Advanced Adlerian Applications of Sand Tray Play Therapy

In this in-person class, you will deepen your understanding of how to apply Adlerian concepts, skills, and techniques to the practice of sand tray play therapy.  You will hone your ability to use sand trays to (a) build a relationship with clients; (b) explore clients’ lifestyle patterns; (c) help clients gain insight into their patterns; and (d) make changes in their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behaviors, and relationships. You will strengthen your expertise in using Adlerian concepts and the practice of play therapy to develop conceptualizations and treatment plans based on the content and process of your clients’ sand trays, and you will consolidate your ability to use sand tray as a vehicle for consulting with parents and teachers. Just as we did in the initial Adlerian Applications of Sand Tray Play Therapy workshop, we have built into this workshop opportunities for you to do a personal sand tray every day, serve as a witness and facilitator with a partner’s sand trays, and do sand trays with volunteer "clients."  In this advanced class, we will videotape your sand tray play therapy sessions, and you will get feedback on these sessions from your instructor. By the end of this class, you will have sharpened your sand tray play therapy proficiency, and you will have practical tools for using your own personal trays outside class for self-supervision, personal growth, and monitoring your own countertransference.

40 CE hours (Contact) (includes 10 hours on Play Therapy Seminal or Historically Significant Theories, 25 hours on Play Therapy Skills and Methods, and 5 hours on Play Therapy Special Topics)

 APT Approved Provider 99-055

League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists (LEAPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7402. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists (LEAPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Participants will be able to:

1. Give a detailed explanation their rationale for using sand tray play therapy with specific clients
2. Give a detailed description of the different types of sand trays used in Adlerian sand tray play therapy and an explanation of how they would use each type with specific clients 
3.  Give examples of each of the different types of sand trays used in Adlerian sand tray play therapy and explain how that type of tray would be helpful in their work with the population of clients with whom they work
4. Explain the steps in the Adlerian form of sand tray play therapy and describe times when they might deviate from those steps and why
5. Demonstrate the steps in a sand tray play therapy process by leading a client through the creation of a sand tray
6. Describe how they use the Four-Fold Way in their practice of Adlerian sand tray play therapy
7. Describe how they might struggle with applying the Four-Fold Way in their practice of Adlerian sand tray play therapy with specific clients or situations in their practice
8. Describe 3 core concepts of Individual Psychology and how they apply those concepts to their practice of Adlerian sand tray play therapy
9. Describe how the sand tray play therapy process can be used to build relationships with play therapy clients and the kinds of client with whom they would use sand tray play therapy as a tool for building the relationship

10. Give at least 4 examples of the types of trays that they would use to build relationships with their play therapy clients and demonstrate how they would introduce those trays to a client

11. Describe how the sand tray play therapy process can be used to explore play therapy clients’ lifestyle patterns and delineate the kinds of clients and the ways they might use sand tray to explore their clients’ lifestyles

12. List and describe at least 3 directed sand trays that can be used to explore the following elements of clients’ lifestyles:

• Crucial Cs
• Personality priorities
• Goals of misbehavior
• Assets/strengths
• Lifestyle convictions
• Mistaken beliefs about self, others, and the world
• Family atmosphere
• Family constellation
• Private logic

13. Explain how the Adlerian sand tray play therapy process can be used to help clients gain insight into their lifestyle patterns

1. 14.  Explain the various types of metacommunication and describe how an Adlerian therapist can use it to help clients gain insight into their lifestyle patterns in sand tray play therapy

15. Demonstrate 4 different types of metacommunication as they work with a client with sand tray play therapy

16. Explain the rationale for doing a sand tray for clients as a vehicle for helping them gain insight into their lifestyle

17. Demonstrate how to make a sand tray for a client as a vehicle for helping him/her/them gain insight into his/her/their lifestyle

18. Explain the rationale and purpose for delivering therapeutic metaphors as a part of the sand tray play therapy process

19. Describe 2 different ways of designing therapeutic metaphors as part of the sand tray play therapy process

20. Explain why you would use mutual storytelling in their practice of sand tray play therapy

21. Describe they would use mutual storytelling of sand tray play therapy

22. Describe how sand tray play therapy can help clients make changes in their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behaviors, and relationships

23. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 examples of directed sand trays that could help play therapy clients practice making changes in their behavior

24. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 examples of directed sand trays that could help play therapy clients enhance their ability to recognize their own feelings and the feelings of others

25. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 examples of directed sand trays that could help play therapy clients their expression of their feelings

26. Describe and demonstrate at least 3 examples of directed sand trays that could help play therapy client make changes in their relationships

27. Explain the rationale for using sand tray play therapy in parent consultation

1. 28.  Describe and demonstrate at least 2 examples of directed sand tray play therapy activities they can use for building relationships with parents and teachers in the Adlerian play therapy consultation process

29. Describe and demonstrate at least 2 directed sand tray play therapy activities they can use for facilitating parents and teachers exploring their own lifestyles, exploring children’s lifestyles, and exploring the interaction between their lifestyles and children’s lifestyles in the Adlerian play therapy consultation process

30. Describe and demonstrate at least 2 directed sand tray play therapy activities they can use for helping parents and teachers gain insight into their own lifestyles, gain insight into children’s lifestyles, and gain insight into the interactions between their own lifestyles and children’s lifestyles in the Adlerian play therapy consultation process

31. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 directed sand tray play therapy activities that can be used to help parents better understand their children

32. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 directed sand tray play therapy activities that can be used to help teachers better understand the children in their classes

33. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 directed sand tray play therapy activities that can be used to help parents better understand their attitudes and behaviors in their parenting roles

34. Describe and demonstrate at least 4 direct sand tray play therapy activities that can be used to reframe children's behavior for teachers

35. Describe and demonstrate at least 3 directed sand tray play therapy activities that can be used to help teachers make shifts in their interactions with students

36. Describe how they would make adjustments in their explanations and directives in sand tray depending on the culture and background of individual clients

37. Describe how they would use consideration of clients’ culture and background in developing Adlerian conceptualization of their clients

38. Explain how they recognize and deal with their own countertransference in the sand tray play therapy process

39. Demonstrate how they can use information gathered through the sand tray process in conceptualizing and developing treatment plans in Adlerian play therapy

40. Using videotaped sessions, demonstrate competency using Adlerian sand tray play therapy skills for establishing a relationship with client by attaining at least an 75% fidelity score on the Adlerian Sand Tray Play Therapy Skills Checklist for Phase 1

41. Using videotaped sessions, demonstrate competency using Adlerian sand tray play therapy skills for exploring a child client’s lifestyle by attaining at least an 75% fidelity score on the Adlerian Sand Tray Play Therapy Skills Checklist for Phase 2

42. Using videotaped sessions, demonstrate competency using Adlerian sand tray play therapy skills for helping a child client gain insight into his or her lifestyle by attaining at least an 75% fidelity score on the Adlerian Sand Tray Play Therapy Skills Checklist for Phase 3

43. Using videotaped sessions, demonstrate competency using Adlerian play therapy skills for helping a child client learn and practice new patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving by attaining at least an 75% fidelity score on the Adlerian Sand Tray Play Therapy Skills Checklist for Phase 4

Adlerian Application of Sand Tray Play Therapy

Having already read before class: Partners in Play: An Adlerian Approach to Play Therapy, 3rd ed. (Kottman & Meany-Walen, 2016) and Sandtray: A Practical Manual (Homeyer and Sweeney, 2017)

READ THIS ONE TOO:  Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice (Homeyer & Lyles, 2022)

The LEAPT Advanced Sandtray course was practical and experiential. By the end of the training, I have enhanced my understanding and application of sandtray therapy with increased my confidence in integrating sandtray therapy into my clinical practice. This week-long training was not only helpful professionally but also a journey of personal growth. (Melissa Barrett)

Advanced Sandtray allowed me to take a closer look at myself in ways I didn't know I needed. Not only did I learn more about myself, I learned how to take what I already knew regarding AdPT to a deeper level to better serve my clients. This has been my favorite class so far, both in content and in self-reflection. (Erika Walker)