Trauma often disrupts a person’s sense of safety, identity, and hope. While it’s essential to address the wounds, therapists also need to actively focus on building resilience and nurturing clients’ internal strengths. 

Too often, the therapeutic focus remains on shrinking the symptoms and triggers without enough attention to strengthening how clients wish to feel. This training shifts the focus to rebuilding resilience through meaningful, right-brained connections to imagery, metaphor, and symbol.

Whether working with older children, teens, or adults, play therapists and creative therapists alike can use symbolic card decks to help clients tap into their capacity for renewal. 

Drawing on Jungian concepts of archetypes and the unconscious, this training will teach play therapists and creative therapists inspiring, ethical ways to incorporate imagery into their trauma-informed work. You will learn techniques that foster emotional regulation, deepen clients’ resilience, and create space for healing narratives to emerge— we will use play therapy based tools that you can use to strengthen child, teen AND adult clients as well as your own emotional well-being.

Sand Tray Isn't Easily Portable... Therapy Cards Are!

What a FUN and experiential way to learn. In this hybrid training experience, you will …. 

🎴 Purchase a deck or two (or more) of cards with symbolic imagery and bring them to class (virtual or in person).

☀️ Resiliency and self care related imagery will have a completely different feel than shadow work and trauma healing.

Some imagery is light hearted and other imagery is bit darker/heavier in it's feel.

📧 Need help choosing? Sign up and we will email a list of example decks with links to purchase

🧑🏽‍💻 Attend virtually via ZOOM (3 non-contact CEs) after exam (80%+)

-OR-

☕️ Join (3 contact CEs) in person at Ridgetop Coffee & Tea 21631 Ridgetop Cir, Sterling, VA 20166.

🎴 Tell Me The Details!

Friday, March 20, 2026 | 9:30AM–12:45 PM EST

$99

"Building Resilience Through Symbolic Imagery: A Card-Based Approach for Jungian Play Therapy and Creative Therapy"

– VIrtual: 3 Non-Contact CE (NBCC & APT) / In Person: 3 Contact CE (NBCC & APT)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, participants will be able to:

• Identify at least three ways symbolic card decks can be used to foster resilience and inner strength during trauma recovery

  through a Jungian-informed framework.

• Describe the function of both brain hemispheres and explain therapeutic timing when integrating therapeutic cards in a session.

• Demonstrate at least one card-based exercise that helps clients externalize struggles and reconnect with personal strengths,

  adaptable for both play therapy and creative therapy populations.

• Explain how Jungian based archetypes, symbolism, and visual metaphors can facilitate emotional regulation, meaning-making,

  and post-traumatic growth in therapy sessions.

• Develop a personalized plan for integrating card-based resilience practices into client sessions and therapist self-care routines,

  with attention to cultural humility, developmental needs, and ethical use.

• Recognize signs of client and therapist fatigue, and formulate card-based strategies to support continued resilience and

  therapeutic presence across the lifespan of clinical work.

☀️ Who Should Attend ☀️

☀️ Play therapists and creative arts therapists

☀️ Trauma therapists (children, teens, or adults)

☀️ Counselors, social workers, psychologists

☀️ Expressive therapists who love imagery and metaphor

☀️ Anyone wanting fresh, right-brained tools for trauma healing and self-care

Agenda (Eastern Time)

9:30    Jungian Overview & Research

10:00  Brain Hemisphere and Function Overview

10:30  Experiential Practice & Collaboration 

12:45  See You Next Time!