Many people think that sandplay is mainly for children, and it is true that sandplay is wonderful for healing children’s trauma. However, sandplay can be deeply healing for adults and the traumatized child within as well because it reaches preverbal areas of the psyche. Working with adults requires a somewhat different skill set. In this one-day training, we will look at some of the special issues involved in working with adult populations.
Educational goals:
- Learn what it is like for adults to use sandplay therapy
- Discover different methods of inviting adults into sand work
- Review the presenting problems that adults may resolve through work in the sand
Learning objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to
- Describe two differences inherent in sandplay work with children vs. adults
- Discuss the importance of both relationship and symbol
- Explain how to invite adult clients to use the sand
- Discuss the concept of co-transference in sandplay
- Compare the overall process of healing in sandplay with the healing process in methods that are not depth-oriented
This course meets qualifications for 6 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288.
Linda Cunningham, PhD, MFT, CST-T is a Certified Teaching Member of Sandplay Therapists of America and International Society for Sandplay Therapy. She is the author of Sandplay and The Clinical Relationship (2013) and a chapter, “Attuning to the Flow of Relational Energies in Sandplay: Healing Complex Trauma in Adults” in The Routledge International Handbook of Sandplay Therapy (2017). Over the past 25 years, Dr. Cunningham has written many articles for the Journal of Sandplay Therapy on the topic of the therapeutic relationship in sandplay. Dr. Cunningham created Sandplay Training Worldwide in 2013 to offer sandplay trainings for professional therapists and trainees. Since then, she has introduced sandplay and depth psychotherapy to hundreds of therapists and counselors. Dr. Cunningham has provided special trainings for sandplay therapists in United States, Ukraine, Taiwan, Chile, South Africa, China, and Russia. Dr. Cunningham is a frequent presenter at sandplay conferences. Read about Dr. Cunningham’s teaching style. She practices in Gig Harbor, Washington, specializing in anxiety, preverbal trauma, and blocked creativity.