Using Sandtray Therapy to Treat Anxiety, Loss and Disenfranchised Grief

Live Interactive Webinar

Instructor: Patricia Finn McManamy, MSW, LICSW

Date and Time: May 2 & 9, 2023 1 – 4:15 pm ET

CEs: 6

This is a multiple-day session. In order to receive CEs, you must attend both days.

Level: Intermediate

Review CE accreditation and approvals for this course on tab above.

Sandtray therapy has long been valued as a way for individuals to express their inner world by giving it shape and symbolism in the sand. In this process, the client creates their experiences and unconscious cognitions through use of sand, water and the placement and interaction of miniatures–animals, people, buildings, spiritual as well as everyday figures, and items from nature, myth, and the client’s own making. Sandtray therapy can resonate with clients who have experienced a loss that cannot be articulated or grief that no one seems to understand. It can also be helpful in working cross-culturally and with clients from marginalized communities, as the client is in control of their unique world, with the therapist an intent and engaged witness to the evolving images.

This workshop will explore sandtray methods in the context of various psychological theories and in work with children, youth and adults. Attendees will learn about sandtray’s historical background and uses with examples from multicultural and intergenerational contexts. Case discussions will emphasize interventions to ease the pain of ambiguous loss in work with children in foster care, adolescents coping with violence, adults who yearn for their lost culture and homeland, and people of all ages whose anxieties have intensified in recent years. Resources in building a sandtray collection will be shared. Finally, attendees will consider issues of privilege and power in the role of the therapist when doing this work.