ICST-Provider
Training Program
🌿 A Two-Year Advanced Leadership & Train-the-Trainer Pathway in Sandtray Therapy
The ICST-Provider Formation Program is a mentorship-based leadership pathway designed for experienced clinicians who are ready to deepen their sandtray skills, develop their teaching voice, and become leaders within the ICST training model.
This immersive program goes beyond traditional training by integrating:
- Advanced sandtray processing
- Teaching and facilitation development
- Leadership and provider identity
- Consultation and mentorship
- Business and training design
- Apprenticeship within a live ICST cohort
- Credentialing standards and evaluation
The ICST-P pathway is designed to cultivate Providers who are not only clinically skilled—but also embodied, ethical, engaging, and prepared to train and mentor others within the field of sandtray therapy.
🌟 Why Apply for the ICST-P Train-the-Trainer Program?
This program is designed for clinicians who are ready to move beyond learning sandtray therapy and into leadership, mentorship, teaching, and professional development within the field.
🌿 Benefits of the ICST-P Program
🧠 Deepen Your Clinical Skillset
Develop advanced symbolic processing skills, increase confidence in sandtray interpretation, and strengthen your ability to guide deeper therapeutic work.
🎓 Learn How to Teach Sandtray Therapy
Most clinical trainings teach you how to use a modality—but not how to teach it. The ICST-P pathway includes explicit training in:
- Teaching strategies
- Facilitation skills
- Group engagement
- Multiple learning styles
- Experiential training methods
🌱 Develop Your Leadership & Provider Identity
Explore your authentic leadership style, teaching presence, provider identity, and professional voice as a trainer and mentor within the sandtray community.
Participants will explore:
- How people experience them as a leader and trainer
- What energy they bring into a room
- What happens under stress or pressure
- Leadership strengths and growth edges
- Authentic teaching presence and provider voice
- Internal and external integration while leading groups and trainings
Participants will reflect on:
- What kind of Provider do I want to become?
- What values shape my teaching?
- How do I want people to feel in my trainings?
- What leadership qualities feel most authentic to me?
This section of the program is designed to support authentic leadership development rather than imitation-based teaching.
💼 Build a Sustainable Training Program
Learn practical business and marketing skills including:
- Pricing structures
- Business planning
- Training logistics
- Sales page development
- Social media strategy
- Sustainable cohort development
🌍 Receive Mentorship Within a Live ICST Cohort
Apprenticeship opportunities allow Providers in Training to co-facilitate consultations, assist with Levels 1–4, and teach within real ICST cohorts under mentorship.
⚖️ Learn Credentialing & Evaluation Skills
Develop confidence in:
- Consultation leadership
- Evaluation systems
- Ethical gatekeeping
- Competency assessment
- Supporting and mentoring future trainees
🤝 Join a Community of Growth & Collaboration
The ICST-P pathway is designed to support connection, mentorship, consultation, collaboration, and long-term professional growth within the IAST community.
🌱 PHASE 1
Intro to Provider Formation
Foundations • Identity • Advanced Processing
Phase 1 introduces Providers in Training (PiTs) to the foundations of becoming an ICST-Provider through advanced sandtray processing, leadership development, teaching awareness, credentialing standards, and consultation experiences.
Participants will begin developing both the internal and external foundations of provider leadership through experiential learning, reflection, consultation, and advanced sandtray processing work.
🌿 Phase 1 Topics Include
🧠 Advanced Sandtray Foundations
- Advanced symbolic processing
- Identifying themes quickly
- Seeing patterns across trays
- How to process after the tray is built
- What to say during processing
- What to do when stuck
- Learning through observing other trays
- Processing demonstrations
🌿 Provider Identity, Leadership & Teaching Presence
Participants will explore:
- How do people experience you?
- What energy do you bring into a room?
- What happens under stress?
- How do you regulate yourself while leading?
- How does your nervous system impact your teaching presence?
Participants will identify natural strengths and leadership growth areas.
🎓 Foundations of Teaching Sandtray
- How to teach sandtray concepts
- Introduction to teaching advanced processing
- Multiple learning styles
- Structuring experiential learning
- Group facilitation basics
- Keeping engagement
- Time management foundations
⚖️ Credentialing, Standards & Ethics
- ICST standards
- ICST-P standards
- Ethical responsibility of trainers
- Documentation expectations
- Credentialing pathways
- Consultation structure
- Gatekeeping and evaluation responsibility
🌍 Training Structure & Logistics
- Online training structure
- Cohort model overview
- What makes a strong training
- Observing examples of good trainings
- Running groups
- Managing training flow
🌱 Real-World Provider Challenges
- Struggling learners
- Grief/loss during training
- Non-payment issues
- Incomplete trainings
- Difficult group dynamics
- Boundaries and professionalism
Includes:
- 6 months of training
- Monthly 3-hour online training
- Monthly 90-minute online consultation
- 24 total training/consultation hours
Investment:
- $2,100 total
- $350 monthly payments
🌿 PHASE 2
Advanced Integration & Teaching
Teaching • Facilitation • Leadership • Business Development
Phase 2 deepens the Provider in Training’s ability to teach, facilitate, evaluate, and lead within the ICST model through advanced experiential learning, consultation, live demonstrations, business planning, and trainer development.
🌿 Phase 2 Topics Include
🔑 Clinical Readiness Evaluation
- Live Advanced Sandtray Processing Evaluation
- Processing in real time
- Responding under pressure
- Teaching your processing decisions
- Integration of clinical and teaching skills
🎓 Advanced Teaching Development
- Teaching advanced processing
- Teaching symbolic interpretation
- Teaching experiential activities
- Creating emotional safety in groups
- Advanced group facilitation
- Managing resistance and disengagement
- Reading the room
- Co-regulation in trainings
🧠 Consultation & Leadership Skills
- Offering consultation
- Giving feedback
- Leadership presence
- Facilitating discussions
- Supporting learner growth
- Evaluating readiness
📊 Evaluation & Credentialing Skills
- Using rubrics and score sheets
- Competency assessment
- Writing referral and recommendation letters
- Pass/fail decisions
- Ethical evaluation practices
💼 Business & Marketing Development
- Business planning
- Financial planning
- Pricing strategy
- Cost of materials
- Creating a training avatar
- Sales page copy
- Marketing strategy
- Social media calendars
- Training sustainability
🛠️ Training Design & Logistics
- Building PowerPoints
- Structuring Levels 1–4
- Creating teaching plans
- Multiple learning styles
- Time management plans
- Engagement strategies
🌍 Real-World Trainer Development
- Running live groups
- Practicing with the PiT cohort
- Solving training challenges
- Professional communication
- Handling difficult situations
Includes:
- 6 months of training
- Monthly 3-hour online training
- Monthly 90-minute online consultation
- 24 total training/consultation hours
Investment:
- $2,100 total
- $350 monthly payments
🌳 PHASE 3
Apprenticeship & Mentored Provider Development
Apprenticeship • Co-Facilitation • Leadership in Action
Phase 3 provides immersive mentorship and apprenticeship within a live ICST training cohort, allowing Providers in Training to apply their skills in real-time alongside an approved ICST-Provider.
Providers in Training will participate in a 6–12 month Apprenticeship under the mentorship of an approved ICST-Provider.
🌿 Phase 3 Includes
- Minimum 12 Apprenticeship Consultation and Mentorship hours
- Additional consultation and mentorship hours as needed based on skill development and readiness
- Participation in an in-person ICST cohort training experience (Levels 1–4)
- Attendance at the ICST cohort’s 15 online consultation sessions
- Co-facilitation of at least one online consultation session within the ICST cohort under Provider mentorship
- Teaching at least one training section during an in-person Level 3 ICST cohort under the mentorship of an ICST-Provider
- Development and review of Levels 1–4 training PowerPoints and teaching materials
- Leadership, consultation, and teaching mentorship
Estimated Investment:
- Approximately $2,250–$3,000
- Payment plans available
Travel, lodging, meals, and transportation for in-person ICST cohort experiences are the responsibility of the Provider in Training.
🌟 Estimated Program Investment
|
Phase |
Investment |
|
Phase 1 |
$2,100 |
|
Phase 2 |
$2,100 |
|
Phase 3 Apprenticeship |
Approximately $2,250–$3,000 |
|
Estimated Total Program Investment |
Approximately $6,450–$7,200 |
🌟 Final Credentialing Phase
Upon successful completion of all phases, Providers in Training may apply for ICST-Provider credentialing through IAST.
The final credentialing process includes:
- Completion checklists
- Competency evaluations
- Trainer recommendations
- Referral letters
- Comps-style evaluations
- Final review and approval by IAST
Completion of the program does not automatically guarantee ICST-Provider credentialing. Credentialing is awarded based on demonstrated competency, readiness, professionalism, and alignment with ICST standards.
🌟 What Will You Walk Away With?
By the end of the ICST-Provider Formation Program, you will have more than a credential pathway.
You will have the skills, confidence, experience, and leadership development needed to step into the role of an ICST-Provider.
🌱 Advanced Sandtray Skills
Deepen your ability to identify symbolic themes, facilitate advanced processing, and confidently teach sandtray concepts to others.
🌿 Teaching & Facilitation Confidence
Learn how to create engaging, experiential trainings that support multiple learning styles, psychological safety, and meaningful integration.
🌳 Leadership & Consultation Skills
Develop your leadership presence, consultation skills, communication abilities, and confidence navigating feedback, group dynamics, and professional challenges.
💼 Business & Training Foundations
Build a foundation for creating ethical, sustainable trainings through greater clarity around your mission, audience, training structure, and professional goals.
🎓 Create the Foundation for Your Future Training Program
Rather than starting from scratch after graduation, you will gradually develop the building blocks of your future training program throughout the formation process, including:
- Levels 1–4 teaching materials
- training outlines
- facilitation plans
- consultation skills
- teaching activities and exercises
- PowerPoint presentations
- and a growing Provider Portfolio that reflects your development and readiness.
🤝 Mentorship & Real-World Experience
Receive guidance from experienced ICST-Providers while gaining hands-on experience teaching, facilitating, co-leading, and participating in live cohort experiences.
🌟 Most Importantly…
You will discover your unique Provider voice.
You will better understand:
- how you lead
- how you teach
- how you facilitate
- how you respond under pressure
- and how your strengths, experiences, and passions can serve the field of sandtray therapy.
This program is designed to help you grow from an experienced sandtray clinician into a confident trainer, mentor, and leader who is prepared to make a lasting impact on the next generation of sandtray professionals.
The goal is not simply to create more trainers.
The goal is to cultivate ethical, grounded, experiential leaders who will help shape the future of sandtray therapy.