You listen closely, not only to what is said, but to pauses, hesitations, and the silence between sentences.
Therapy with teens and adults is different from work with children, yet there are moments when play therapy quietly becomes the bridge. You sense when words stop working. When the air shifts. When a client’s face tightens just enough to signal something deeper than language.
These are right-brain moments where talk talk therapy meets play therapy. Even with teens and adults.
Sandtray gives those moments a form. In the tray, teens and adults do not have to explain what they feel. They can show it, build it, and move it, allowing meaning to emerge from the inside out.
This is the heart of play therapy, adapted with care and intention for older clients. We teach you how to translate those principles into work that feels grounded, clinically sound, and deeply effective with teens and adults.
Guiding clients there takes skill. It means slowing yourself down, reading subtle cues, and staying grounded as the story unfolds symbolically in front of you.
This training will help you see and feel what happens when the right brain leads. Where play therapy meets talk therapy.
Through real clinical cases, photo walkthroughs, and a live sand tray demonstration, you will learn how to:
☀️ Recognize right-brain shifts in adult and teen clients using play therapy based technique
☀️ Observe micro-expressions and subtle nervous system cues
☀️ Use language that deepens rather than disrupts regulation
☀️. Follow a client’s symbolic story while staying attuned and safe
☀️ Integrate what happens in the sand back into verbal reflection and meaning
You will leave with practical scripts, sensory awareness tools, and a deeper confidence in reading the nonverbal language of the sand tray.
Most importantly, you will remember how powerful therapy becomes when you slow down, trust the symbols, and let healing speak through image instead of explanation.
Friday, March 27, 2026 | 9:30–12:45 PM EST
(Hybrid event) $99
👩🏻💻 Virtual: 3 Non-Contact CE (NBCC & APT)
🏫 In Person: Loudoun Co: 3 Contact CE (NBCC & APT)
Family Therapy Center of NOVA (we have FOUR sand trays on site)
19420 Golf Vista Plaza #330
Lansdowne, VA 20176
Learning Objectives
After attending this play therapy training, participants will be able to:
🍎 Describe how sand tray therapy can enhance depth, safety, and insight in play therapy work with teens and adults, even in talk-based sessions.
🍎 Identify at least three right-brain, play therapy based processes involved in emotional integration, and explain how these relate to the healing power of sand tray therapy.
🍎 Recognize clinical moments when symbolic, nonverbal play therapy based tools may support clients who are stuck, overwhelmed, or emotionally shut down.
🍎 Facilitate at least two sand tray therapy interventions that can be adapted for adult or teen clients in individual therapy.
☀️ Play therapists and creative arts therapists
☀️ Any talk therapist wishing to learn trauma informed techniques for teens and adults
☀️ Therapists curious about sand tray AND those wising to deepn their craft
☀️ Curious counselors, social workers, psychologists
Agenda (Eastern Time)
9:30 Brain Hemisphere Overview
10:30 Experiential Practice & Collaboration (live sand trays)
12:45 See You Next Time!(15 minute break)