Eight Pacific Quest therapists are currently immersed in the Empowerment and Transformation experiential art and sandplay therapy training program based on the principles of Jungian psychology and the neuropsychology of expressive therapy. Training began in September and will continue until May, 2016. Therapists meet monthly to practice art therapy techniques using mediums such as paint, oil pastels, collage, nature art, and sandplay therapy. Dr. Lorraine Freedle, Clinical Director and international teacher in Jungian sandplay teaches the course.
Freedle states, “It is an honor to bring this powerful training to our team at Pacific Quest. These methods deepen the already robust treatment experience for our students and can really accelerate progress, especially for those who struggle to express their emotions.”
Carl Jung defines the goal of psychotherapy as wholeness of personality through successive encounters with the “lost parts” of ourselves. These parts include our wounds as well as inner resources. Expressive methods like art and sandplay therapy provide a safe and intensive way to access and work through emotional pain to uncover potential – making it possible to move forward in life with a sense of wholeness, meaning and purpose.
Here’s what Pacific Quest therapists are saying about the training:
“This training presents me with a unique opportunity to learn professionally and grow personally. It shows me through direct personal experience something powerful that I can share with my students. I’m very grateful to be a part of it.”
“Sandplay is another modality to help students explore their inner stories, integrating their logical mind with their emotions without relying on words. This training affords practitioners a deeply personal opportunity to understand the healing process from the student’s perspective.”
-Theresa Hasting, LPC-S, LMHC
“As a practitioner I like sandplay because I can do more while talking less; I just find it easier to get in-depth without all the limits of language.”
-John Souza Jr., DMFT, LMFT
“This training makes me a better therapist. Lorraine instills a great respect for the inner quest of the human experience and the relationship between the world we see with our eyes and the world we feel with our heart. I am humbled by the opportunity to weave together the mystery of the sand with the mystery of the Earth and for many of our students, nothing could be more therapeutic!”
-Travis Slagle, MA