The Sand Therapy Journeys Programme

The Sand Therapy Journeys programme is open to qualified therapists and counsellors of any modality. The only requirement is that you are a member of a professional organisation and are insured to practise. This is because as part of experiential work with sand you may need to hold space for others and witness their sandtrays, and I need to make sure you have the basic skills, self-awareness and aptitude to do so.

No.  You will have access to the FREE introductory module (three units covering equipment, sandtray creation, and applications of sand therapy) which will cover the basics, sufficient for you to learn and benefit from the Sand Therapy Journeys programme. The free Introduction to Sand Therapy Journeys is currently closed for editing, and the updated version will be available July 2025.

No, it is a unique personal and professional development programme, not affiliated with any institution.

There will be plenty of learning, you will gain insights and experience through exploring your own sand trays and supporting the work of others, and via presentations on specialist topics.

You will receive a Continuous Professional Development certificate at the end of the programme if you attend at least 50% of the live workshops (7 out of 14) and commit to watch the ones you have missed.

Most of the programme will be delivered live via Zoom – there will normally be at least two x 2.5 hour live workshops delivered per month – see the timetable below.

All live sessions will be recorded for replay (apart from the experiential part of the workshops where personal work is shared in the group).

The live components of Sand Therapy Journeys programme will be delivered via Zoom.

You will need to have the basic competencies of joining a Zoom room via link, muting and unmuting yourself, putting your camera on and off, and using the chat function.

You will get the best out of the Zoom meetings if you use a laptop or a desktop computer rather than a phone or another small device.

We will also have a dedicated Facebook group for discussion, questions, and mutual support.

You will find the programme syllabus above and the provisional dates of live sessions below.

The full fee for the 6 month programme in 2026-27 remains the same as last year, £399.

The option of paying in 4 instalments of £100 will be available. You can pay via bank transfer or online via Stripe. 

Before payment, to apply for a place on a programme you need to fill in a registration form which will be available from July.

If you are based in a developing country with lower incomes than Europe, US, Canada, Australia, Japan etc and cannot afford the fee, please get in touch to discuss how we can make it manageable for you.

What equipment will I need?

You will find more details in the free Introduction to Sand Therapy Journeys (updated version available from July 2025), but to put it briefly, in order to take part in the full Sand Therapy Journeys programme, you will need:

1. A rectangular (not round) sandtray. This could be a “proper” custom-made sandtray such as those available from Artisand Sandtrays in the UK https://www.artisandtrays.co.uk/  (please note they often have a waiting list). A cheaper option is a plastic tray such as this one from Lakeland https://www.lakeland.co.uk/20228/oven-rack-soaking-tray – or a large cat litter tray (ideally in blue). In terms of size, the “standard” sandtray 72 x 49.5 x 7.5 cm (approximately 31″ x 20″ x 3”) is ideal – however if you cannot have a full-sized tray a smaller one will be adequate, but try to get one that is as spacious as possible.
2. Sand – normal play sand (NOT kinetic sand) which is available from garden centres, Argos, DIY shops and online.
3. A selection of small objects / symbols / miniatures / toys. This does not need to be comprehensive, though the more choice you have the better. Charity shops, Facebook Marketplace, Poundshop etc are good sources for starting your collection, and you can make use of various household items (unwanted ornaments, broken jewellery, old children’s toys, craft supplies etc) and objects from nature https://sandsoundcentre.co.uk/blog/f/natural-found-objects-for-the-sandtray. Over the 6 months of the programme your collection will likely grow!
4. Somewhere to store your symbols – this could be a plastic box or a drawer for a small collection, or shelves for a bigger one; I find Ikea’s Billy bookcases great for the purpose.