Expressive Therapies Australia’s
Sandplay & Symbol Work Certificate
with Children, Adolescents and Adults
ETA’s 12-Day Certificate Training
Singapore
12 days in-person
plus additional 8 hours online sessions for
case presentation sessions
Facilitator : Paula Huggins
Course Dates
The course is divided into two blocks: Workshop 1 & 2 followed by Workshop 3 & 4.
First Block must be completed before progressing to Second Block
Second Block and all requirements must be completed before being awarded the Certificate
To Register Your Interest Click Here
To Earn ETA’s Certificate in Sandplay and Symbol Work attendance at all 12 days in the correct order is mandatory. Participants who chose to attend only Workshop 1 & 2 will receive attendance certificates but not the full Expressive Therapies Australia Certification.
March Intake is now FULL – new dates have been set for an intake as follows:
Block 1
Workshop 1 : 2 – 4 July 2026
Workshop 2 : 24 – 26 Sept 2026
Block 2
Workshop 3 : 18 – 20 Feb 2027
Workshop 4 : 15 -17 April 2027
2 – 4 July 2026
Workshop One: Foundation Skills
3 days in person
Outcomes:
- Evolution of Sandplay Therapy and the development of Symbol Work as a trauma-informed therapeutic modality.
- Theoretical overview of sandplay and introduction to some of the research in the field.
- Overview of using Sandplay as a developmentally appropriate intervention across the lifespan
- Concept of using experiential creative-arts-based activities for emotional regulation and self-awareness.
- Understand and apply the 5 stages of the therapeutic journey as outlined by Pearson & Wilson (2009).
- Understanding the terminology used in formal discussion of the method: sandplay vs sandtray vs symbol work.
- How to facilitate a sandplay session in a professional manner with client-care at the forefront.
- Introduction to use of somatic feedback to enhance self-awareness and self-expression using body scanning, visualisation and drawing to provide support for soothing emotional dysregulation as well as building interoceptive self-awareness in clients.
- Use Symbol Work as a catalyst for enhanced connection and self-expression.
- Through personal process and guided experiential activities participants will learn how and when to use Sandplay in sessions with clients.
- Use of music as a catalyst for enhancing awareness of feelings and emotional expression.
- Introduction to Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory and use it as guidance for multi-modal sessions.
- Professional and Ethical Considerations for the Use of Sandplay in client settings.
24 -26 Sept 2026
Workshop Two: From Theory to Practice
Outcomes:
- Comprehend the importance of personal process: grasp the ethical need for personal process in developing therapeutic skills.
- Identify key factors that foster strong therapeutic relationships, enabling clients to access their creativity and playfulness for growth and healing.
- Examine the historical influences and contributions to Sandplay and Symbol Work theories and practices
- Understand Margaret Lowenfeld’s influence on the evolution of Sandplay.
- Harness the Power of Symbols: Understand the purpose and impact of using symbols in therapy and enhance your comfort and proficiency in working with symbols, images and metaphor.
- Recognize the role of creativity in enhancing mental health and how Sandplay activates the inner healing mechanism.
- Gain awareness of the factors that make Sandplay an effective therapeutic intervention for trauma recovery and personal development.
- Examine research and evidence-based studies on the application of Sandplay with specific client populations.
- Identify various ways in which Sandplay supports clients’ growth.
- Learn to apply three different frameworks to understand and assess client progress in Sandplay.
- Implement forms to track session progress and themes effectively.
- Gain further experience in facilitating Sandplay and activities using Symbol Work in sessions.
- Learn and apply expressive arts techniques for grounding, centering, stabilization, and integration during Sandplay sessions.
- Explore Expressive Arts Techniques including the use of movement, art, visualisation, symbol work and writing.
- Employ symbol work and other expressive modalities to explore strengths, and build self-awareness and emotional growth.
Dates: 18-20 Feb 2027 (only open to those who have completed block one)
Workshop Three
Exploration: Deep Healing Using Sandplay & Symbol Work
Outcomes:
- Articulate a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and practices of Sandplay Therapy
- Identify key elements within a Sandplay Therapy process and recognize critical aspects to monitor during client sessions.
- Identify key components of Jung’s model of the Psyche and demonstrate a basic understanding of essential psychoanalytic terminology.
- Outline the stages of Jung’s Individuation Journey and illustrate how these stages may be manifest within the Sandplay process and how individuation supports a client’s return to positive, productive everyday relating with self and others.
- Describe Dora Kalff’s therapeutic framework and understand how her application of Sandplay therapy enhances self-esteem and stabilizes clients’ sense of self.
- Understand how to structure symbol work activities effectively and utilize reflective questions to deepen the therapeutic process.
- Critically appraise the principles of trauma-informed therapy and explain how Sandplay Therapy creates a supportive, healing environment for trauma recovery.
- Evaluate research-based evidence to articulate the compatibility between trauma-informed care and Sandplay Therapy.
- Explore the intersection of Sandplay Therapy and neuropsychology, with an understanding how principles of neuropsychology apply in Sandplay Therapy.
- Illustrate an archetypical journey of trauma healing using Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Work.
- Implement activities that incorporate a client’s connection to the natural world and understand the connection Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Work bring to the healing process in trauma-informed care.
- Understand the process of ethically and therapeutically integrating a client’s dream content into therapy using sand and symbol work.
Dates : 15 – 17 April 2027
(only open to those who have completed Block One and “Workshop 3” which is workshop 1 of block 2)
Workshop Four
Consolidation: Resources for Self-Connection, Building Hope and Grounded Presence
Outcomes:
- Understand the vital role of supervision in enhancing the effectiveness of sandplay therapy and for both personal and professional growth.
- Utilize sandplay and symbol work tools to reflect on and assess your professional journey.
- Set goals for future professional development based on insights gained through these methods and identify strengths and areas for improvement in your approach to therapy.
- Examine the dynamics of the client-therapist relationship within the context of sandplay therapy.
- Understand projection, transference, and counter-transference and how they impact therapy.
- Learn to use co-transference as a tool to strengthen the client-therapist relationship to foster therapeutic progress.
- Make ethical choices around therapeutic capacity to work with clients.
- Understand the Transpersonal context of Sandplay and Symbol work and its relevance to trauma-informed therapeutic work.
- Learn the core principles and foundational assumptions of transpersonal practice and psychotherapy and its relevance to trauma recovery.
- Explore the contributions of transpersonal methods to trauma recovery and use transpersonal interventions such as visualization, mindfulness, active imagination, and other expressive therapies with clients to improve client outcomes.
- Explore how this approach can be integrated into your practice and used to enhance outcomes.
- Gain a historical overview of Transpersonal Psychology with an understanding of the development and evolution of this field including the work of Maslow and Grof.
- Understand the role of the Transpersonal in Kalffian sandplay therapy through exploration of Jungian ideas such as transcendent function and activation of inner healer.
- Explore how incorporating spirituality can enhance therapeutic outcomes and trauma-recovery through an exploration of meaning and purpose.
- Further review current knowledge and research on sandplay therapy and identify key findings and their implications for practice.
- Explore the importance of spontaneity and silence in sandplay therapy as therapeutic tools.
- Understand how sandplay therapy activates the regenerative energies described by Dora Kalff needed to support post-traumatic growth.
- Identify common themes that emerge in sandtrays and learn to work with these themes therapeutically with particular reference to Bennett’s framework.
- Examine how the principles of sandplay and symbol work align with contemporary psychotherapy practices and explore ways to integrate these principles into your therapeutic approach.
- Gain awareness of vicarious trauma and its impact on YOU as a therapist.
- Learn strategies to prevent and mitigate the effects of vicarious trauma.
- Participate in role-play and visualization exercises to deepen your understanding of therapeutic gifts and apply these activities to enhance your therapeutic approach.
Those wishing to be awarded ETA’s Certificate in Sandplay & Symbol Work you will need to complete all 12 days of training in-person (Block 1 followed by Block 2).
There are three assignments to be completed: a case presentation to the group; a multiple choice quiz for each workshop and a reflective essay (1500 words). There are 20 hours of group supervision included in the price of the course and you will be expected to complete this number of supervised hours to earn ETA’s certificate.
Some case presentations will take place in person at Workshops 3 and 4. Some will take place in person as a group and some will be offered online. Exact dates will be provided once the cohort is formed and confirmed.
This training can be used to move you to towards accreditation through joining the World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals .
To Register Your Interest Click Here
Venue
Gentle Art of Expressive Therapy
50b Smith Street (Chinatown)
Singapore 058958
This course was created by Dr Mark Pearson and Dr Helen Wilson, authors of Sandplay and Symbol Work (ACER Press 2001) and founders of Expressive Therapies Australia. It has been continuously taught around Australia for more than three decades, in SE Asia since 2006 as well as in the Czech Republic.
Sandplay Therapy is a hands-on expressive counselling and psychotherapeutic modality that has been in use for over 80 years. Research shows it to be effective with children, adolescents and adults in settings that range from schools, hospitals, welfare agencies and private counselling practices. This course provides a thorough in-person training, with practical experience and supervision in ETA’s approach to Sandplay Therapy and Symbol work.
It is a modality that bridges the gap between verbal therapy and the expressive somatic therapies, combining elements of each to become a powerful intervention tool for use by trained professionals.
Who Can Benefit?
This professional extension training program is designed for qualified practitioners (or those currently undergoing training) who work with adults, adolescents or children in a mental health or helping professions (such as social workers, counsellors, psychologists, pastoral care workers) and related fields (such as school teachers, learning support teachers, childcare/student care tutors, occupational or speech and language therapists) who wish to integrate sandplay therapy skills into the existing framework of their current practice, be it as a psychotherapist, counselor, social worker, teacher, nurse, art therapist, play therapist, coach or psychologist.
This course is for professional and personal development. It does not qualify participants to work with clients without previous training in a professional field of work. Participants must already hold a relevant qualification allowing them to practice in their chosen field.
Be aware this course is highly experiential and involves hands-on practical experience of exercises that will involve personal processing and potential for personal growth. However, it is a professional course and NOT personal or group therapy. The focus will be on the practical experience of sandplay therapy and symbol work in a group setting providing a thorough overview of the approaches and techniques that allow participants to engage on an experiential level with this modality which translates into being able to offer the modality in a therapeutic way as a professional. In addition, participants will be introduced to the use of art, movement, music, visualisation and role-play techniques to use with clients.
Participants can expect to gain awareness of:
- An overview of the history and development of Sandplay and Symbol Work as a pyscho-therapeutic modality, including Jung, Lowenfeld, Kalff and Ammann’s contributions to the field.
- Hands-on experience of Expressive Sandplay and Symbol Work in the group setting.
- The tools of the trade: how to set up a Sandplay room and symbol collection.
- How to facilitate Expressive Sandplay or Symbol Work sessions with respect for their clients’ process and the Jungian heritage of sandplay.
- Integration of Sandplay and Symbol Work as a non-verbal theoretical approach through somatic awareness, arts-based activities, journaling and expressive role-play techniques.
- The neuroscience that guides understanding of the psychological mechanisms supported by Sandplay and Symbol Work and the role it plays in a trauma-informed healing approach.
- Tracking Sandplay sessions and methods of note-keeping.
- Research-based understanding of which populations most benefit from sandplay and awareness of contra-indications.
- Various approaches to the progression of Sandplay sessions that allow client’s journey to be mapped and understood.
- Understanding transference and co-transference in the Sandplay session.
- Expressive Sandplay as a support for Transpersonal Psychotherapy and its influences on the psyche.
- Experience of Sandplay group/peer supervision.
Your Investment
Block One : Workshop 1 & 2
Early Bird SG$2140
(available until 2 June 2026 – full payment to be received by that date)
Full Price: SG$2340
Block Two : Workshops 3 & 4
Early Bird SG$2740
(available until 18 Jan 2027 – full payment to be received by that date)
Full Price: SG$2940
This price includes 20 hours of group supervision (completion of which is a requirement of the Certificate). Depending on numbers in the cohort, these supervision hours are usually achieved within the training (online group sessions – dates usually scheduled between Workshop 3 and 4).
Full Certificate Course – All 4 workshops (must be attended in the correct order)
Early Bird SG$4680 (available until 26 Jan 2026 – full payment to be received by that date)
Full Price: SG$5080
This price INCLUDES 10 group supervision sessions. These will be held online, usually between Workshop 3 and 4. You will be required to present one case to your peers at one of these group sessions. If you are unable to attend the dates/times for your cohort, you are welcome to attend any of the Sandplay & Symbol Work supervision groups I offer to graduates of this course to complete your required 10 group supervision sessions (a total of 20 hours in person or online).
To Register Interest Click Here
Payment Options: Credit Card (use of this option incurs additional surcharge), Bank Transfer or PayNow.
A flexible payment plan ($1000 deposit, followed by 4 monthly installments) is available. Please request details.
Included in this price: Workshop manuals, PDF version of the course text: Sandplay and Symbol Work by Mark Pearson and Helen Wilson (currently out of print), electronic Book of Readings, morning and afternoon tea and snacks.
Course Assignments
To complete the Certificate, participants are expected to submit three assignments:
– a short video recording of themselves facilitating a session (with a partner from the course – not an actual client);
– a 1500-word literature review essay; and
– a case study presentation in front of the group (this final assignment will be delivered online at one of the scheduled group supervision sessions).
Cancellation Policy
We are unable to offer refunds if you are unable to attend for any reason. If you need to withdraw prior to the course commencing you have the option of finding another qualified person to replace you.
We appreciate that unexpected events do occur and so, if the course has commenced and something happens that prevents you from attending, we do allow participants to transfer to the next available course, subject to availability of places.
Successful Completion of the Certificate
The Certificate in Expressive Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Work is awarded to participants who:
- Complete the course assignments in a timely manner to the required standard;
- Hold a professional qualification that allows them to use the techniques taught on this course with a specific population; and
- Miss no more than 7 hours of class time across the 12 days.
For those not meeting the above criteria, a Certificate of Attendance will be given.
To Register Your Interest In Enrolling Click Here
Further Questions before you commit? Simply complete the form below and I will be in touch:
