process.