Unit 1 / Seminar 1: Saturday, September 24, 2022; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

History and Introduction to Sandplay

Presented by Gita Morena, PhD, LMFT, CST-T, and Elizabeth Schofield-Bickford, LMFT, CST
Guest Speaker: Harriet Friedman, LMFT, CST-T  

This seminar is a comprehensive introduction to the origins of Jungian sandplay. It will focus on sandplay’s history and Jungian underpinnings, as well as its application in clinical situations with children and adults. The course will include a discussion of the role of symbols in psychotherapy and sandplay, an identification of therapeutic change as seen in sandplay scenes, and the similarities and differences between sandplay and other treatment approaches. Building and maintaining a sandplay collection, keeping notes, and creating photos will be addressed, as well as how sandplay can be integrated with other treatment modalities. A discussion with STA founding member and Jungian analyst Harriet Friedman and a presentation of sandplay case material complete the day.

Learning Objectives:  

• Describe the origins of sandplay therapy.
• Compare sandplay to sandtray therapy.
• Identify the theoretical underpinnings of Jungian sandplay.
• Explain the therapist’s role in sandplay therapy.
• Describe the benefits of creating a“free and protected space.”
• Describe the process of keeping photos, notes, and organizing materials.

Gita  Morena, PhD, LMFT, CST-T, is a certified Jungian analyst, an STA/ISST sandplay therapist-teacher, and a research editor for the Journal of Sandplay Therapy. She has led trainings and seminars around the world and published numerous articles about sandplay therapy.  Her book, The Wisdom of Oz: Reflections of a Jungian Sandplay Psychotherapist, explores her great grandfather’s story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a tale of psychological individuation and spiritual awak­ening. She is particularly inter­ested in the mind-body-spirit connection and incorporates a Buddhist perspective to address core issues of psycho­logical and emotional healing. Currently, Dr. Morena works from her home office in Santa Monica and offers in-person and remote sessions for Jungian analysis, sandplay process, and case consultation.

Elizabeth Schofield-Bickford, LMFT, CST, is a certified Child and Adult Jungian Analyst member of the CG Jung Institute of Los Angeles and a Certified Sandplay Therapist STA/ISST. She is Director of the Hilde Kirsch Children’s Center at the Jung Institute in Los Angeles. She facilitated a group entitled Animal Symbolism in Dreams as part of the Public Programs at the LA Institute.  Her article Dying to be An Analyst was published in Psychological Perspectives in 2020. She taught Working with Children as part of the Institute’s Certificate Program. She has a private practice in Santa Monica where she works with children and adults.

Harriet S. Friedman, MA, MFT, CST-T, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and Jungian Analyst in private practice in West Los Angeles. A founding member of Sandplay Therapists of America, Board Member of the International Society of Sandplay Therapy, she has also served on the Board of the Jung Institute of Los Angeles, and Director of the Hilde Kirsch Children’s Center. She is co-author with Rie Rogers Mitchell of Sandplay: Past, Present and Future and Supervision of Sandplay Therapy and published numerous journal articles and book chapters.  She serves on the faculty at the Jung Institute of Los Angeles and has lectured nationally and internationally on integrating sandplay and Jungian psychology.

Unit 1 / Seminar 2: Saturday, October 29, 2022; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Understanding the Sandplay Process

Presented by Gita Morena, PhD, LMFT, CST-T and Elizabeth Schofield-Bickford, LMFT, CST  

Participants will learn how to introduce sandplay into a therapeutic session, as well as understand the significance of initial trays. Different approaches for interpreting the progression of trays in a sandplay process will be discussed, along with Martin Kalff’s “Twenty Points to be Considered in the Interpretation of a Sandplay,” and Rie Rogers Mitchell and Harriet Friedman’s identification of wounding and healing themes. Issues surrounding the training of sandplay therapists and ethical considerations for case presentations and supervision will also be included.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe primary characteristics of the sandplay process.
• Describe how sandplay can be beneficial in clinical practice.
• Give an example of when it would be appropriate to introduce sandplay in psychotherapy with adults.
• Give an example of healing themes in the context of sandplay therapy.
• Give an example of how themes of wounding can be seen in a sandplay tray.
• Describe the characteristics and importance of the initial tray.

Gita  Morena, PhD, LMFT, CST-T, is a certified Jungian analyst, an STA/ISST sandplay therapist-teacher, and a research editor for the Journal of Sandplay Therapy. She has led trainings and seminars around the world and published numerous articles about sandplay therapy.  Her book, The Wisdom of Oz: Reflections of a Jungian Sandplay Psychotherapist, explores her great grandfather’s story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a tale of psychological individuation and spiritual awak­ening. She is particularly inter­ested in the mind-body-spirit connection and incorporates a Buddhist perspective to address core issues of psycho­logical and emotional healing. Currently Dr. Morena works from her home office in Santa Monica and offers in-person and remote sessions for Jungian analysis, sandplay process, and case consultation.

Elizabeth Schofield-Bickford, LMFT, CST, is a certified Child and Adult Jungian Analyst member of the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and a Certified Sandplay Therapist STA/ISST. She is Director of the Hilde Kirsch Children’s Center at the Jung Institute in Los Angeles. She facilitated a group entitled Animal Symbolism in Dreams as part of the Public Programs at the LA Institute. Her article Dying to be An Analyst was published in Psychological Perspectives in 2020. She taught Working with Children as part of the Institute’s Certificate Program. She has a private practice in Santa Monica where she works with children and adults.

Unit 1 / Seminar 3: Saturday, December 3, 2022; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

The Language of Symbols

Presented by Marion Anderson, PhD, CST-T  

In this final seminar for the Origins of Jungian Sandplay series, important symbols, and categories for the creation of a sandplay collection will be discussed. The Jungian definition of a symbol, its roots in the archetypes, and its role as an expression of the psyche will be addressed, along with case vignettes to illustrate how symbols facilitate the connection of conscious and unconscious material. An experiential component will be included to demonstrate the personal and collective aspects of symbols and show how the process of amplification and association is necessary for understanding symbolic material. Finally, we briefly will reflect on the relationship of the sandplay therapist to the figures that appear in the case material.

Learning Objectives:  

• Describe the differences between symbol and sign in Jungian psychology.
• Explain the role of the symbol in Jungian psychology.
• Identify the importance of symbols for sandplay.
• Describe the archetypal roots and collective use of small figurines.
• Compare the different levels of interpretation of a symbol.
• Analyze the personal and therapeutic components of a sandplay collection.

Marion Anderson, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, certified Jungian analyst (CGJLA/IAAP), and certified sandplay therapist and teacher (STA/ISST). She teaches sandplay and Jungian theory at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles where she also regularly offers workshops on painting inner images. A native German she is a founding member of the sandplay society in Brazil where she lived and practiced as a clinical psychologist for 13 years before her move to the USA. She teaches and lectures nationally and internationally and published several articles in The Journal of Sandplay Therapy and elsewhere. She practices as a clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica.

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