BISS Training Programme
The Training Programme is based in London. Training seminars take place in the form of weekend modules all of which must be completed. This modular structure is designed to facilitate participants from Ireland and across Britain to attend.
The Training Programme currently requires the completion of 150 hours of theoretical teaching applied to sandplay practice. The course itself offers 100 hours of training and the remaining 50 may be gained through attendance at national and international conferences and any additional training days, with the proviso that they are offered by ISST/BISS Teaching Members.
The British and Irish Sandplay Society (BISS), under the umbrella of the International Society of Sandplay Therapy (ISST), initiated by Dora Kalff (1980), the founder of Jungian Sandplay, holds that Sandplay typically leads children, adolescents, and adults to the restructuring and experiencing of their personalities. In approaching the sand tray, individuals are invited to find objects within the room that they would like to use in their image in the sand. The sequence of these images evolves into a fusion of life experiences, the psychic imagination, and opening channels to unconscious resources.
Jungian Sandplay is a creative path of evolution in the sand, connecting the individual to ‘the most profound connection to the centre within, the source of the human spirit’ (Kalff. 1980). Jung (1963) has said that symbols (as can be amplified in the Sandplay images) are the remedy that has been associated with healing effects from time immemorial.
We are currently planning the next training cycle
For further information on the application process please contact our admin on bisssandplay@protonmail.com
To gain full membership (BISS/ISST)
Two written symbol papers need to be completed, the first from reference material and the second from case material. In addition, 80 hours of supervsion of clinical practice in sandplay. Supervison may be completed on an indivdual basis or may include a limited maximum number of group supervison hours as specificed by ISST. Working with clients in Sandplay may only commence after forty theoretical hours of training and after the first written symbol paper has been passed. Supervision must be with a Teaching Member of ISST.
The final step to membership is the preparation of a written and illustrated Case Study, under guidance of an advisor (who may also be your supervisor). On completion this will also be submitted to three International Readers, at least one of whom must be a BISS Teaching Member, and if accepted will lead to membership of BISS and ISST.