Participants of Lucy Barbera's Trauma-Informed Creative Art Therapy Workshop Program can register on this page for NY State SW, LCAT, LMFT, LMHC approved CE credit certificate through Expressive Therapies Summit for 30 CE credits. 

Click here for more information and to register for the full program.

Sandplay Therapy Training Program: Antidote to Trauma

Spring 2026
HYBRID Facilitation: LIVE in PERSON in Kingston, NY and simultaneously over ZOOM

“Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood, and untreated cause of human suffering.”  
 – Peter Levine, PhD

In this training clinicians will learn how to use Sandplay Therapy in tandem with the other expressive art therapies to help mitigate trauma and assist in healing and recovery.

Sandplay Therapy helps clients who have experienced trauma to express what their words alone cannot express. Because play (as sacred ritual) is a symbolic language, then “unspeakable” trauma can be safely accessed, witnessed, transformed, and healed. The sensory and elemental nature of the sand adds a tactile experience that assists in adding relaxation and peace to the  experience for the client, by creating a “safe and protected” space for healing the emotional and psychological wounds of trauma.

Sandplay Therapy is particularly effective to use with traumatized clients because the process requires no prior artmaking/image-making experience. Looking at the figures and the placement that the client “constellates” in the Sand Tray, hearing the “Sand Story”, and witnessing the healing  messages  within each tableau created by their clients, clinicians will  learn to  access, through the symbols used, the client’s inner  experience,  including their conflicts, hopes, dreams, strengths,  synthesis, and  solutions.

The Sandplay Therapy Training Program: Antidote to Trauma workshop is open to mental health professionals, human-service providers, teaching artists, and educators who want to understand the neuroscience of trauma and the vital role the creative arts therapies play in mitigating the negative effects of trauma.

WHAT:  The Sandplay Therapy Training Program: Antidote to Trauma workshop consists of 30 Training hours and 6 built-in hours for one make-up day, should that be necessary for any reason.

DATES: January 10th & 24th, February 7th & 21st, March 7th & 21st, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (1:00 pm-2:00 pm lunch break) 
Program participants must complete 30 out of the 36 hours to receive certificate.

WHERE: This Program will be conducted face-to-face in the Creative Arts Therapy Studio, in Kingston, New York & via ZOOM simultaneously!

Training Cost: $950 (to register for workshop follow this link)
(Payment can be made in 2 installments: one half to hold your space and the second half is due on the first day of the program). Cost includes: All ART SUPPLIES (mailed to you if you are not attending in person)

Presenter Info
Lucy Barbera, PhD, LCAT, is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, whose clinical work spans the medical, psychiatric, and special education settings, as a Creative Arts Therapist, Art Teacher, and Special Education Principal. For over twenty years, Dr. Barbera has served on the faculty of The Humanistic Multicultural Education Graduate Program, at SUNY, New Paltz, where she developed and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Expressive Arts Therapy and Expressive Arts Leadership & Social Justice.  
Dr. Barbera is the Founder of the Trauma-Informed Creative Arts Therapy Certificate Program, at U Albany’s School of Social Welfare and an Associate Faculty Member of The Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy Program, founded by Dr. Natalie Rogers. Dr. Barbera lectures widely on the healing power of the arts, and curates exhibitions of patient/client expressive art, bringing awareness of the healing power of the arts to the community. Dr. Barbera maintains a private practice in Creative Arts Therapy, using a trauma-informed approach to creative arts therapies.

Continuing Education       
Individuals must attend the entire event to receive continuing education. Partial credit is not available. Additional requirements regarding enrollment, documentation and eligibility may apply. 

Individuals are encouraged to check with their licensing boards and guilds to determine if this learning activity will be accepted for continuing education credit. 

Continuing Education Certificate - Course Completion certificates will be awarded at the end of the course in exchange for a completed evaluation form. Individuals who successfully complete the program will receive a certificate for 30 continuing education credit hours.  This certificate may be submitted to your state’s licensure or certification board for their consideration in meeting renewal requirements.

NEW YORK STATE SOCIAL WORKERS

Expressive Therapies Summit, SW CPE #0730 has received approval from the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work to offer continuing education to licensed social workers. The Department may subsequently notify the provider that a particular course or courses is/are not acceptable.   

NEW YORK STATE MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS

Expressive Therapies Summit is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-010262.

NEW YORK STATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS

The Expressive Therapies Summit is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists.#MFT-0110.

NEW YORK STATE LICENSED CREATIVE ARTS THERAPISTS

The Expressive Therapies Summit is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0105.

Continuing Education: Individuals must attend the entire event to receive continuing education. Partial credit is not available. Additional requirements regarding enrollment, documentation and eligibility may apply.