The Sand Therapy Training Institute

Online: Self-Paced Training – Always Available

Instructor:

Dee Preston-Dillon, MA, Ph.D.

Description:

This 1-hour video course includes a brief lecture on narrative, existential and archetypal theories; a demonstration of the virtual use of symbols in sand; and a closing summary of core concepts.

The demonstration is an example of merging narrative psychology, existential psychotherapy, and feminist therapy with the use of symbols in sand. The volunteer explores meaning and metaphor of the myth of Sisyphus.  Dr. Preston-Dillon and the volunteer collaborate on her process, as the volunteer reflections on her experience with movement among the figures in her scene.

Learning objectives

1. Describe one way the client-volunteer used symbolic figures to represent parts of her experience from work stress, and how this approach may apply to similar client concerns.
2. State an essential feature of therapist presence that supports client-volunteer exploration, especially with distance engagement with telehealth via Zoom platform.
3. State one use of metaphor to examine symbol parallels with the volunteer client’s life situation, relevant meaning, and implications to reduce stress.

References:

Ewing, J., Estes, R., Like, B. (2017). Narrative neurotherapy (NNT): Scaffolding identity states. In, Collaborative therapy and neurobiology: evolving practices in action, Editors, E. Beaudoin, M-N and Duvall, J. Routledge, NY.  87-99.

McNamee, S., Rasera, E. F., Martins, P. (2023). Practicing therapy as social construction. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Schneider, K. J. (2015). Presence: The contextual core of effective therapy. PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e602052010-001