Fall Sand Schedule 2010

Association for Play Therapy provider # 05-161
National Association for Social Workers provider # 886477192
National Board for Certified Counselors # 6305

AUGUST 13 FRI -- Ethics and Clinical Practice (Sponsored by Chesapeake Beach Professional Seminars, contact: www.cbpseminars.org or info@cbpseminars.org)

AUG 22 & 23 SUN & MON – CULTUREPLAY--  Narratives in the Sand (noon to 6 p.m.)

SEPTEMBER 13 MON -- Ethics/ Supervision College Park Youth Services, MD (contact Chesapeake Beach Professional Seminars: www.cbpseminars.org or info@cbpseminars.org)

SEP 17 & 18 FRI & SAT -- Creative Counseling with Play for Children and Adolescents (The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, one graduate credit, register through GWU)

OCTOBER 1 & 2 FRI & SAT – CULTUREPLAY--  Understanding Sand Scenes – The Meaning of Symbols sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com

OCT 12 TUE -- Narrative Sand Therapy: Transformative Journeys for Clinician and Client (day-long session at the APT conference, register through www.a4pt.org)

OCT 29 FRI -- Transformation in Sand Therapy: Spiritual Journey, Mindful Metaphors (Loyola University Maryland) 6 CEus 9 am to 4 pm (contact www.loyola.edu/psatoralcounseling/myc)

NOV 7 & 8 SUN & MON – CULTUREPLAY--  Grief and Loss (noon to 6 p.m.) sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com

DEC 5 & 6 SUN & MON – CULTUREPLAY--  Advanced Sand Therapy (noon to 6 p.m.) sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com

** All CULTUREPLAY dates will be held in College Park, MD.  Directions sent upon registration. All Cultureplay workshops are kept at very small groups to allow for individualized in-depth training, and are conducted by Dr. Preston-Dillon, Director of The Center of Culture and Sandplay. Descriptions will soon be posted at www.cultureplay.com. Registration required. Email sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com for info and registration.
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Book Review (psychology, fiction): Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice
Lisa Genova
Pocket Books 2009
http://www.stillalice.com/

(review by LK Hunsaker of LKHunsaker.com)

Alice is a 50 year old psychology professor at Harvard who has co-authored a text book with her husband, a research scientist, and has established an incredible reputation as not only a preferred teacher but also as a world-traveled speaker. As she celebrates her birthday, she is struggling with memory issues and even starting to get lost close to home in an area she's very familiar with. Going privately to a neurologist, she is diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's disease.

Since Alice is the POV character, you have to wonder how Genova will continue to follow her story as Alice lapses further into the disease. I was rather impressed with how well she managed to show the early struggles as well as the progression. All of the characters are well drawn from Alice's POV and we get to know some of them better than others. I found it interesting that the child she says she knows the least is the one we know the most. The other two are mainly background.

Her husband, John, is an interesting character and at times, I wanted to yell at him for being so self-centered, but then looking back at their history, I couldn't help but think Alice partly made him that way with her work obsession. The novel is a nice look at marriage-combined-with-work issues, as well as the dementia issue.

From the beginning, we bond with Alice. Anyone who has ever been so busy finding a set of keys seems an impossible task will relate. This makes us truly sympathetic of her plight and we pull for her to keep going, keep trying. As we do, we learn much about Alzheimers and how it progresses and how they are working to find ways to slow or stop it. There is also information about how to keep the brain healthy in general.

At times, the writing is a bit stiff, especially at the beginning, but Genova is a first time novelist and I believe she may find her stride with the next.

This is a must read for anyone dealing with dementia in a loved one, anyone with dementia in their family history, as well as for anyone who wants to better understand this disease. It is truly educational and heartwarming and sad and hopeful all at once.


This review was originally posted at http://lkhunsaker.blogspot.com. The book was purchased by the reviewer and no compensation has been offered or received. Posted here with permission.

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February Announcements

Hello Sandplay Enthusiasts,

Dr. Preston-Dillon is just back from VAPT's winter conference at Regent University in Virginia Beach where she presented Narratives in the Sand: Practice and Ethics for Metaphors in Play Therapy on Friday and Exploring Sand Therapy in the Supervision of Play Therapists on Saturday. Almost 100 attendees including seasoned clinicians, faculty, and graduate students, worked in groups to explore the power of cultural experience in sand, boundaries and caution for sand therapy, the value of play therapy to help build counselor connection with clients, the importance of self reflection and personal work to increase counselor skills using play therapy, and ways to incorporate narrative ideas in play therapy supervision.

~~ Our next training opportunity is on March 14th with Ethics, Supervision, and Clinical Practice: Three Dimensions for Play Therapists, Supervisors, Clinicians, and Students. Space is currently available. Please request a registration form at sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com if interested. This workshop will be held in College Park and directions are sent when registration is received.

~~  On Friday, March 19th, Dr. Preston-Dillon will present Identifying Archetypes in the Sandtray: An Experiential Exploration for  Clinicians and Supervisors in Play Therapy  Cosponsored by the Virginia Association for Play Therapy and the Phoenix Family Counseling & Play Therapy Center, PLL this training will take place in Gainesville VA. It runs from 10 am to 4 pm, provides 6 CE. For registration and information, contact Liz Fong: contacteliteprogram@gmail.com http://www.phoenixfamilycounseling.com

~~ Dr. Preston-Dillon will present Amplifying Cultural Worlds: Meaning and Integrity in Sandplay at the 2010 National Sandplay Conference in June at Boulder, Colorado. Email us for information.

~~  We have been asked about offering week day training opportunities. Before we can set one up, we'd like to ask how many of you would be interested in attending during a week day instead of a weekend. You may want to create personalized day-long training for your staff, or let us know you’d like a weekday training and what kind of training you would like. Please email sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com and let us know your interest.

~~  A clarification: Our July 11 & 12 Ethics workshop notes that personal consults are combined with the training. This is an offer to set up individual consultations for a separate fee over the same weekend specifically for those who come from a distance. They are not included with the workshop fee. Consults are available at other times, also, through appointment.

~~  Sandplay Voices Network Coordinator Loraine Hunsaker (writing as LK Hunsaker), has a new novel out titled Off The Moon.  The story involves a teenage girl dealing with loss and abuse, and a self-absorbed pop star who pulls her in from a window ledge and provides a safe haven. The story includes counseling issues, specifically creative counseling and family relationships.  For more information about the book, see http://www.lkhunsaker.com/OffTheMoon/main.htm or ElucidatePublishing.net where there is a book club guide.

~~ Sometimes we are asked how our training in sand therapy differs from other training. In brief, Dr. Preston-Dillon was trained in Jungian Sandplay and over the last 25 years has incorporated narrative, humanistic and existential approaches. Training and consulting defines her practice; it is not an incidental she does on the side. Her doctoral research and writing focus on sand and she continues to work on theoretical foundations for the phenomenal experience of symbolic work and transformation in sand.

Spring 2010 Schedule

WORKSHOPS
for Play Therapists, Supervisors, Clinicians, & Students

All clinicians are welcome, no matter your theoretical practice. No previous training in sand is necessary. The purpose of our training is to ground and inspire clinicians for their practice and offer small intensives
to replenish your creativity and connect with colleagues. Workshops embrace seasoned professionals and graduate students.

The following will be held in College Park, Maryland. Directions will be emailed upon registration. Find full descriptions on our website or email to have them sent as a Word file.

Jan 24 Heal the Healer: Personal Renewal (6 CE)
Sunday 12pm-6pm Fee: $160

Mar 14 Ethics, Supervision, and Clinical Practice: Three Dimensions (6 CE)

Sunday 12pm-6pm Fee: $160

Apr 11 Grief and Loss: Reflective Practice (6 CE)

Sunday 12pm-6pm Fee: $160

May 16 Transformation: Spiritual Journeys in the Sand (6 CE)
Sunday 12pm-6pm Fee: $160

June 13&14 Advanced Sand Therapy: Part I & II [Understanding Sand Scenes in Play Therapy & The Meaning of Symbols in Play Therapy] (12 CE)
Sun & Mon 12pm-6pm Fee: $350

____ July 11&12 Ethics, Supervision, and Clinical Practice: Three Dimensions of Sand for Play Therapists and Supervisors & Amplifying Cultural Worlds: Meaning and Integrity in Sandplay [Combined Training with 3^rd day Personal Consults] (12 CE)
Sun & Mon 12pm-6pm Fee: $350

Personal Consultations in Sand Therapy for Clinicians and Supervisors
Private Consultations for individual and small groups of up to three clinicians/ supervisors in Maryland and Virginia

A Time To . . .

Nourish Your Psyche, Re-Engage Personal Insights, Re-Energize for Clinical Practice, and Rejuvenate Creativity and Inspiration . . .
Explore Theory, Practice Ways of Responding to Sand Scenes . . .
Journey into Your Creative Heart, to Horizons You Have Yet to Explore . . .

Personal consultations by appointment only. Workshops require registration and deposit. Contact us at sandplayvoices@cultureplay.com