Sandplay with Children (15 hours)
Guest Presenters Liza Ravitz, Ellen Saul and Laura Soble, STA/ISST Certified Teaching Members (15 hours)
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Sandplay with Children: Three Seminars. I. The Constellation of the Self in Sandplay
Liza Ravitz, PhD, CST-T, J.A.
Saturday, April 1, 2023
9am-4:30pm
6 hours
This course will present an overview of Jungian theory and the process of individuation. Discussion will focus on the structure and components of the psyche with an emphasis on the Self, the organ of totality and integration, and the ego-Self axis. All theory will be illustrated with examples from sandplay cases to show how theory is applied in the practice of sandplay. In the afternoon, we will witness a sandplay case of a grieving 8 year old boy who lost his mother in a car accident. In this case, we will see the sandplay process moving from one of chaos and deintegration to one of order and integration.
Educational Goals
To deepen your understanding of Jungian/Kalffian sandplay with children. To understand the meaning and process of Individuation, to grasp the nature of the multilayered psyche, and to experience the transformation of grief in sandplay with children.
Learning Objectives
- Discuss the meaning and process of Individuation
- Describe the multilayered psyche
- Apply Jungian theory to a sandplay process
- Explain the difference between the ego and the Self
- Describe the ego-Self axis
- Describe a centering of the self in a sandplay process
Liza J. Ravitz, Ph.D., CST-T is a Jungian Child and Adult Psychoanalyst and Clinical Psychologist. She is a teaching faculty member at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, a seminar Professor at Sonoma State University, and a teaching member of the International Society of Sandplay Therapists (ISST). Liza has a clinical practice in Petaluma, California where she sees adults and children, and supervises and taches therapists. Liza teaches and trains psychotherapists internationally and has several publications, the most recent is the chapter “The Valiant Battle: From Chaos to Integration,” Chil Edition: Journal of Analytical Psychology, September, 2022.
Foundational Sandplay with Children: The Roadmap of In Touch Again
Ellen Saul, MS, LP, CST-T
Friday, April 21, 2023
9am- 4:30pm PST
6 hours
In this training, we will explore the developmental and reparative experiences of In Touch Again strategies. These repair experiences can build the relationship foundation that supports a sandplay process of depth and transformation. The class will include experiential, reflective, didactic, and case material.
In Touch Again was created by Dr. Agnes Bayley. She noticed that some people encountering the sand were doing deep, transformative work, and some were using the sand in much younger ways, sifting, pouring, adding water and mixing. Or not using the sand at all. Her interest in attachment was sparked.
What was going on? What was needed for children who didn’t show interest in the sand or the playroom activities? What processes could reawaken that interest? What were the steps which could lead to emotion regulation, containment, curiosity, imagination?
Part One of this presentation will lay out the developmental roadmap of In Touch Again. Participants will get a taste of the experiential process on which In Touch Again is based, and have a chance to reflect on the experiences, making sense of them for themselves and for the clients they serve.
Part Two will delve into case material where children have used both In Touch Again strategies and Sandplay, demonstrating how In Touch Again and Sandplay are related. Participants will be able to see the shifts that occur as missing developmental stages are completed and the child is able to move into the symbolic realm of Kalffian sandplay.
Educational Objectives:
To become familiar with In Touch Again, a series of multisensory play therapy strategies. To understand the developmental roadmap of In Touch Again which can give direction to therapy with children, providing missing or repair experiences which ready children for the more symbolic work of Kalffian Sandplay. To see examples of therapy work which includes both In Touch Again and Sandplay, weaving together to strengthen the child’s foundation and to allow them to move further into development of the Self.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to
- Describe the developmental process of In Touch Again play therapy strategies.
- Identify attachment cycles (positive and not-so-positive), including what’s needed for safety and connection, as an infant and in the therapy room.
- Reflect on their experiences of In Touch Again strategies, noticing the effect on themselves and how these experiences could be used with clients.
- Describe 3 ways in which In Touch Again strategies can be used in therapy with children, grounding and supporting their work in the sand.
- Identify two ways in which In Touch Again and Sandplay have common containers and two ways in which they are different.
- Identify where different stages of Sandplay are used as children develop.
- Ellen H Saul, MS, LP, CST-T (STA, ISST) is a licensed psychologist and certified sandplay therapist/teacher. She has a private practice in Northfield, Minnesota, with 35 years of experience in mental health agency and private practice settings. Ellen specializes in Kalffian Sandplay therapy, attachment work and trauma; her private practice has included children, families, and adults. She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and is trained in EMDR (Level 2). She has studied with Dr. Agnes Bayley and incorporates “In Touch Again” attachment repair strategies in her work with children and the child parts of adults. She has presented nationally and internationally and written for the Journal of Sandplay Therapy. Ellen serves on the board of directors for Sandplay Therapists of America as secretary.
Self Regulation and Sandplay with Children
Laura Soble MFT, J.A., CST-T
Saturday, April 22, 2023
9am-12:15pm
3 hours
The container of sandplay—the tray, the therapist, the office and the community of figures—can provide a safe space to explore affective states. Children often come to therapy with difficulty regulating both big feelings and resulting behaviors. The ability to understand and manage one’s own feelings, behavior and actions is important to development and relationships. Strong feelings can also be evoked in the co-transference between patient and therapist. A full case of a child with difficulty navigating strong emotional states will be shared. Participants are encouraged to have art and writing materials available to respond aesthetically to the images and material shared.
Educational Goals: Understand the power of sandplay to contain affect, explore affective states in children, experience how sandplay helps with affect regulation.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this three hour seminar, participants will:
- Describe the components of self-regulation and apply to work with children.
- Apply embodied experiences of the co-transference to clinical work.
- Experience a full sandplay process of a child with a focus on awareness of symbols
- Relating to affective states arising from the sandplayer as well as the therapist.
Laura Soble MFT, CST-T, is a Jungian Analyst affiliated with the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, a teaching member of STA/ISST, and a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist. She specializes in depth psychotherapy with adults, teens and children, and is attuned to symbols, images, and dreams as important to the therapy process. An associate editor of Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche, she has published in the Arts in Psychotherapy Journal, the Journal of Sandplay Therapy, and Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche. Laura presents nationally and internationally on sandplay and the integration of the arts in therapy. Her practice is based in San Anselmo, CA. Information: www.laurasoble.