About this Event
Sandtray play therapy is a creative, expressive, and developmentally responsive therapeutic approach that allows clients to communicate experiences, emotions, relationships, and internal conflicts through the symbolic use of sand, miniatures, and storytelling. By providing a space where words are not always necessary, sandtray play therapy offers opportunities for emotional expression, exploration, self-awareness, and therapeutic connection.
Introduction to Sandtray Play Therapy is a five-hour foundational training designed to introduce mental health professionals to the theoretical foundations, therapeutic principles, and practical applications of sandtray play therapy with children, adolescents, and adults. Participants will explore the historical development of sandtray work, its relationship to play therapy, and the role of symbolism, metaphor, sensory experiences, and nonverbal communication in the therapeutic process.
Through a combination of instruction, demonstrations, case examples, and experiential activities, participants will learn how to establish a sandtray environment, select appropriate materials and miniatures, introduce sandtray work to clients, and facilitate both directive and nondirective sandtray experiences. Emphasis will be placed on the therapeutic relationship, understanding emerging themes without imposing interpretations, and supporting client-led meaning-making.
The training will also address developmental considerations, trauma-informed practice, cultural responsiveness, ethical responsibilities, and clinical limitations when incorporating sandtray interventions into treatment. Participants will have opportunities to experience the sandtray process firsthand, practice basic facilitation skills, and reflect on how sandtray play therapy may be integrated into their existing clinical approaches.
Upon completion, participants will have a foundational understanding of sandtray play therapy and introductory skills for incorporating developmentally appropriate, ethically informed sandtray experiences into clinical practice within their scope of competence.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the historical development, theoretical foundations, and therapeutic principles of sandtray play therapy, including its relationship to symbolic expression, emotional processing, and nonverbal communication.
2. Explain how symbolism, metaphor, sensory engagement, and the therapeutic relationship support emotional expression, meaning-making, and psychological exploration through sandtray play therapy across developmental stages.
3. Identify the essential materials, environmental considerations, and clinical procedures necessary to establish a developmentally appropriate, emotionally safe, and therapeutically effective sandtray setting.
4. Differentiate between directive and nondirective sandtray approaches and demonstrate introductory facilitation techniques, including therapeutic invitations, reflective responses, and client-led processing, based on developmental needs and treatment goals.
5. Apply trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and ethical principles to the selection and facilitation of sandtray interventions with children, adolescents, and adults, including consideration of professional competence, client autonomy, and clinical limitations.
Event venue & nearby stays
2205 York Rd, 2205 York Road, Timonium, United States
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