Unit 3 / Seminar 1: Saturday, April 29, 2023; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Working with Children from a Jungian Perspective

Presented by Audrey Punnett, PhD, CST-T

Play is an important part of child therapy and according to Winnicott, it is “only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.” (Winnicott, Play and Reality, p. 54) This seminar will look at some major differences in the kinds of play with children: the differences between ordinary and therapeutic play, child analysis and child therapy, and the unique characteristics of Jungian child therapy. A case will demonstrate the use of sandplay, play therapy and work with the parents around the symbolic manifestation of a tic disorder. To explore the images used in this case we will look at their meaning and the context in which they occur, as well as the child’s developmental phase of life, his position in the family, and the associations to relevant myths/fairy tales.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the differences between ordinary play, play therapy, and Jungian child analysis.
• Discuss what Jung meant by the symbol and give an example from the case presentation.  
• Identify a diagnosis and the importance of a working hypothesis of intervention.
• Using Neumann’s stages describe the stage of development of the boy in the case presentation,  and the resultant challenges he faced.
• Identify the initial problem presented in the first tray and how to intervene with parents.
• Give an example of how to utilize the metaphors or stories from the child’s tray to intervene therapeutically.

Audrey Punnett, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, certified child, adolescent, and adult analyst graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute, Zurich, and a member of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.  She is a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) and served as secretary & vice-president on the board of trustees of the Association of Graduates in Analytical Psychology (AGAP).  Dr. Punnett is a registered play therapist, supervisor (RPT-S), and teaching member (CST-T) of STA and ISST. She is past president of the board of trustees of STA and currently the ISST vice president of the Americas. Dr. Punnett has published in peer-reviewed Journals and she teaches & consults nationally and internationally. She published two books: The Orphan: A Journey Towards Wholeness (2014) and Jungian Child Analysis (2018)(Ed).  Dr. Punnett is an Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF-Fresno, Department of Psychiatry, and maintains a private practice in Fresno, California.

Unit 3 / Seminar 2: Saturday, May 20, 2023; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Treating Trauma and Anxiety in Children with Jungian Sandplay 

Presented by Elizabeth Schofield-Bickford, LMFT, CST, and Sachiko Reece, EdD, LMFT, CST-T  

The symbolic expression of anxiety and trauma as it appears in children’s trays will be demonstrated in sandplay case material. Unconscious and distressing feelings will be identified as they emerge and manifest through wounding themes, and create opportunities for healing in the sandplay process. The case of an 11-year African American boy from the inner city will be presented. He was exposed to drugs in utero and raised in the foster care system. The case articulates his struggles with managing his behavior, regulating his anxiety, and working with other affective states resulting from PTSD.

Learning objectives:

• Explain how Sandplay Therapy can foster affect regulation and facilitate treatment addressing trauma.
• Describe how the non-verbal method of sandplay and the verbal interaction in play therapy enhance each other.
• Describe some of the ways in which bodily symptoms can be seen through sandplay
• List the developmental stages of a sandplay process.
• List the clinical stages of a sandplay process.
• Give two examples of images of wounding in trays and their healing function in the tray.

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.

Sachiko Taki-Reece, EdD, LMFT, is a Jungian Analyst and faculty of the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles. She is a teaching member of ISST and Sandplay Therapists of America.  As a certified child analyst, she sees children as well as adults in her analytic practice.  Sachiko has published Sandplay for Children with the Severe Emotional Disturbance in Japanese which includes seven case studies and has authored numerous research papers and book chapters in English and Japanese related to sandplay supervision, working with people with HIV/AIDS, and Jungian perspectives on healing trauma and end of life transitions. She teaches Jungian psychology and sandplay therapy internationally and in the United States.

Unit 3 / Seminar 3: Saturday, June 24, 2023; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Complex Clinical Issues with Children

Presented by Maria Ellen Chiaia, PhD, MFT, CST-T  

This last seminar of “Jungian Sandplay with Children” will address complex clinical issues in the sandplay processes of children and adolescents. The focus will be on the implications of the transference relationship, the importance of the free and protected space, and the need for silence. These concepts will be addressed and illustrated with clinical case examples and case presentations.

Learning Objectives

• Describe how to identify changes in transference relationships when working in the sand.  
• Describe aspects of the transference relationship that are unique in the work with children.
• Describe what is meant by the importance of the free and protected space in the context of sandplay work.  
• Describe a complex clinical issue in sandplay therapy with children.
• Explain the role of silence in therapy.
• Give an example of 2 different transference situations.

Maria Ellen Chiaia PhD, MFT, CST-T, is a certified Jungian Child and Adult Psychoanalyst and teaching faculty member at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She sees children and adults in her private practices in San Anselmo. She is a certified teaching member of the International Society of Sandplay Therapists (ISST). She has co-authored the book Sandplay in three voices and contributed chapters to several other books on Sandplay therapy.  Dr. Chiaia teaches and trains internationally.

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