Welcome!

You are about to delve into the imaginal world of sandplay, where healing takes place from the inside out. Sandplay is a powerful method for accessing the unconscious in a way that brings about profound change. It is a safe, gentle, effective evidence-based method that accelerates and deepens healing for many issues, including anxiety, depression, grief, death and dying, trauma and personal growth. 

Introduction to Sandplay On Demand provides the basic theoretical, practical and clinical information needed to begin using sandplay in your practice. Introduction to Sandplay Therapy is the first course in the Sandplay Training Worldwide Professional On Demand Sandplay Training Series. This course is for professional therapists and therapists-in-training only, and is taught at the post-graduate level.

Research results for sandplay are similar, or in some cases startlingly better than other psychotherapy modalities, as good as or better than for CBT (Freedle, 2022).

Sandplay Training Worldwide courses include video lectures with images, recorded group discussions, downloadable PDF reference guides, suggested articles (with links) from the Journal of Sandplay Therapy, reflection exercises, and a suggested reading list of classic sandplay books.

This course is designed to immerse yourself as much or as little as you like. Feel free to watch the videos many times. I encourage you to do the reflection activities and read whatever suggested materials interest you.

You will receive the Course Completion Certificate when you have completed the course. Course Completion Certificates will emailed to participants who have viewed all videos and passed the exam at the end of the course. You'll need at least 70% correct to pass. The live, experiential seminars are optional because of time zone differences but know that integration happens in these seminars. And, they're fun!

8 STA/ISST Hours and 8 Continuing Education hours for California licensed therapists are available.

What is Sandplay Therapy?

Sandplay is a powerful method for accessing the unconscious in a way that brings about profound change. It is a safe, gentle, effective evidence-based method that accelerates and deepens healing for many issues, including anxiety, depression, grief, death and dying, trauma and personal growth. 

Studies have covered the use of sandplay therapy in many different life conditions: refugees, sexual abuse, substance abuse, addiction to smartphones, children of divorce, and visual and other disabilities. Studies address a wide range of diagnoses: anxiety, PTSD, OCD, depression, ADHD, behavior problems, grief, aggression and low self-esteem, poverty and dysfunction. Neuroimaging studies show the positive effects of sandplay therapy on cortical and subcortical brain functioning. Approximately half of this research was with group sandplay in various forms. Improvement can be seen in 10 sessions (Freedle, 2022).

Sandplay therapy is based on the work of Dora Kalff and C. G. Jung. Inherent in sandplay is the idea that the psyche, given the right conditions, is self-healing. In these trainings, therapists learn the nuances of Jungian Depth Psychotherapy, how to understand the images that arise from the unconscious, and how to provide "the right conditions" for healing.

Copyrighted Material: All materials in this course, including videos, PDF Reference Guides, Reflection Exercises, reading lists, etc. are copyrighted. Please do not copy or distribute. Thank you. Linda Cunningham, PhD, CST-T.

Note: Most of the videos in this training are recordings of live, interactive trainings given by Linda Cunningham, PhD., Founder and Director of Sandplay Training Worldwide. You will have the benefit of hearing the voices of participants of these trainings as they interact with the course material and symbolic images and sand trays. Their voices are used with their permission.

Sandplay Training Worldwide has provided sandplay training to hundreds of participants from all over the world since its inception in 2013.

(c) Linda Cunningham 2023

Lesson Summary

Welcome to Introduction to Sandplay, the first course in the Sandplay Training Worldwide Professional On Demand Sandplay Training Series. This course provides theoretical, practical, and clinical information for professional therapists and therapists-in-training to begin using sandplay in their practice at the graduate level. The course includes:

• Video lectures with images
• Recorded group discussions
• Downloadable PDF reference guides
• Suggested articles from the Journal of Sandplay Therapy
• Reflection exercises
• Suggested reading list of classic sandplay books
• Monthly live seminars (until December 2024) with Q&A and symbol discussions

Participants are encouraged to immerse themselves in the course content and engage in the reflection activities and suggested readings. Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a Course Completion Certificate after viewing all videos and passing the exam.

Sandplay therapy is a powerful method for accessing the unconscious psyche, leading to profound changes. Research has shown its effectiveness in treating various conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and personal growth. Sandplay therapy, based on the work of Dora Kalff and C. G. Jung, emphasizes the self-healing capacity of the psyche when provided with the right conditions.

It is noted that materials in the course, including videos and reading lists, are copyrighted. Participants are advised not to copy or distribute the course materials. The course content is delivered through recordings of live interactive trainings by Linda Cunningham, PhD., the Founder and Director of Sandplay Training Worldwide. The training series has been offered to therapists worldwide since 2013.

• Sandplay therapy accelerates and deepens healing for various issues.
• Research on sandplay therapy has shown results comparable to or better than other modalities of psychotherapy.
• Neuroimaging studies demonstrate positive effects on brain functioning from sandplay therapy.
• Sandplay is rooted in the principles of Jungian Depth Psychotherapy.