USA & International Training
Upcoming Trainings:
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Costa Rica
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Several years ago on one of her many trips to Costa Rica, Gretchen met Sally Nilsson, an English expat who was a retired attorney living out her dream of working with horses and providing Coaching services for corporate clients. They hypothesized one night over dinner, that allowing the horses to interact with the builder during the sand play process could amplify the impact of the work. They decided to give it a try, and set up the sand play miniatures and sand trays in the barn the next morning to see what would happen. What they witnessed was truly magical - the horses took to the process so naturally, and it almost felt like they were thinking, "finally, we can communicate with you with these symbols!"
The next few years Sally and Gretchen trained many groups using Equine Facilitation either through the Certificate in Sand Play Training component parts in Costa Rica, speaking at conferences or hosting the popular Healing the Healers retreat. In addition, Sally has incorporated Equine Facilitated Sand Play with her coaching clients and Equine Facilitated Learning sessions.
The Covid shut down impacted the training trajectory for two years and then Gretchen was dealing with the loss of Mary Pat in 2022, and Sally spent the past year building her beautiful new
Now, they are ready to offer the Equine Facilitated Sand Play Training again, and have scheduled the first one for
February 19-24, 2025 with Toni co-facilitating and Joana and Bill providing support.
It is our understanding that this is the only Equine Facilitated Sand Play Training offered in the world, and they will only be offering it once in 2025. No prior horse experience is required to attend.
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1) Any mental health professional or student who is interested in completing the Certificate in Sand Play though Lighthouse
(these folks must take the Introduction to Sand Play Training at Lighthouse first in order to receive the Certificate).
2) Any EFL, EAL, PATH, EAP or EAGALA candidate or graduate who is interested in learning about using Sand Play with horses in their practice.
3) Any mental health professional, student or coach who is interested in deepening their skills in or understanding the use of Equine Facilitated Sand Play.
4) Any past attendee or graduate of the Certificate Program who is interested in a refresher course in Sand Play or to finally get to experience using sand play with the horses.
5) Any person who wants to spend 5 nights recalibrating themselves in beautiful Costa Rica surrounded by nature, animals and peace.
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All deposits must be received by October 15, 2024 in order to participate. We are limiting enrollment to 12 people.
There are two double rooms that will be available at a discounted rate.
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for NBCC and NJ Social Work Collaborative
Healing The Healers
This course, Healing the Healers: Using Equine Facilitated Sand Play Therapy to Identify, Treat and Prevent Burn-Out, Approval #180608-425R, provided by Lighthouse Counseling & Sand Play Training Center, LLC is approved for continuing education by the New Jersey Social Work Continuing Education Approval Collaborative, which is administered by NASW-NJ. CE Approval Collaborative Approval Period: Monday, June 1, 2020 through August 31, 2022. New Jersey social workers will receive 36 Clinical & Social/Cultural Competence CE credits for participating in this course. This course is also approved for 36 Continuing Education Credits through NBCC, ACEP #6253.
We will be addressing compassion fatigue, burnout, and self-care in this week-long gathering.
HEALING THE HEALERS is open to Social Workers, Equine Specialists, Doctors, Psychologists, Counselors, Yoga Practitioners, Massage Therapists, Speech & Language Therapists, Life Coaches, Occupational & Physical Therapists, Mental Health Students, Acupuncturists and all other Healing Arts Professionals.
Future dates to be announced.
Sand Play Training Internationally
In 2018, Gretchen began offering the popular Certificate in Sand Play Training curriculum internationally. Multiple location’s that will allow for intensive week-long Introduction, Intermediate and Advanced Sand Play training instead of the typical monthly format that is offered in NJ. Additionally, the international training can include unique adventures like horse riding, zip lining and trips to hot springs, etc. Participants in our NJ locations can opt to blend both the intensive modules in interntionally with monthly courses so they can have a range of training experience.
Soon we will be offering special topics sand play for equine specialist, coaches and mental health professionals.
Future dates to be announced.
Intensive Equine Facilitated Sand Play Therapy Workshops:
In 2018, Gretchen (along with Sally Nilsson), created Equine Facilitated Sand Play Therapy, an intensive healing modality that combines Equine Facilitated Learning with Sand Play Therapy. This new treatment approach can be used to amplify workshop experiences for professional groups as well as be incorporated into an individual, marital or family treatment plan. This is an excellent modality for those who feel “stuck” in their current psychotherapy or for those with a history of complex trauma. When Gretchen is on site, EMDR can also be included.