This study presents a case in which a middle-aged man of 39 years old on the verge of a divorce was
able to reach the individuation process through sand play therapy. The patient was intelligent but
psychologically unstable and underdeveloped with weak ego. He started counseling and psychological
therapy right after he got married for marital issues and to treat depression, but various counseling and
therapy methods proved ineffective. Thirty-four sessions of sand play therapy were conducted once a
week, and each session lasted for 50 minutes. The study analyzes the case by dividing the sessions into
seven stages. In the first two stages, his weak ego was recognized and strengthened before moving on to
the stage of persona formation as expected in the developmental stages of a child into adolescence. Next
stages involved recognizing shadow, anima, and negative complex, leading to a better understanding of
his self, which ultimately resulted in the individuation stage. Individuation is a process in which the
unconscious is brought to the conscious level. This process often occurs when a person goes through a
mid-life crisis to recognize one’s individual self and become one. In this case study, the patient’s
individuation process was different from most cases because of his existing psychological conditions. He
needed to go through every stage of psychological development in addition to the usual process of finding
self during a mid-life crisis, which includes differentiating self and persona as well as recognizing shadow,
animus, and anima. This study demonstrates that a patient with a weak ego and existing psychological
conditions is able to reach the individuation process of a middle-aged man by finding new meanings in his
sufferings and strengthening his ego to heal his self through the sandplay therapy.