Overview: The beginning and Development of SP group therapy. (A Study on International Research Trends in SP Group Therapy)

Modern SPT(sand play therapy) is evolving from individual psychotherapy based on empiricist psychology to group therapy based on evidence-based psychology. However, there is no systematic literature study on SP(Sand Play) group therapy, and recent reviews of SPT also did not systematically distinguish between group therapy and individual therapy. Therefore, this study systematically reviewed the literature on SP group therapy, which is developing into evidence-based psychology based on empiricist psychology, and explored the development process of group therapy. SP group therapy is a psychotherapy method that has been applied in various clinical settings around the world since the 1980s. SP group therapy developed unique therapeutic characteristics of SP group therapy while sharing therapeutic factors such as'play, transfer, meditation, and symbolism'of SPT. This study summarizes the beginning and development process of SP group therapy applied in countries around the world, and seeks to find out the therapeutic characteristics of SP group therapy by classifying the period of development process. To this end, a total of 40 academic journal studies were selected through a preliminary research on international sand play group therapy between 1980 and 2021, and analyzed focusing on 'research contents' and 'treatment methods'. SP group therapy began with exploration from the 1980s to 2022, and developed into the period of qualitative research and evidence-based research, strengthening the evidence base of SPT. This study is meaningful in that it is the first study to explore the development process and therapeutic characteristics of SP group therapy.