Framework of analysis and design of caring interaction with a miniature garden

To support "caring interaction" based on sandplay therapy and narrative therapy, mixed reality for sandplay therapy is introduced. Mixed reality enables us to express ourselves more effectively by sandplay, which reflects various discrepancies of a client's socially-induced self-image, which is sometimes referred to as the "dominant story" in narrative therapy. Mixed reality for sandplay enables us to detect various ways of changing a client's inadequate perceptual consistencies in the dominant story into an adequate and consistent one. That is to say, it changes his/her dominant story into an "alternative one", which is more harmonious and produces less stress than the dominant one. Hence, the technology of mixed reality is expected to provide a plaything-based framework for deriving an effective method of "caring interaction" and may enhance activities of our natural healing functions.