Center for Sandtray and Expressive Therapy
Expressive play therapy utilizes a variety of modalities such as sandtray, art, movement, puppetry, clay, music, drama, and more. The expressive play therapy workshops are designed to teach participants how to integrate creative play modalities—such as sandtray, art, movement, music and others—in psychotherapy. Each workshop is experiential in nature and allows participants to experience the power of change through play and imagination.
There are a total of five experiential workshops each lasting two days. Twelve continuing education credits are available per workshop. The Center for Sandtray and Expressive Therapy is an approved Association for Play Therapy provider (APT approved provider 15-404).
For a description and learning objectives of each workshop, please see below.
Expressive Arts in Play Therapy
NEW DATES: 2024
Dates: December 6 & 7, 2024
This workshop will introduce you to expressive play therapy. While talk is the traditional method in therapy, expressive play therapy utilizes all the possible expressive capacities that a client may have, thereby utilizing all of their capabilities in the healing process. The workshop is experiential in nature and will allow each participant to have the opportunity to experience a variety of therapeutic interventions that will include using art, music, writing, puppets, drama, and movement. Come and learn how the expressive arts and the creative process help in the healing process. No prerequisites are required.
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• Explain the history and theory of expressive therapy and how it can used in a play therapy setting
• Assess the use of art, drama, music, writing, puppetry and other expressive modalities in play therapy
• Demonstrate at least 5 creative interventions that can be used in play therapy
• Explain the role of imagination and creativity in play therapy
• Discuss the limits of expressive therapy in a play therapy setting
• Demonstrate how expressing inner feelings by creating outward images helps in the healing process in play therapy
Beginning Expressive Sandtray
Therapy
SOLD OUT
Dates: February 9 & 10, 2024 8:30-4:30
New Dates: email johnburrlcsw@gmail.com if interested in attending a beginning training
In this workshop participants will learn the method of sandtray therapy through demonstrations and the opportunity to personally experience your own sandtrays. Through the use of sand, water, and miniatures, you will learn how the unconscious manifests itself and how to bridge the play into conscious awareness. You will also learn how to witness and honor the creative play process. You will personally experience a variety of expressive play therapy modalities and learn how to integrate them into a sandtray session. No prerequisites are required. John utilizes a client-centered sandtray approach.
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• Explain the use of sandtray in a play therapy session through personal experiential exercises
• Demonstrate how to create and set up a play therapy sandtray room
• Asses how to witness and honor the play therapy process
• Explain the use of sand and water in play therapy
• Summarize how to document and photograph a sandtray play therapy session
• Discuss and practice the role of a therapist during the play therapy sandtray session
• Explain how to incorporate expressive play therapies in the sandtray session
Advanced
Expressive
Sandtray
Therapy
NEW DATES FOR 2024
November 8 & 9, 2024
This workshop is a continuation of the beginning expressive sandtray workshop. Through experiential exercises and demonstrations the participants will learn how to deepen the journey of the play experience. Observation skills will be enhanced while helping the participant to use all of their senses and abilities. By doing 2-3 personal sandtrays daily, the participant will also develop their abilities to nurture their own creativity and imagination. Additional expressive modalities will be used and participants will be shown how to deepen the therapeutic experience. John utilizes a client-centered sandtray approach. The Beginning Expressive Sandtray Therapy workshop is a required prerequisite for this course.
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• Demonstrate the use amplification and understand when this method can be used in the sandtray play therapy session
• Utilize a variety of techniques that can be used to deepen the play therapy experience when using sandtray
• Asses how to work with and understand countertransference in the play therapy therapeutic relationship
• Describe directed sandtray play and when to use it in the play therapy session
• Use a variety of expressive play therapy modalities and how to use them to deepen the therapeutic experience in play therapy
Child &
Adolescent
Expressive
Sandtray
Therapy
New Dates: 2024
August 23rd & 24th, 2024
The workshop will focus on understanding how to use expressive play therapy with children and adolescents with an emphasis on using sandtray. Typical child and adolescent patterns of sandtray will be discussed. Each participant will do 2-3 individual sandtrays daily as well as experience how to use art, puppets, writing, music and other expressive modalities with this population. John utilizes a client-centered sandtray approach. The Beginning Expressive Sandtray Therapy workshop and Advanced Expressive Sandtray Therapy workshop are required prerequisites for this course.
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• Explain adolescent developmental play therapy sandtray patterns
• Discuss the use of the Hero’s Journey in expressive play therapy
• Explain latency age developmental play therapy sandtray patterns
• Demonstrate the therapist’s roles while working with children and adolescents in play therapy
• Apply the use of art, puppetry, writing, music and other expressive modalities in conjunction with sandtray when working with children and adolescents in play therapy
Group,
Couple &
Family
Expressive
Sandtray
Therapy
Dates not scheduled yet
This experiential workshop will teach each participant how to integrate a variety of play therapy modalities in the therapeutic setting when working with groups, couples, or families. An emphasis will be on using sandtray with these populations. Each participant will be able to experience the use of art, music, writing and other expressive play modalities and how to integrate them with sandtray. John utilizes a client-centered sandtray approach. The Beginning Expressive Santray Therapy workshop and Advanced Expressive Sandtray Therapy workshop are required prerequisites for this course.
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• Demonstrate how to effectively use a variety of expressive play therapy modalities when working with a group, couple or family
• Asses the role of the therapist when working with more than one client when using play therapy
• Explain the use of directed and non-directed expressive play therapy when working with a group, couple or family
• Discuss the use play therapy sandtray when working with a group, couple or family
• Critique group play therapy sandtray processes by experiencing 2-3 group sandtrays