Welcome to Sandplay Training Worldwide Professional Trainings for Therapists!
The 2025 Sandplay Schedule is Here!
Summer Sandplay: In-Person Trainings in Gig Harbor, Washington Return in 2025!
June 23-27, 2025 and September 15-19, 2025
For more information, click here
The town of Gig Harbor, Washington State. Location of 2025 Summer Sandplay Training.
The 2025 Course Schedule
Registration Opens Soon. Scroll down for more information and to register.
Live, Experiential Sandplay Training Webinars and Intensives
Scroll down to register for individual courses.
Symbols and Symbolic Process in Sandplay (18 hours) January 17-19, 2025
Jungian Theory in Sandplay (18 hours) February 21-23, 2025
Introduction to Sandplay Therapy (18 hours) March 21-23, 2025
Healing Complex Trauma in Sandplay (18 hours) August 22-24, 2025
Ethics in Sandplay: The Archetype of Integrity (6 hours) October 18, 2025
Sandplay Series: Includes all 5 courses above. These are core courses for training in sandplay therapy (78 hours).
Register for Sandplay Series Here:
$2150
Miniature Sandtray
Introduction to Sandplay On-Demand, Self-Paced Sandplay Training
Get Info and Sign Up Here!
All Webinar and On Demand courses are approved for Education Hours for STA/ISST Certification
2025 Live, Interactive Webinar Trainings
Symbols and Symbolic Process in Sandplay Live, Interactive Webinar (18 hours)
January 17-19, 2025
9am- 4:30pm PST
The infinite holding and integrative powers of the symbol are key in sandplay. In this training, we experience several symbols in depth, and discuss Jung's ideas about the symbol, the archetype, and the flow of psychic energies. These concepts will be applied to case material. The instructional level is Beginning.
This course may be taken at any time, and by non-sandplay therapists, too.
Educational Goals: To learn and experience the importance and transformative power of symbols, to be able to research symbols, and to be able to work with symbolic process.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to
Explain the importance of the symbol in healing
Demonstrate the ability to “play” with symbolic meaning
Describe the visceral and emotional power of the symbol
Explain how to investigate a particular symbol from personal, cultural and archetypal sources
Discuss how to write a symbol paper
Describe an archetypal pattern of healing
This course meets qualifications for 18 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Jungian Theory in Sandplay Live, Interactive Webinar (18 hours)
February 21-23, 2025
9am- 4:30pm PDT
Integrate theory and clinical practice from the inside out through your own experience of Jungian concepts such as archetype, persona, shadow, complexes, the Self, ego-Self axis and the transcendent function. We also explore symbols, the flow of psychic energies, and alchemical symbolism. Experiential activities will help us to understand the Jungian view of the psyche, and apply it to our experience of sandplay images and theory.
Educational Objectives: To become familiar with the basic concepts in Jungian theory and to be able to apply these to sandplay.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to
Describe your own experience of working with symbols
List three Jungian terms regarding the structure and processes of the psyche, such as persona, shadow, complex, archetype, ego-Self axis, individuation, transcendent function
Describe one Jungian personality concept you've identified in yourself
Apply two Jungian concepts to sandplay work
Name the uniquely Jungian layer of the unconscious
Explain the Jungian view of consciousness and the unconscious
This course meets qualifications for 18 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Introduction to Sandplay Therapy Live, Interactive Webinar (18 hours). Take this course first!
March 21-23, 2025
9am- 4:30pm PST
$575
This course, or its equivalent, is recommended before taking all others.
Sandplay is a powerful depth psychotherapy method and evidence-based practice that heals trauma in both children and adults. This course teaches the basics of sandplay and provides a practical, theoretical and experiential introduction to clinical sandplay therapy. Clinical material will be brought to life through case material. Important sandplay concepts such as the free and protected space, the clinical relationship, and the integrative functions of play and the symbol will be presented through slide presentations with images and discussion. Practical materials and procedures as well as the clinical process of sandplay and the ethics of working with this symbolic method will be explained. Clinical material will be brought to life through immersion in case material, discussion and experiential activities.
Educational Goals
Learn to create a psychotherapy office setting for sandplay with the necessary equipment and be able to begin using sandplay in your practice.
Increase your skills in creating the free and protected space.
Improve your capacity for symbolic thinking
Learn how to use sandplay therapy with children, adolescents, and adults
Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Describe the general research findings for sandplay
Identify the necessary equipment needed for setting up sandplay in a psychotherapy office or clinic
Explain the history of sandplay therapy
List two reasons for providing safety in sandplay
Identify two ethical considerations when using sandplay with diverse client populations
Discuss the three kinds of training that are required to demonstrate sandplay therapist competence according to STA
Explain one way you would describe to parents how sandplay can help their child
Discuss how to approach understanding a sandplay image
This training is appropriate for psychotherapists and therapists in training who are interested in improving their understanding of and clinical skills in the art and science of sandplay therapy. The instructional level is Beginning.
This course meets the qualifications for 18 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Healing Complex Trauma with Sandplay Live, Interactive Webinar (18 hours)
August 22-24, 2025
9am- 4:30pm PDT
$575
Sandplay is a powerful yet gentle depth psychotherapy method that heals preverbal trauma and promotes wellbeing in both children and adults. This course provides a practical, experiential and theoretical introduction (including trauma theory, neuroscience and Jungian theory) to the concept of relational fields in sandplay therapy. Through knowledge and experience of these fields and their basis in neuroscience, the sandplay therapist is better able to identify trauma and to deepen the capacity for holding and healing deep wounds to the psyche.
Educational Goals:
Learn to distinguish between four different experiential states as they occur in sandplay and verbal therapy
Increase your clinical skill in holding, containing, metabolizing client’s nonverbal trauma
Understand the healing implications of the nonverbal space of sandplay
Learning Objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to
Define “complex trauma”
Explain two ways in which sandplay addresses and heals deep levels of preverbal trauma
Describe how to identify trauma in sandtrays
Define the term “relational field”
Describe one or two qualities of each of the relational fields
Define the synchronistic moment (Kalff)
This course meets qualifications for 18 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Ethics in Sandplay: The Archetype of Integrity Live, Interactive Webinar (6 hours)
October 11, 2025
9am- 4:30pm PDT
$195
Meet your Ethics licensing renewal requirement with a focus on Sandplay
Sandplay, an evidence-based practice, is spreading throughout the world. Cultural humility and the ethical, inclusive practice of sandplay are important components of this nonverbal, culturally sensitive method of psychotherapy. Delving deeply into the archetype of integrity, the ethics of Jungian Depth Psychotherapy, and the Buddhist principles of the Ten Paramitas, ancient practices honed over millennia, we will consider the STA and ISST ethical guidelines for sandplay therapists. Small group work on vignettes involving common ethical issues in sandplay will give participants an experience of thoughtful, compassionate, ethical decision-making that honors both thinking and feeling, masculine and feminine.
Define “ethics.”
Name three of the Ten Paramitas.
Discuss “cultural humility”
Explain how individuation and integrity are related concepts in Jungian theory
Explain the training, education and experience needed to ethically practice sandplay therapy
Discuss whether to follow state laws or STA ethics guidelines if there is a difference between the two.
Describe a common ethical dilemma in sandplay.
This course meets qualifications for 6 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
This training is appropriate for psychotherapists and therapists in training who are interested in improving their understanding of and clinical skills in the art and science of sandplay therapy. The instructional level is Beginning.
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Sandplay and the Self Live, Interactive Webinar (6 hours)
TBD in 2025
9am- 4:30pm PDT
Carl Jung’s concept of the Self—the transpersonal center and container of the psyche, the central archetype—is a foundational healing concept in sandplay therapy. We will explore the Self through theory, images, and sandplay images, as well as through inner exploration.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to
Describe or define the Self
Discuss why the Self is important in Jungian theory and in sandplay
Name three symbols of the Self, as described by Jung
Describe the numinous quality of the Self
Describe a sandplay image that suggests the Self
This course meets qualifications for 6 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Exploring Complexes in Sandplay—Live, Interactive Webinar
6 CE credits
TBD in 2025
9am- 4:30pm PST
Exploring Complexes in Sandplay: Integration and Transformation. Live, Interactive Webinar
The theoretical foundation of sandplay, an evidence-based practice, is Jungian theory. This training critically reviews Jung's theory of complexes and explores the qualities of both unintegrated (traumatic, problematic) and integrated (self-regulating) complexes, beginning with Jung’s discovery of the complex through his Word Association Test. Current research validates the theory of complexes and reveals neuropsychological patterns in the nervous system just as Jung proposed. We will also explore and deepen our understanding through art, written exercises, and symbolic work with sandplay figures in small groups. To integrate this information and bring forth how to work with complexes in clinical practice, we will view a sandplay case through the lens of the mother complex and discuss images of the original wounding, the layers of defense, gradual opening up, differentiating and transformation of a complex through images in the sand. The instructional level is Intermediate.
At the end of this training, the learner will be able to:
Describe the evidence base for Jungian sandplay.
Define Jung’s term "complex" in your own words.
Discuss how unintegrated complexes show themselves to the conscious mind.
Discuss one example of neuroscientific evidence for the existence of Jungian complexes.
This course meets the qualifications for 6 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
This training is appropriate for psychotherapists and therapists in training who are interested in improving their understanding of and clinical skills in the art and science of sandplay therapy. The instructional level is Intermediate.
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Exploring the Shadow in Sandplay Live, Interactive Webinar (6 hours
TBD in 2025
9am- 4:30pm PDT
Exploring our shadow takes us on a journey into the unconscious, a journey of individuation. Shadow work is a major part of all clients’ work in the sand. After exploring the Jungian theory of shadow, we will work with sandplay case material to see how shadow might appear in clients’ sandplay and how shadow material becomes integrated. This training includes didactic and case material, as well as experiential exercises and small group interaction to provide personal experience of the shadow, leading to new insights.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to
1. Define “shadow” from a Jungian perspective
2. Explain the importance of shadow in individuation
3. Discuss the role of the ego in relating to shadow
4. Describe how sandplay therapy helps clients integrate shadow
This course meets qualifications for 6 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
The Alchemy of Relationship: Transference, Countertransference and Co-Transference in Sandplay Live, Interactive Webinar (12 hours)
TBD
9am- 4:30pm PDT
“The co-transference is always there.” (Bradway, 1991)
In this training, we will delve into the importance of the relationship between therapist and client in sandplay, exploring transference, countertransference and co-transference (Bradway 1991) and how to further “being with” the client in our work. Then we will explore case material and finally, alchemical images, which for Jung symbolized deep transformation in the shared unconscious of the relational field. Attention to the relational container further deepens the therapist’s self-awareness of somatic, emotional, relational, symbolic and spiritual connection with the client. This kind of attunement is key in providing the free and protected space of sandplay which facilitates creating the right conditions for the psyche’s self-healing capacity. Special attention will be given to how the experience of the clinical relationship may manifest in the therapist’s imagination, body or feeling state and in the sand picture, informing us about the preverbal nuances of the relational field.
Educational Objectives: 1. Learn about the Jungian view of transference and countertransference, 2. Understand the importance of the relational connection in sandplay, 3. Understand Kalff's view of transference and the importance of the free and protected space.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this weekend course, students will be able to:
Define transference and countertransference
Name one symbol that you associate with "resonance"
Compare and contrast "co-transference" with “transference” and “countertransference”
Discuss three key terms within the Jungian theory of transference/ countertransference, such as wounded healer, chemical combination, archetypal transference, or others.
Name the alchemical text Jung used to illustrate transformation in the therapeutic dyad
Name two concepts from neurobiology that lend support to the experience of co-transference
This course meets qualifications for 12 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay Therapists of America / International Society of Sandplay Therapists (STA/ISST).
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
The Kalffian Tradition and the Self in Sandplay Live, Interactive Webinar (6 hours)
TBD 2026
9am- 4:30pm PST
The mystery of the unfolding psyche, the sense of awe experienced in the temenos, the caring, available therapist who protects but does not intrude, and the healing inherent in the sand experience itself are all quintessential Kalffian ideas. (Cunningham, 2006)
Kalffian theory is the foundation of Jungian sandplay therapy. Because of Kalff’s emphasis on the free and protected space, delayed interpretation, and her definition of transference as protection for the client, and her contemplative orientation, many clinicians who are not trained in depth methods have a difficult time understanding this theory. In this training, we examine Kalff’s basic principles, and witness them in action through case material.
Educational Objectives
Be able to use Kalffian theory in the practice of sandplay; understand Kalff’s basic terminology; differentiate between sandplay vs. sandtray.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the “free and protected space.”
2. Discuss the mother child unity.
3. Explain Kalff’s reasons for using transference as protection, rather than in the classical sense.
4. Discuss the importance of noninterpretation / delayed interpretation.
5. Describe the importance of the constellation of the Self for Kalff.
Course meets the qualifications for 6 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Sandplay with Adults Live, Interactive Webinar (6 hours)
November 10, 2024
9am- 4:30pm PST
Many people think that sandplay is mainly for children, and it is true that sandplay is wonderful for healing children’s trauma and restoring self-regulation. However, sandplay is an evidence-based practice that can also be deeply healing for adults and the child within because it naturally deepens into preverbal areas of the psyche through nonverbal, expressive play, symbol, image and the therapeutic relationship. In this one-day training, we will look at some of the special issues involved in working with adult populations and experience through sandplay images how sandplay brings changes to our psychic landscape.
Educational Goals
Learn about the special issues that may arise for adults using sandplay
Learn how to invite adults to do sandplay
Learn to respect and address adult clients’ resistance to depth methods
Learning Objectives
1. Briefly describe the results of the research regarding sandplay with adults
2. Describe two ways to invite adults to use the sand
3. Name three issues for which adults frequently use sandplay therapy
4. Discuss Kalsched’s focus when working with adult clients
5. Name three ways adults describe their experience of sandplay therapy
This course meets the qualifications for 6 hours of education credit toward certification for Sandplay
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.
Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider #017288
Summer Sandplay: In-Person Trainings in Gig Harbor, Washington Return in 2025!
June 23-27, 2025 and September 15-19, 2025
For more information, click here
The town of Gig Harbor, Washington, training site for the 2025 week long summer sandplay trainings.
Linda Cunningham, PhD, MFT, CST-T is a Certified Teaching Member of Sandplay Therapists of America and International Society for Sandplay Therapy. She is the author of Sandplay and The Clinical Relationship (2013) as well as Relational Sandplay Therapy (2005) and a chapter, “Attuning to the Flow of Relational Energies in Sandplay: Healing Complex Trauma in Adults” in The Routledge International Handbook of Sandplay Therapy (2017). Over the past twenty-five years, Dr. Cunningham has written many articles for the Journal of Sandplay Therapy on the topic of the therapeutic relationship in sandplay. Dr. Cunningham created Sandplay Training Worldwide in 2013, offering sandplay trainings for professional therapists and trainees. Since then, she has introduced sandplay and depth psychotherapy to hundreds of therapists and counselors. Dr. Cunningham has taught sandplay as well as contemporary relational theories for many years in both graduate and postgraduate settings, and was adjunct faculty in the Sonoma State University M.A. Depth Psychology Program and at the California Institute of Integral Studies. In addition to the Sandplay Training Worldwide offerings, Dr. Cunningham has provided special trainings for sandplay therapists in United States, Ukraine, Taiwan, Chile, South Africa, China, and Russia. Dr. Cunningham is a frequent presenter at sandplay conferences. You can read about Dr. Cunningham's teaching style here. She practices in Gig Harbor, Washington, specializing in anxiety, preverbal trauma and blocked creativity.
Live, Interactive Webinar training hours count toward Education Hours for STA/ISST Certification
Education Hours for STA/ISST Certification
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: Sandplay Therapists of America (STA) is a member society of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy (ISST). ISST/STA Hours for Certification in Sandplay: After January 1, 2024, STA will accept toward certification up to 70 hours of online trainings. 12 of these hours may be “asynchronous” (pre-recorded).
These sandplay trainings and workshops are designed for licensed and pre-licensed professional psychotherapists who would like to learn about and become more competent using Jungian/ Kalffian sandplay in their practices.
All trainings are eligible for California CE Hours (Provider #017288) and are taught by Linda Cunningham, Certified Sandplay Therapist-Teacher, unless otherwise specified. Scroll down for California CE information
California Continuing Education Credit and Policies
Linda Cunningham is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Linda Cunningham maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
All courses meet the qualifications for the stated number hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Provider #017288
Course completion certificates will be emailed within two days after the training. If you have any questions, please call Linda Cunningham, linda@drlindacunningham.com or 415-346-6363.
This training is appropriate for psychotherapists and therapists in training who are interested in improving their understanding of and clinical skills in the art and science of sandplay therapy.
You must be present for the entire course to receive Continuing Education (CE) Hours.
Disabilities: Every effort will be made to accommodate persons with disabilities. If you have special needs regarding accessibility, materials or content please contact Linda Cunningham in advance to allow arrangements to be made., 415-346-6363 or Linda@drlindacunningham.com
Cancellation Policy for all trainings: Enrollment fee is refundable until 7 days before the training. For more information, call 415-346-6363 or linda@drlindacunningham.com.
Grievances: Any complaints, questions or concerns should be addressed to Linda Cunningham at 415-346-6363 or linda@drlindacunningham.com. Any grievances will be addressed within 48 hours.
Sandplay Training Worldwide does not discriminate against any individual or group with respect to any service, program or actiivity based on gender, race, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, or age.
There are no known conflicts of interest for these courses.
