17th Annual Sandplay Therapy Workshop Announcement

Kedren Acute Psychiatric Hospital Community
Mental Health Center Presents:

17th Annual Sandplay Therapy Workshop

Art, Drama and Sandplay Therapy:
Healing Through Metaphor

Friday November 18, 2011


J. Alfred Cannon Auditorium
4211 S. Avalon Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

Course Overview

For children, play is instinctual behavior and the most natural mode of expression. Through play, children explore, create, process emotions, rehearse roles, master skills and integrate their experiences of mind and body. Symbolic play and the use of metaphor allow both children and adults an alternative way to express their inner and outer worlds indirectly, thus allowing them to tell their stories while maintaining a safe distance from traumatic material.

Sandplay Therapy is a powerful, non-verbal treatment modality that facilitates the psyche’s natural healing capacity.  Through the use of sand, water and miniature figures which represent the world, the client uses symbols and metaphor to create their personal story.  Healing takes place at a deep intuitive level, thus allowing healthy growth and development to be restored.

Drama Therapy is the intentional use of drama and/or theatre processes to achieve therapeutic goals. It is an active, experiential and embodied form of therapy offering opportunities for expression, insight and catharsis. Metaphor and symbolism are borne of externalizing tools such as art, masks, original or published texts, music, ritual and puppets which help clients explore a real life repertoire of roles.  It is the application of a creative medium in psychotherapy and an alternative to verbal therapy and like other creative arts therapies, it can be a diagnostic tool assessing cognitive or personality organization in a client.

Course Objectives

• To learn the basic tenets of sandplay therapy and drama therapy through experiential and group participation
• To integrate sandplay, art and story-making into healing childhood trauma through clinical application
• To increase the capacity to reflect and understand how the use of metaphor brings about healing and movement in the psyche
• To explore how sandplay and the expressive arts compliment talk and cognitive therapies, and facilitate left/right brain integration

Presenters

Janet Blaser, MFT—Ms. Blaser is a therapist in San Pedro using sandplay with children and adults.  She is an analytic candidate at the C.G. Jung Study Center.  Before becoming a therapist, Ms. Blaser was a toy designer with Mattel, designing among other toys, Mermaid Barbie.

Adele Marie Luttrell, MFT—Ms. Luttrell is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Certified Sandplay Practitioner. She has a private practice and provides supervision and sandplay training to Kedren staff.  Ms. Luttrell has also authored two psychotherapeutic children’s books titled “Why Me?” and “What’s Wrong with Our Mom?”.

Rebecca Pittenger, MSW—Rebecca Pittenger, MSW is a staff member working in sandplay with children in Kedren’s Children’s Day Treatment Program.  She is a graduate of USC School of Social Work.

Mimi Savage, MA, RDT—Mimi Savage, MA, RDT is a registered drama therapist, actress, director and coach. She works on the in-patient unit at Kedren with both children and adults. Mimi integrates drama therapy, sandplay therapy and art therapy in her work with her clients.

CONTINUING EDUCATION INFORMATION: This training meets the criteria for six (6) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for both LCSWs & MFTs as approved by California Board of Behavioral Science provider # PCE4052 and RNs & LVNs as approved by California Board of Registered Nurses provider # CEP6770.

Click HERE for registration form