Semināra vadītāja Ruth Noel - Herman, psihoanalītiskā bērnu un jauniešu psihoterapeite, Šveices Psihologu biedrības locekle, Šveices Smilšu spēles psihoterapijas biedrības (SGSST) locekle, ISST apmācīt tiesīga psihoterapeite.

Meei-Shiuan Lih Taiwan -I am so glad that I attended the ITW in Latvia this summer. It was a fantastic week, which has made me committed to learning sandplay. I was so inspired by the teachers and their extensive knowledge of sandplay. In addition, they also took care of our meals, nurturing us, not only physically, but also psychologically. They were our best containers during that week. Moreover, every participant could register for two group supervision sessions in the evenings. That was a wonderful experience of discussing different cases and sharing with people from different countries and different cultures. I was excited to experience the power of the collective unconscious. On those evenings in which we did not have supervisions, some friends and I went to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful environment.

On the last morning of the training, the teachers led us to the beach to do “sandtrays” there. In addition, the Latvian group brought flowers, fruits, and some other materials, and we created a group Mandala, which was a terrific way to wrap up a training course like this. The ITW ended with the Gala dinner. On that night, everyone was happy, but I was also bit sad to part with new friends. We hugged and said goodbye, looking forward to seeing each other again. Thank you to the Latvian group for giving gifts to every participant. Including pieces of amber and a symbol of Latvia. I received a Latvian Cross, a symbol of “happiness and love’, which protects from evil spirits.” I was so moved and felt blessed.

Apsuciems, near Riga, Latvia: 5th-11th of August, 2016 (Report: Lenore Steinhardt)

The ISST sponsored ITW took place in the small town of Apsuciems, not far from Riga. The Latvian Sandplay Organization hosted this event and arranged a comfortable Spa hotel near the Baltic sea for thirty sandplay students from 15 countries and four Teachers. During the week there were two 3 hour presentations in English, workshops and discussion of many sandplay issues each day. In the evening there were supervision groups. The participants received accreditation towards ISST certification. The four teachers – Alexander Esterhuyzen, Trudy Rankin, Betty Jackson and Lenore Steinhardt are all ISST Board and Teaching Members.

Topics included: Symbolic understanding of the sand, Attachment through the life cycle, Presandplay with children, Bereavement and loss, Understanding unconscious communications in sandplay images, and essential Jungian themes.
On the final day all students and teachers took part in early morning Beach sandplay, and later participated in an experiential workshop ending in a group mandala.

Lenore Steinhardt, ISTA/ISST Teaching Member, was one of four ISST TM’s who gave presentations and supervision during the ISST sponsored ITW week in Latvia, in Apsuciems on the Baltic Sea. Below is the report of three advanced Israeli sandplay students who attended the ITW.


In August 2016 we attended an intensive week of training in Jungian Sandplay therapy in Latvia. We received information about the program from our Sandplay teacher, Lenore Steinhardt who represents Israel (ISTA) in the ISST. We have all completed the two year theoretical training program in Sandplay therapy and our own personal Sandplay processes and we attend an ongoing sandplay supervision group. Since we are in an advanced stage of completing the requirements to become certified Sandplay therapists, we wanted to find out more about ISST. We also wanted to know more about Sandplay therapists from other places in the world, who are in a similar stage of Sandplay training as we are.

We arrived on an August afternoon at the small town of Apsuciems, in the Latvian countryside, close to the Baltic Sea. A small river flowed through a forest next to the hotel. The light was soft, very different from the sunny Mediterranean climate we live in. For us the atmosphere was like a dream. We were now detached from our daily lives, and the journey over the sea invited us to an adventure of meeting colleagues from other cultures and from different places in the world. It was a very exciting and powerful meeting. Although each one of us came from a different place and spoke a different language, we discovered that we all had a common language- the language of Sandplay. This meeting was an event that widened and enriched us, and made it possible to get to know different levels, aspects and nuances of Sandplay.

The workshop format for learning, and the opportunity to go into depth with each case presentation enabled a much deeper understanding of meaningful Sandplay processes. Through the lectures and case presentations of the teachers, the supervision groups, experiential workshops, and the conversations during the breaks, we received a rich and deep impression that reinforced our feeling that all through the two years of our training program, and through our personal Sandplay process, this is a therapy that offers both patient and therapist contact with the depths of the psyche and enables deep processes of change and development. Undergoing this meaningful experience has inspired us to continue to invest ourselves in the certification process, despite the demands of work and life. We remain with a taste for more of this kind of experience.