Discovering Depth in the Sand: My Experience at Expressive Arts Sand Tray Therapy Training

Over Easter weekend, I made a decision that I initially regretted just a little—I signed up for a beginning expressive arts sand tray therapy training. At first, I was slightly bitter about giving up a holiday weekend, but looking back now, I’m so grateful I did. It turned out to be one of the most enriching and inspiring experiences I've had in my professional journey so far.

The training was led by none other than the legendary John Burr. This was my second training with him, and once again, he completely blew me away with his depth of knowledge and his thoughtful, compassionate approach to the work. I honestly feel so lucky to be able to learn from someone who brings such wisdom and authenticity to the room.

Before this, I’d only done a brief introduction to sand tray therapy, so I was thrilled to dive deeper during this two-day immersion. If you’ve never attended a therapy training, let me give you a peek behind the curtain—it’s intense. The facilitator often invites you (aka strongly encourages you) to get vulnerable, often with people you’ve never met before. And not just once. Again, and again, and again. It’s raw. It’s real. And it’s incredibly cathartic.

As therapists, we often talk about “doing the work”—and this training was absolutely that. A good therapist knows they need to keep growing, healing, and learning. This weekend was a powerful reminder of that. I had the chance to experience sand tray therapy both as a client and as a therapist, and the impact of that dual perspective was profound. It’s one thing to learn the theory—it’s another to feel it.

Yes, I also learned a lot of technical, maybe even “boring” stuff—dimensions of trays, types of sand, miniature selection, and so on. But honestly? I’m so excited about all of it. So excited, in fact, that I’ve already asked my husband to build me a sand tray for my office so I can start incorporating this beautiful modality into my work with clients.

This training not only helped me deepen my skill set—it reignited my passion. I’m already looking forward to continuing with more sand tray trainings in the future to keep building my expertise.

If you’re a client of mine, I hope you’ll be open to exploring this with me when the time feels right. Sand tray therapy creates a space for expression beyond words—a way to access the deeper parts of our stories that may not always be easy to speak aloud.

Here’s to growth, vulnerability, and a little bit of magic in the sand.

—Curious about sand tray therapy or want to learn more about how it might support your healing journey? Feel free to reach out—I’d love to share more.