Sandplay and Play Therapy with Children: Creating the Free and Protected Space

This introductory course will focus on the “free and protected space, conceived by Dora Kalff, as it applies to sandplay and play therapy with children.  Developmental stages and themes in sandplay process of children will be identified and discussed as well as child development theories and neurobiology findings which are relevant to sandplay in play therapy. Participants will learn and discuss how to present sandplay and play therapy to parents and to form an alliance with parents around treatment issues such as beginning therapy, parenting styles, and termination. We will also focus on containment issues and challenges presented in child therapy through the analysis of an in-depth case example.

Jill Kaplan, LMFT, CST-T, specializes in child therapy and also works with adults.  She has authored articles in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy and has taught nationally and internationally. She is especially interested in trauma and in the complementary teachings of Buddhism and Sandplay.  She is current President of Sandplay Therapists of America.  Jill has practiced Zen meditation for over 20 years and is a teacher in the lineage of Suzuki-roshi.