Upcoming Trainings
Fall 2026
Whose Story Does this Belong to?
Intersectionality, Cultural Humility and Reflexive Practice in Sandtray Play Therapy
with
Dr. Carmen Cubillo, clinical psychologist, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and cultural advocate
Webinar via Zoom:
Friday, November 6, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CST
Sandtray therapy offers clients a powerful way to communicate experiences that may be difficult to express in words. Yet neither the client nor the therapist enters the sandtray space without culture, identity, history and social context.
This presentation explores how intersectionality may become visible in the sandtray through representations of identity, relationships, belonging, marginalisation, power, safety, culture and connection. It considers how a therapist’s own cultural positioning, assumptions and lived experiences can influence what they notice, how they interpret symbols, and the questions they ask.
Using the principles of cultural humility and reflexive practice, participants will explore ways of approaching the sandtray with curiosity rather than certainty. Particular attention will be given to resisting assumptions about the meaning of symbols and recognising the client as the primary authority on their own experience.
Through examples and reflective activities, participants will develop practical ways to notice their own interpretive lens, ask culturally responsive questions, and create space for clients to tell the story of their tray through their own eyes.
Registration & seats are limited
Because we value quality and interaction, space is limited. Secure your spot now.
What you’ll gain
- Eligible for CE credits (APT, NBCC, ASWB)
- Deepened competence in sandtray work
- Practical tools you can bring directly into your clinical work
A small‐group, interactive format that invites personal reflection and professional growth
Don’t wait!
Seats will fill quickly. If you’re interested in expanding your sandtray therapy toolkit — and in exploring the deep interplay of light and shadow in the therapeutic space — please register today.
We look forward to seeing you on August 28th for what promises to be a rich and transformative training.
Objectives:
- Identify ways that culture, identity, power, privilege and intersecting lived experiences may be represented explicitly or implicitly within a client’s sandtray and through play therapy.
- Apply reflexive practice and cultural humility to examine how the therapist’s own worldview, assumptions, social position and interpretations may influence their understanding of a client’s sandtray as well as in play therapy.
- Use culturally responsive inquiry and therapeutic responses that privilege the client’s meaning-making and support the therapist to hear and understand the story of the tray through the client’s eyes.
About Dr. Carmen Cubillo:
Dr. Carmen Cubillo is a clinical psychologist & Registered Play Therapist Supervisor passionate about supporting children and families through trauma & healing informed care, play therapy, and early intervention. She has worked extensively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, ensuring culturally safe and healing-centered approaches. With experience in programs like Let’s Start Exploring Together, Parents Under Pressure, School-based Play Therapy Intensives, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Child Parent Relationship Therapy, she helps parents’ children and families build resilience and emotional well-being. Dr. Cubillo also trains and supervises therapists, sharing her expertise in childhood trauma and therapeutic parenting. Based in the Darwin–Katherine region, she continues to advocate for accessible, high-quality mental health support for kids and families.
Winter 2027
Sandtray Play Therapy Ethics in a Changing World
with
Jeff Ashby, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S
Webinar via Zoom:
Friday, January 15, 2027
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CST
Ongoing clinical practice often contributes to a kind of ethical “drift”. In addition, telehealth, electronic records, artificial intelligence, social media, and other technological changes have offered new ethical challenges for Sandtray play therapists. Using case examples, discussion, sandtray, and lecture, participants in this workshop will consider how ethical codes are best applied to the practical world of play therapy practice. Special emphasis will be placed on developing professionals’ understanding of decision-making processes used in arriving at ethical courses of action in the context of a changing world.
Registration & seats are limited
Because we value quality and interaction, space is limited. Secure your spot now.
What you’ll gain
- Eligible for CE credits (APT, NBCC, ASWB)
- Deepened competence in sandtray work
- Practical tools you can bring directly into your clinical work
A small‐group, interactive format that invites personal reflection and professional growth
Don’t wait!
Seats will fill quickly. If you’re interested in expanding your sandtray therapy toolkit — and in exploring the deep interplay of light and shadow in the therapeutic space — please register today.
We look forward to seeing you on January 15th for what promises to be a rich and transformative training.
Objectives:
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- identify the primary models of ethical decision applied to sandtray play therapy
- describe the primary issues of informed consent in sandtray play therapy.
- explain how ethical decision-making models can apply to issues of competence in sandtray play therapy.
- identify how ethical decision-making models can apply to issues of confidentiality in sandtray play therapy.
About Jeff Ashby:
Dr. Jeff Ashby is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University, a licensed psychologist, a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology, and a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor. He is the former Chair of the Ethics Committee of the International Association of Play Therapy, a current Ethics Committee Member of the Georgia Psychological Association, and has taught ethics at the graduate level for a very long time. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Lucy and aging dog Zoey, is a mediocre but enthusiastic guitar player, and is slowly gaining competence with basic woodworking tools.
These online trainings are available to everyone, although members of IAST receive a significant discount on registration.
These trainings are part of the mission of IAST to promote quality trainings throughout the world to further the sandtray movement.
International Association for Sandtray Therapy (IAST) has been approved by APT as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, #25-767. Programs that do not qualify for APT Credit are clearly identified. IAST is solely responsible for all aspects of this program.
International Association for Sandtray Therapy (IAST) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7348. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. IAST is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
International Association for Sandtray Therapy (IAST), provider #1982, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 4/5/2025 – 4/5/2028.