EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™

Training for Practitioners.

Expand Consciousness, Integrate Trauma

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Reignite depth, presence and healing in your clinical practice.

You became a therapist to help others heal—yet you may find yourself yearning for something deeper.

EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ offers a transformative approach that weaves together the symbolic language of sandplay, the regulation of somatic therapy and the healing intelligence of the natural world.

This is more than a technique. It's a pathway to restore your own connection to the earth, your body and the unseen layers of psyche—so you can guide others with greater presence, depth and intuitive precision. Whether you're feeling professionally stagnant, burned out or simply ready to evolve, this training invites you to:

Reawaken your clinical creativity
Ground your work in the rhythms of nature and the body
Offer your clients profound access to integration through symbol, story and sensory experience

Come home to the work your soul came here to do.

Are you a therapist who’s feeling burnt out and seeking renewal, a somatic or nature-based practitioner ready to deepen into symbolic work, or someone drawn to earth-honouring, culturally sensitive ways of healing?

THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY.

EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ reconnects practitioners to what’s most alive, intuitive and grounded—so they can hold space for transformation with clarity and depth.

LET'S TAKE YOUR PRACTICE TO THE NEXT LEVEL...

INTRODUCING

EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™

This hybrid training offers an integrative, earth-honouring approach that weaves somatic, symbolic and ecological wisdom into clinical practice. Through immersive, experiential in-person and online learning, you'll deepen your capacity to hold trauma with sensitivity, engage the unconscious through symbolic play and restore your connection to the body and the natural world as co-facilitators in healing.

This Training Includes:

2 x In-Person Training Workshops

that provide hands-on experience in a supportive, nature-connected environment where you'll embody and practice the principles of EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™.

5 x Online Lectures

that deliver in-depth, theoretical teachings that you can engage with in real time or revisit at your own pace—offering both structure and flexibility as you integrate the foundations of EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ into your practice.

A Complete Resource Library

You'll receive downloadable slides, documents, recorded lectures and a comprehensive training manual—giving you ongoing support and reference tools to deepen your integration of EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™.

12-Month Access

Enjoy a full year of access to an easy-to-use online platform with all your course materials in one place. Revisit the content anytime and keep the work alive long after the training ends. I know your time is precious—everything you need will be right at your fingertips, ready when you are.

Program Overview

WELCOME MODULE - Online

Welcome to EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ Training

You signed up, you're excited, but you're not sure what's next... that's okay, I've got you. This is where you arrive, get acquainted, take a deep breath and check out all there is on offer to support you throughout this training through the online program site. Like good therapy, this module will support you to arrive, orient and ground.

You'll receive:

A Welcome Video
Your ESST™ Roadmap and Training Calendar
Your ESST™ Orientation Guide
Your first 3 Carefully Crafted BONUSES!

MODULE 01 - In-Person

3-Day Introduction to ESST™

Step into the multidimensional world of sand and symbols. This module lays the foundation—exploring the history, theory and transformative power of sand therapy to ground your practice in wisdom and wonder.

Module Highlights:

Ancient Traditions' use of Earth, Image and Metaphor
Cultural Safety and 'Dadirri'
Pioneers of Sand Therapy
Definitions and Differences between Sand Therapy, Sandplay and Sandtray
Live Demonstration
Immersion in the Sand - Client/Facilitator Practice

MODULE 02 - Online

The 8 Important Elements of ESST™

This module unpacks eight elements that make this modality unique—offering a powerful framework to integrate nature, psyche and soma into your practice.

Module Highlights:

The Nature of Sand
The Element of Water
The Power of Symbols
The Importance of the Tray
The 'Free and Protected' Space
The Connection to 'Felt Sense'
Nature as Ally
Your Role as an Embodied Presence

MODULE 03 - Online

The Magical World of Symbology

Symbols act as a bridge between the conscious and unconscious, offering a powerful connection to the transpersonal aspects of the self. They speak in the language of the soul—evoking the essence of who we are and revealing our deepest desires, longings and fears. In this module, you’ll explore how symbols can catalyse transformation and create a living dialogue with the psyche, supporting the unfolding of your most authentic inner world.

Module Highlights:

The Concept and Definition of a Symbol
The Healing Power of Symbology
Active Imagination + Story Telling
Living a Symbolic Life

MODULE 04 - Online

The Science Behind ESST™

Interpersonal Neurobiology shows how trauma shapes the brain and body. In this module, you’ll explore what supports healing, integration and lasting change.

Module Highlights:

The 6 Types of Trauma
Trauma and Neurobiology
Explicit and Implicit Memory
The Left and Right Hemispheres of the Pre-Frontal Cortex
The Importance of Integration
Polyvagal Theory and Blended States
Play, Imagination and Creativity
How EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ Supports Trauma Integration

MODULE 05 - Online

The Embodied ESST™ Practitioner

This module prepares you to become a grounded, attuned guide, cultivating somatic presence, interoception and core regulation tools for deep therapeutic work.

Module Highlights:

Preparation to Become an EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ Practitioner
The Role of the EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ Practitioner
Presence & Somatic Coherence
The Fertile Void & Dual Awareness
Interoception and the 'Felt Sense'
The 10 Somatic Regulation Tools
The 5 Somatic Pathways to the Unconscious
Bonus #4 - "Somatic Intelligence: The 7 Key Somatic Skills You Need to be an Embodied Presence"

MODULE 06 - Online

Nature as Ally

In this Module you'll explore how the natural world can be engaged as a co-regulator, mirror and guide in the therapeutic process. Nature offers living symbols—stones, branches, soil, feathers—that become powerful elements in the sand therapy process, deepening meaning and reconnecting clients to their inner and outer landscapes.

Module Highlights:

Working with Natural Materials in the Tray
Nature as Co-Regulator
Eco-symbolism and the Psyche
Client-Therapist-Nature Relationship
Eco-Somatic Rituals and Fieldwork

MODULE 07

Three Day In-Person Workshop

This closing in-person workshop is a sacred space to gather, ground and integrate everything you've learned throughout the EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ journey. Held on land that invites deep presence and reciprocity, this immersive workshop brings together somatic, symbolic and ecological threads, allowing your personal and professional insights to take root.

Over three nourishing days, you'll engage in live sandtray sessions, nature-based ritual and group reflection that deepens your confidence and clarity as a practitioner. Through embodiment, shared ceremony and supervision, we'll honour the transformation that's unfolded and anchor your unique expression of this work. You'll leave not only with refined skills, but with a felt sense of belonging - to the earth, your practice and a wider web of meaning.

What Others
Have Experienced

BE INSPIRED

"Monique lives and breathes her depth expertise in sand therapy. Her workshops invite you into this knowing, via a learning process that is accessible, experiential and curated to support deepening understanding and capacity across the course modules.

Sand-based experiential explorations bring theory and literature to life. As you personally engage with the therapeutic process, both as an inquirer and companion, thoughts transition to felt knowing.

Paced workshops, and an immediacy of Monique's presence during the skills development sessions provide an evolving context in which emergent experiences can be understood. One of the most significant learning moments arises when you experience the deep connection to Self that occurs as you move into engagement with sand and symbols. The shift is physical as much as it is emotional, or psychological. The knowing that something has occurred. Then, the opportunity to witness this process as it unfolds for others.

Monique provides a beautifully designed and facilitated program of study that invites your own experience as part of your learning and readies you to share the rich therapeutic process with others".

Dr Trudy Flynn, Program Coordinator, Master of Counselling, University of the Sunshine Coast, Qld

"I found this training invaluable, both personally and professionally. I enjoyed the content on trauma, the time spent in the sand, the group dynamic and the opportunity to watch change and growth in all participants. Monique has the remarkable ability to hold the group with clear boundaries to create a beautiful sense of safety so everyone could learn. Monique's style and ability is world class. She creates an opening for deep learning and a desire to learn more. Thank you Monique for so openly sharing this modality and creating a warm, safe learning environment. I feel so appreciative and thankful".

Jane Ashton, Equine Assisted Therapist

Transform Your Practice.

By weaving the ecological, somatic and symbolic, your therapeutic work will deepen in both presence and potency. You'll move beyond talk-based approaches and into a way of working that honours the body's wisdom, the earth's intelligence and the healing power of symbol and story.

Expect your sessions to become more grounded, intuitive and creatively alive. You’ll feel more resourced and regulated as a practitioner, with tools that support not just your clients' nervous systems—but your own. With EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™, your practice becomes a sanctuary where nature is not just a backdrop, but an active ally in the healing journey.

We Offer Different Payment Plans

CHOOSE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

1 Payment of

$3,000

Paid In Full

2 x 3-Day In-Person Workshops
5 x Live Online Lectures
4 x Carefully Crafted Bonuses
Downloadable Slides, Documents, Recordings and Manuals
Easy to Use App

6 Payments of

$550

Paid Monthly

2 x 3-Day In-Person Workshops
5 x Live Online Lectures
4 x Carefully Crafted Bonuses
Downloadable Slides, Documents, Recordings and Manuals
Easy to Use App

IN ADDITION

Included with This Course Are These Amazing Bonuses!

1st Bonus

Setting up Your EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ Room: All the tips & tricks to having a counselling room your clients will love.

What You'll get:

An overview of spatial and environmental factors that create a sense of safety
A categorised list of symbols and where to find them
Sandtray, sand and shelving specifications
A list of extra equipment to support your sessions

2nd Bonus

Photographing and Documenting Trays: How to Capture Your Client's Internal World.

What You'll Get:

A comprehensive guide to Photographing and Documenting Client Sessions
Where to position the camera and what to photograph
Close-ups and buried symbols
Why this is important

3rd Bonus

Professional Library Must-Haves: My personal list of recommended reading & resources to extend and consolidate your learning.

What You'll Get:

This essential reading and resources list gives book, chapter and podcast recommendations for each module of the training.

Your extremely valuable go-to resource guide for each module
A relevant resource you can return to again and again
A time-saving personalised reference guide to specific, relevant topics

4th Bonus

Somatic Intelligence: The 7 Key Somatic Skills You Need to be an Embodied Presence

What You'll Get:

Benefits of Somatic Intelligence to your therapeutic practice
The Zone of Emobodied Presence
Explanation of each skill and why it is important
Step-by-Step instructions to apply each skill

Hi! I'm Monique.

YOUR ECOSOMATIC SAND THERAPY™ GUIDE

I am the creator of EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ and am a registered Sand Therapist, Consultant and Trainer with the World Association of Sand Therapy Practitioners (WASTP). I have been offering post-graduate training and clinical supervision in this modality for professional Counsellors and Psychotherapists since 2008.

With a practice spanning over two decades, I’ve worked with clients of all ages using Sand Therapy and Expressive Therapies since 2002, and began integrating Somatic Experiencing® into my clinical work in 2017. I hold undergraduate qualifications in Education and Psychology and have completed two Master's degrees in Counselling and Behaviour Management. My training also includes Eco-Psychotherapy, Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy, Family Constellations, Circle of Security, Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples, NeuroAffective Touch®, ISHTA Yoga, Voice Dialogue and Jungian Sandplay Therapy.

As a bi-racial, inclusive and depth-oriented therapist, I am passionate about supporting personal excellence in therapeutic practice, uncovering the innate wisdom within every being and cultivating safe, conscious and kind relationships with those I have the privilege to accompany on the healing journey.

I know the path of integrating somatics, symbolism and nature into therapeutic work isn’t always straightforward. That’s why learning from someone who’s walked this path—who’s navigated the complexities, the missteps and the breakthroughs—can offer the clarity and guidance you need. This training is here to support your success and help you avoid the trial-and-error I had to move through to get here.

THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.

Additional
Testimonials

6 MONTHS FROM NOW THIS COULD BE YOU

"This training was so worth the investment. I have walked away with many valuable tools for working with my clients and for myself. I learned new knowledge and developed new hope for resolving trauma. I found the concept of trusting the process most useful. I am now kinder to myself and more able to allow the client to do their own work in the sand. Monique is safe, curious, accepting, informative, vulnerable, grounded, kind and knowledgable. This was the most enjoyable and informative training I have ever experienced. I felt safe in the experience, knowledge and passion Monique brings to this training and work. Monique, I am grateful that you offer your knowledge so generously and safely. You have the ability to hold a group of very different personalities so safely and enjoyably. It has felt connected and has changed me".

- Neisha Cass, Counsellor & Equine Assisted Therapist

"This training was whole-hearted, full-bodied and abundant. The highlight was the way Monique held each person with open hearted integrity. She delivered her knowledge with pure passion and reverence. I loved it all, especially the highly attuned observation skills. I now hold myself with so much more compassion. Monique it has truly been a privilege to be held within your gentle authenticity. This training was life and breath giving, a magnificent creation of work. Thank you for sharing your harvest, I go out with honour and plant seeds."

- Kellie Ermer McDonald, Child & Family Counsellor

This could be you!
Are you ready to transform your practice?

FOLLOW THESE THREE STEPS

Read Through the Program Details

Get familiar with what EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ offers—explore the modules, dates, location and what you'll receive to ensure this training aligns with your therapeutic path.

Register and Secure Your Place

Spots are limited to maintain an intimate and supported learning environment. Reserve your place by completing your registration and payment.

Check Your Email for Confirmation

Once registered, you'll receive a welcome email with everything you need to get started—including access to the course portal and next steps to prepare for your journey.

Registration Closes In:

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Frequently Asked Questions

ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE

Is this training accredited?

Who is this training suitable for?

What if I've done sand therapy training in the past?

What kind of support is available during the training?

What are the requirements for certification?

What materials or setup do I need?

Do I need prior training in Sand Therapy or Somatics?

What if I can’t attend one of the live sessions?

Why Now Is The Time.

The world is calling for a different kind of practitioner—one who works not only with the mind, but also with the body, the earth and the deep language of the soul. As collective nervous systems strain and burnout rises, clients are craving grounded, creative and regenerative approaches to healing.

EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ meets this moment.

By joining now, you align your practice with emerging therapeutic frontiers that are deeply relational, trauma-informed and rooted in nature’s wisdom. You’ll become part of a growing community of professionals who know that real healing includes the whole self—and the living world we’re part of.

The doors are open. The work is ready. And so are you.

Program Dates & Times - Alice Springs

The EcoSomatic Sand Therapy™ Training is delivered across six months with a blend of live online lectures and in-person immersive workshops.

In-Person Immersive Workshops

Workshop 1: Foundations & Immersion
May 30–June 1 | Mparntwe (Alice Springs)
Workshop 2: Integration, Ritual & Celebration
September 26–28 | Mparntwe (Alice Springs)

Each 3-day, in-person workshop runs from 9:00am–5.00pm.

Live Online Lecture Series

5 x Online Modules – via Zoom
Thursdays | 6:00–9:00pm ACST
Dates:

Module 2: 12 June
Module 3: 26 June
Module 4: 10 July
Module 5: 24 July
Module 6: 7 August

Live sessions will be recorded and available via the course app for ongoing access.