Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association (HKSTA)

This symbol study of dog was originally planned to hold in February. Because of the global health crisis, we need to make changes and we will now have the meeting online in April.

The dog is the first domesticated animal and is commonly associated with loyalty and vigilance. Often acting as guardian and protector, dogs are portrayed as guides and companions. In sandplay therapy, dog unusally represents an instinct which is easy to integrate and even can be assimilated. Other than her own research on the symbol, Chris will use the Journal article: “The Dog: Guide, Guardian and Soul Mate” by Jellemieke Hees-Stauthamer” (you can find the article in our online resource library). She will also use Barbara Hannah’s book “The Cat, Dog and House Lectures and The Beyond” for her presentation. If you do not have a copy of this book, it is worth ordering one:
https://www.bookdepository.com/Barbara-Hannah-Cat-Dog-Horse-Lectures-Barbara-Hannah/9780933029590?ref=grid-view&qid=1579837510547&sr=1-1
Carmen will use her clinical cases to illustrate the symbol. She will present a six year old boy who have fear in moving to his new stage of development and we will see the significance of the dog symbol in his process.

HKSTA April 2020 Study Group
Symbol Study: Dog
Presenters: Chris Cheung Yee Ping (Chris is an educational psychologist working in local schools and she is also a practitioner using therapeutic play skills in her clinical work) and Carmen Cheuk (Carmen is an Associate Member since the inaugruation of HKSTA in 2011 and she is a Play Therapist specializing in working with children).
Date: 17 April, 2020 (Friday)
Time: 8:00 – 10:00pm (we will meet online)

This study group is only opened to members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

We will look into the individuation process in the recent famous movie, Frozen 2 in our March Study Group. Unlike traditional hero journey, Frozen 2 is a modern shift from the romantic classical film of the 1940s and 50s, such as Snow White and Cinderella of Disney, to the platonic “sisterly” love that takes the hero through their journey. The heroine’s journey of Elsa started with answering the mystical voice, as a symbol of the collective unconscious and risked the plunge, then completed the individuation process.

Individuation, according to the C.G. Jung describes the psychological process of inner growth, centralization where the individual find its own self. Jung indicates that it is the process of forming and specializing the individual nature. In particular, it is the development of the psychological individual as a differentiated being from the general collective psychology. Individuation, therefore, is a process of differentiation, having for its goal the development of the individual personality. (C.G. Jung, C.W., Vol. 6, para 757)

Topic: The Individuation Process in Frozen 2
Presenter: May LIU
Date: 25 March , 2020 (Wednesday)
Time : 8:00-9:00pm (After 9th AGM)
Language: Cantonese

Note: Please watch the Movie Frozen 2 before attending the study group if possible

In this study group, we will discuss the symbolic expressions, the process of the separation and integration through acknowledging and accepting the shadow of heroine journey towards the individuation process in the movie. We will use the following four articles in the discussion and you can find them in our Dropbox Resource Library.

Articles:

1. Book Chapter: “The Twofold Movement of Individuation” in The Principle of Individuation by Murray Stein, 2006.

2. Disney’s Frozen 2 Reveals a Shift in the Collective Unconscious by Hila Hershkoviz

3. Elsa’s Heroine’s Journey Completed – Archetypal Symbolism in “Frozen 2” by Valerie Estelle

4. Let It Go: Revising ‘The Princess Story’ in Disney’s Frozen by Dikaia Gavala

This study group is only opened to members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

HKSTA Study Group will meet online due to the public health crisis caused by the coronavirus. In order to minimize the risk of infection and safeguard the health of our members, we will have our first online study group in February 28. We will use zoom to hold the meeting.

If you plan to join the study group and do not have a zoom account, please download the software in the link below:
https://zoom.us/download

Please also familiar yourself with how to join a meeting and we will send you a link when we confirm your participation in the Study Group:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting

In this Study Group Bobby will share a clinical case of a boy who suffered from life threatening illness in our Study Group. He will also use a journal article “Glimpsing Sacred Mountain: A brief Sandplay process of a Boy with Cancer.” by Kate Amatruda in our discussion. You can download the article from our Dropbox resource library.

Suffering from life threatening illness can be a terrifying experience, especially for a young boy who had lived in hospital for chemotherapy for over a year. After returning to school, he had to face the threat of relapse and prolong sickness due to side effects of medication. Bobby will show us how Sandplay Therapy has helped him to recover and dealt with suffering. Bobby will also explore transference issues and symbolic expression during his sandplay therapy process.

Topic: Sandplay process with Children who have life threatening illness
Presenter: Bobby Fung
Date: 28 February , 2020 (Friday)
Time : 7:00-9:00pm
Language: Cantonese

This presentation was originally scheduled to be held in January and had been postponed. The February one which will explored the symbol of dog will re-scheduled to April 2020.

This study group is only opened to members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

In December’s study group, Ruby Mui will lead us to study a book chapter from how Sandplay heals trauma from a neuropsychological perspective, wrote by L Freedle. The non-verbal, depth oriented, and multi-sensory nature of Sandplay Therapy serves safe and direct access to trauma and an experiential means to work through it. Through sand touching and moving, free playing, symbolizing and self reflection in the presence of an attuned therapist, multiple brain systems are activated for healing and transformation. Four features of Sandplay therapy that support neural integration are reviewed, they are relational safety, somatosensory engagement, symbolic expression of the trauma narrative, and mindful participation. The author of the book chapter also presented her case to illustrate the concepts. The study group will be run in Cantonese.

Topic: Healing Trauma Through Sandplay Therapy: A Neuropsychological Perspective
Facilitator: Ruby Mui, PsyD
Date: 16 December, 2019 (Monday)
Time : 7:00-9:00pm
Venue: Rm301, 3/F, David House, 8-20, Nanking Street, Jordan, Kowloon

This study group is only opened to members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

We will look at the symbol of “tomb” in our November Study Group. This presentation concerns the topic of death in general and the symbol of the tomb in particular. An overview of the topic will be given first, including an explanation of death as a process of transformation according to mythical sources. Various symbols of death and how they might appear in the sand will then be introduced, after which the clinical material from several cases will be reviewed and discussed.

November 2019 Study Group
Symbol Study: Tomb
Presenters: Adrian Davis (Play Therapist and Art Therapist; Lecturer, Social Work Programme, Macao Polytechnic Institute) and Mimi Tung (Registered Art Therapist and Marriage & Family Therapist)
Date: 25 November 2019 (Monday)
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Language: English
Venue: The Progression Psychological Practice, Season Commercial Building, 5/F., 3 Humphreys Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (TST MTR Exit A2)

This study group is only opened to the members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

The witch is a captivating presence in sandplay process and it is frequently used by our clients. In our October Study Group, we will inquire into the symbol of the witch guiding by Mrs. Kitty Liu. The witch symbol connects us to the power of the feminine, the feminine intellect and spirit. It is primordial in its force and authoritative in its wisdom. Study materials will be drawn mainly from the book The Witch and The Clown: Two Archetypes of Human Sexuality by Ann and Barry Ulanov. This book is really worthwhile to keep and if you do not have a copy, you can order one from the link below:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Witch-Clown-Ann-Ulanov/9780933029071?ref=grid-view&qid=1566110974111&sr=1-2

Kitty will use clinical cases material and a few sand trays from the clients will be shown to facilitate understanding.

Presenter: Mrs. Kitty Liu (An Associate Member of HKSTA, and she is a Psychological Counselor in private practice)
Date and time: 23 October, 2019 Wednesday, 7-9 pm
Venue: Youngland Workshop (青緻工作室), Unit A, 7th Floor, Wing Lok Building, 160 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan (Sheung Wan MTR Exit A1, within 10 min-walk)

This study group is only opened to the members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

Sand tray is an indispensable component of Sandplay Therapy. A wooden box with its size at 28.5 x 19.5 inches with a depth of 3 inches. It is painted blue inside and contains sand. Besides its physical dimension, what more do you know about this basic component of Sandplay Therapy?

In our September Study Group, we are going to study this basic element of Sandplay Therapy through our hands and brains. For our hands, we will make a mini sand tray which could become an additional figurine in our collection. For our brains, we are going to look into the history of sand tray to review pioneers who used sand tray in their therapeutic work and how they influenced the development of Sandplay Therapy. More importantly, we will go to examine what does the sand tray mean to the therapist and the client. Cases illustration will be used in the process.

Title: Sand Tray
Presenters: Bobby Fung & Brenda Koo
Date: 19 September 2109 (Thursday)
Time: 7:00 – 9:00p.m.
Venue: 2/F, 67 Bedford Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon (Bobby’s office)
Fee: $20-30 (to share the cost of the materials)

This study group is only opened to members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

For our July 2019 study group, Dr. Tracy Wong will lead us exploring the symbolic meaning of timepiece (e.g. clocks, watches) and time. Time is often symbolized by the wheel, by the twelve signs of the Zodiac, describing the circle of life as they move round…the center of such circles is then regarded as the motionless aspect of existence, the pivot which makes the motion of existence possible, the one contrasting with the other like time with eternity.

We experienced time and timepiece since birth. We were given birth time, some parents tell their children not to disclose birth time as it contains secrets of one’s life, and wicked people may play black magic if they know your birthday and time. An old Chinese saying, if you peel an apple at 12 midnight in front of a mirror without breaking the skin, the face of your future spouse will appear in the mirror. In fairy tales, Cinderella has to leave the castle by 12 midnight or else the magic would be gone, and the very loyal Majordomo – was transformed into a pendulum clock etc. Time seems so magical, and timepiece, is the ‘magical tool’ containing this power. We will explore this symbol and sandplay case study will be used for illustration.

July 2019 Study Group
Title: Time and Timepiece
Presenter: Dr. Tracy Wong, Clinical Psychologist
Date: 29 July 2019 (Monday)
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Venue: The Progression Psychological Practice, Season Commercial Building, 5/F., 3 Humphreys Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (TST MTR Exit A2)

This study group is only opened to members of Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.