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During the summer of 2026 I had the opportunity to intern with Dr. Sue Carroll Duffy, a clinical psychologist in rural Downeast Maine specializing in sand tray therapy and play therapy. She has dedicated her career to working with children and the Native Passamaquoddy and Penobscot communities of the region.
Dr. Duffy is also the founder of Moving Stories, a trauma-informed model that integrates play therapy, sand tray therapy, and bibliotherapy. Moving Stories offer a way to creatively express and listen to feelings and thoughts that may not yet have words. Groups and individuals are understood through what is seen and touched in the sand tray, allowing for communication that reaches beyond what is verbally accessible. Moving Stories are told with props in a sand tray. Often, these stories are built around a metaphor that addresses a healing or learning goal of the group or participant. After the story, participants are invited to reflect upon the meaning and explore their own creative response. Outside of a therapeutic context, Moving Stories can be used as a classroom tool for teaching social-emotional skills or at home to strengthen attuned parent-child relationships.
My internship with Dr. Duffy was very experiential and hands on. My learning and contributions hinged on community connections and partnerships. One primary community involvement was with a local library. I prepared and facilitated storytelling sessions as part of their children’s summer programming. I was able to work with children from ages 5 to 12, in individual and group settings. The stories that I created to tell to children at the library explored how we relate to and perceive the natural world as humans, introducing themes of sentience and referring to beings of the natural world without using object pronouns. My goal was to encourage the children towards self regulation through sensation and perception in nature, and help them find relation to the natural world. I also did sessions at a boy’s and girls club, as well as a teen leadership summer camp in the area in conjunction with other workshops that I led for them.
On the opposite side of the age spectrum, I created and told stories for a local nursing home. Dr. Duffy is continuing to expand Moving Stories to elderly populations, so my time there was an exploration of how the model works with older people. I prepared and facilitated sessions meant to stimulate memories and generate conversation and reflection among the residents. This was a huge success and learning experience!
Another aspect of my internship was working with Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness at their family healing and connection camp. The camp happens weekly for Native families in the area to connect to their culture and resources, learn about health and wellness, and be held by community. My role was to drive families in need of transportation to and from the camp, provide child supervision during parent sessions, and help with set up and take down of activities. I also shadowed some group sessions with Dr. Duffy and another psychologist from the organization. I am really grateful for the chance to connect with the families and people involved with the organization, as well as the psychologists and social workers on the team.
In addition to my community engagements, I was doing a lot of behind the scenes work for Dr. Duffy as well. I did outreach and program promotion by creating social media content, organizing systems for workshops, and writing advertisements for local papers. I also wrote and edited stories for Sue’s upcoming Moving Stories book. I also participated in all of Dr. Duffy’s workshops throughout the summer and completed the requirements to become a certified moving storyteller!
While I avoided taking photos of most of my experience for confidentiality purposes, here are some photos from before a session at the library!
