After years of study, it became clear that there was limited access to professional Sand Play Training in the State of New Jersey, as well as a perception that formal Sand Play Therapy Training was too costly, required extensive travel, and was too time-consuming to pursue. Gretchen felt that all Healing Arts professionals should have the ability to access training in Sand Play so that this culturally sensitive, client-centered healing technique could be available to clients everywhere.

In 2005 Gretchen created a comprehensive Sand Play Therapy Training Program with the mission of bringing Sand Play to clinicians and clients throughout the Tri-State area. This type of training is informed by Depth Psychology, Play Therapy (directive and non-directive), Developmental Process, Trauma Theory, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Mindfulness, and Trauma Sensitive Yoga.  This multifaceted approach to teaching Sand Play Therapy also stresses the need for experiential training in order to best develop practical skills.

In 2017, on one of her many trips to Costa Rica, Gretchen co-created Equine Facilitated Sand Play Therapy with her colleague Sally Nilsson.  This technique combines Equine Facilitated Learning with Sand Play Therapy in order to offer a profound (and some say “life-changing”) level of healing.  Gretchen is now training professionals in Costa Rica in the Certificate in Sand Play Therapy Program and the popular Healing the Healers retreat that utilizes Equine Facilitated Sand Play Therapy to combat burnout in professionals in the healing arts.  The Lighthouse Certificate in Sand Play Therapy training is the only Sand Play Program in Central America approved for Continuing Education by NBCC and the NASW-NJ CE Collaborative. The extensive feedback we have received from clinicians who have received training from Lighthouse-approved facilitators is that they have easily incorporated Sand Play into their existing therapeutic milieus.

Training in Sand Play

For professionals interested in learning Sand Play Therapy, we offer several levels of instruction, from beginner to advanced. Training at Lighthouse Counseling & Sand Play Training Center, LLC uses a small group experiential format (14 or fewer participants) and is hosted in an aesthetically pleasing and comfortable space. To deepen your Sand Play Therapy education, we also offer individual and group Sand Play Supervision.

Lighthouse Counseling & Sand Play Training Center, LLC offers the only Certificate In Sand Play Program in New Jersey that is approved for Continuing Education by both the NJ CE Collaborative and NBCC.  Additionally, Lighthouse offers the only Sand Play Training Certificate program in all of Central America.  Gretchen is the owner and founder of the Center and creator of the Lighthouse Sand Play Training curriculum.

The Lighthouse Sand Play Training curriculum is now offered in two sites: Eatontown, New Jersey, and La Fortuna, Costa Rica.

***If you are interested in a purely Jungian approach to training in Sand Play Therapy, The Lighthouse Sand Play Therapy Technique is not for you.  We have heard good feedback about Barbara A. Turner, Ph.D. who is located in Hot Springs, Arkansas.***

Presenters

Gretchen Morgan MSW, LCSW, along with Lighthouse affiliates have trained over 4000 clinicians in Sand Play Therapy since 2005 (both nationally and internationally). Gretchen is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, former adjunct professor in Graduate Level Social Work Programs (Monmouth University), and is a Registered Clinical Supervisors with the State of New Jersey. Gretchen has had articles published about Sand Play Therapy and has undergone over hundreds of hours of personal Sand Play Therapy Training, supervision, and personal process work. Additionally, she has had over 200 hours in training in trauma and body-centered psychotherapy (including EMDR, Thought Field Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Trauma Sensitive Yoga, and 75+ hours of training with Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.).

Toni Zachos-Kaplan, MSW, LCSW, Heather Koenigsfest, LPC, ACS, Joana Couto LPC, Bill Heath, LCSW and Sara Abbatiello, LCSW (NJ facilitators) are graduates of the Certificate in Sand Play Training Program and are seasoned clinicians, trainers, and supervisors.