In this intermediate course, we begin by discussing the aims of depth psychotherapy from a Jungian perspective, because Sandplay, as practiced by Dora Kalff, is grounded in Jungian theory. We will learn that for Jungians, the aim and the path towards healing is always individual, and arises from the inner world of symbols and images of the client. The therapist’s focus must be on the client and what the unconscious presents in sandplay, dreams, and in the body of the client, but also to what is arising in the therapist. The therapist must learn to engage and contain the image so that it becomes a living symbol, speaking to the therapist and the client of the numinosity and reality of the psyche which ultimately holds the potential for healing and transformation. This is the essence of the work. In this class, we will look at images and symbols and how they move and transform in dreams, sandplay, the body and within the therapeutic relationship.

Maria Ellen Chiaia, Ph.D, JA, LMFT, CST-T, is a certified adult and child Jungian Analyst in private practice in Berkeley and Marin. She works with adults, children and adolescents and their families. She is a teaching member of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy and has lectured and taught internationally and at many universities and institutes. She is co-author of Sandplay in Three Voices: Images, Relationship, the Numinous and has authored many articles and book chapters.