Past Events & Forums

Writing Your Case Study

(NZ) Level 2: Clinical Practice of Sandplay Therapy

When the World’s on Fire: Healing Existential Trauma with Sandplay Therapy

(NZ) Level 1: Intro to Symbol Work, Sandtray and Sandplay Therapy

Healing Journeys in the Sand: Sandplay Therapy Symposium

27th International ISST Sandplay Congress
‘Changing Horizons: Encountering the Other in Sandplay Therapy’
Held in Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands

Sandplay Therapy with Children Webinar Series 2025

Webinar 1: The Beginning: Creating the Free and Protected Space

Webinar 2: Clinical issues

Webinar 3: Working systemically: holding the child’s external world in mind

Introduction to Symbol work and Sandplay Therapy

The Symbol of Water in Sandplay

(NZ) Level 2: Clinical Practice of Sandplay Therapy

Sand and Psyche: Introduction to Jungian Sandplay Therapy for Adults

Meet and Greet

Sat, February 8th (9-11am AU, 11-1am NZ)
STANZA Executive

In the spirit of fostering connections within our Australian and New Zealand Sandplay community, this Forum offers an opportunity to meet one another online, find out about peoples’ focus of practice, location, areas of expertise and areas of interest. You may wish to share where you are on the certification process and if you have completed or are writing a symbol paper – what is your symbol?

This Forum is also an opportunity to ask questions about the process of Certification or the application of sandplay therapy in your practice.

Broken or Mended?

Wed, April 2nd (5-7pm (AEDT) AU, 7-9pm (AEDT) NZ)
Sarah Gibson and Jean Parkinson

The moments when figurines in our collections are ‘broken’ are usually very meaningful. How do we respond? Do we mend or do we leave them injured or broken? What meaning does repairing have? Is there value in having broken objects in our collections? Do we replace objects? How do we use psychologically the break/ repair in the therapy work? How might this be different working with children, adolescents or adults?

We invite you to bring a figurine that is broken or mended and tell the story and the meaning you have made from it.

Sandplay Therapy Symposium

23rd, 24th and 25th May
Melbourne (in person) 

• Friday 23rd: Small Group Supervision Day
• Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th:  Sandplay Symposium

12 hours STANZA/ISST Accreditation

For Further Details see EVENT LISTING

What figurine or object in your collection is most often used?

Wed, July 2nd (5-7pm (AEST) AU, 7-9pm (AEST) NZ)
Sarah Gibson and Mary Raftopoulos

This Forum invites you to discuss the object or figure that is most often used in your collection. Please bring it to this Forum and share when the miniature has been used by your clients and what you may have come to understand about its metaphoric, symbolic or psychological significance and your own associations. Of course, this will vary from client to client and the different ages and stages in their sandplay process. The meaning may still be unknown and we invite you to share that mystery with us all. In this way, we expand our knowledge of symbols whilst we deepen our own understanding of their potential meaning.

Play Therapy’, ‘Playing in the sand’ or ‘Sandplay’?

Sat 15th Nov 2025: 9am – 11am (Syd/Melb time); 11am – 1pm (NZ time)
Carina Conradie and Mary Raftopoulos

A conversation about childrens’ play in treatment. When is it Play Therapy, Playing in the sand’ or ‘Sandplay’? And why does this matter anyway? We will show case material as we explore these differences.

This Forum invites you to bring any questions you may have about making a distinction about when is a child’s therapeutic work considered Play Therapy, Playing in the sand or Sandplay.

1. Saturday, February 3rd

1 hr:

Meet STANZA executive, discuss needs of members
General Discussion

1 hr:

The Sandplay Collection (Mary Raftopoulos and Sarah Gibson)

2. Saturday, April 6th

1.5 hrs:

Case Presentation – Child ( Carina Conradie)

0.5 hr:

General Q and A (Carina Conradie/Jean Parkinson)

3. Monday, June 17th

1.5 hrs:

Autism, awareness through Sandplay – an adult’s journey (Heather Lesley- Swan)

4. Saturday, August 3rd

1 hr:

Developing Our Symbolic Capacity  (Sarah Gibson and Jacinta Frawley)

1 hr:

Symbol Papers – Differences between first and second papers

5. Monday, October 14th

• 6.00pm – 8.00pm (AEST)
• 8.00pm – 10.00pm (NZ)

1.5 hr:

Clinical Issues in Working with Child Clients (Jean Parkinson and Dr Mary Raftopoulos)