Sandtray “Out-of-the-Box”: An Expressive Arts Approach

Date: Friday September 12, 2025
Time: 9:00am–3:30pm Pacific Time (with a 30 minute lunch break)
Location: NWCEAI Studio: 1631 15th Ave W, Ste 305, Seattle, WA 98119
Facilitator: Sibel Golden, PhD, LMHC, REAT
CEs: 6
Cost: $219.00

Registration Deadline: Tuesday September 9, 2025

This workshop introduces sandtray as a creative and therapeutic approach for clients from childhood through adulthood. Participants will learn simple and accessible ways to use sandtray, along with methods to integrate additional creative arts modalities. After attending this workshop, participants will be able to confidently implement suggested materials and activities in their practice.

Expressive Arts Therapy utilizes a multi-arts approach that focuses on the creative process and artmaking, combining visual arts, movement, drama, music, and writing to foster deep personal growth and community development. This workshop emphasizes sandtray as the primary modality while exploring additional approaches that can enrich the therapeutic experience. The Expressive Arts framework offers a dynamic approach that can enhance your existing clinical skills.

The tools presented are designed to provide clinicians with various options even when working with limited resources and space. No prior experience in the arts is necessary!

Learning objectives

1. Participants will learn about the history and fundamentals of sandtray, including traditional versus alternative trays, setting up trays and objects, and introducing sandtray to clients.
2. Participants will gain hands-on experience creating, recording, and processing sandtray work.
3. Participants will be introduced to Expressive Arts principles such as attunement and witnessing, and how these inform the sandtray process.
4. Participants will develop skills in recognizing and working with symbolism and metaphor as they emerge in sandtray creations, learning to support clients in exploring personal meaning without imposing interpretations.
5. Participants will learn to integrate basic writing and poetry as expressive arts modalities with sandtray work.
6. Participants will learn to incorporate basic sound and music as expressive arts modalities with sandtray work.
7. Participants will learn to use basic visual modalities in conjunction with sandtray work.

Required Materials

All materials are included in studio!

Earning Continuing Education Credits

To receive a CE Certificate for completion of this workshop, you must officially register, attend the workshop/program in its entirety and complete an evaluation form after the workshop/program. The evaluation form is emailed from NWCEAI. After completing & submitting the evaluation form, a CE Certificate will be emailed to you within 5-7 business days.

Who is eligible to receive CEs?

• Nationally: Approved NBCC Provider for Mental Health Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Social Workers (you are responsible for confirming that your organization/state will accept NBCC credits.)
• New York Licensed Creative Arts Therapists (LCATs)
• Washington State School Counselor/Teacher (OSPI) Approved by the Washington State Office of Public Instruction as a “Washington State approved clock hour offering workshop.”
• If you are outside of Washington State, we advise that you check with your state licensing board to confirm that they accept NBCC Approved CEs. 

Northwest Creative and Expressive Arts Institute is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0123.

Northwest Creative & Expressive Arts Institute (NWCEAI) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7104. Programs that do no qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Northwest Creative & Expressive Arts Institute (NWCEAI) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.