PolyVagal in the Tray: Bringing the Nervous System to Life Through Sand Tray

About this training

Watch a Real Class At Your Own Pace Older children, teens, and adults can benefit enormously from understanding their own nervous system, but a lecture rarely lands. This 4-hour play therapy training shows you how to use sand tray and other experiential prompts to make Polyvagal Theory come alive for your clients. You will learn directive play therapy based sand tray activities designed to help clients see, feel, and explore their states of activation and regulation, build insight into how their body responds to stress, and begin to practice new patterns. These play therapy activities work beautifully with skeptical teens, creative adults, and any client who needs a more tangible way to "get" what is happening inside them. This is not a moment-to-moment co-regulation course; it focuses on giving your clients lasting nervous system literacy through hands-on experiences, while also weaving in therapist self-care practices so you stay inspired and grounded. How This Training Can Help YOU ☀️ Bring Polyvagal Theory to life. Learn how to translate complex nervous system concepts into visual, experiential exercises your clients can immediately connect with. ☀️ Help clients recognize and shift their states. Use play therapy based sand tray and symbolic tools to guide clients in identifying activation, regulation, and freeze responses and finding their own pathways back to safety. ☀️ Support hard-to-reach clients. Discover creative play therapy based approaches that open up insight and engagement for teens and adults who struggle to connect through talk alone. ☀️ Stay grounded yourself. Explore simple, therapist-centered practices that keep you regulated, creative, and connected as you guide clients through this work. ☀️. Leave with play therapy based tools you can use right away. Gain practical, directive activities you can easily integrate into trauma, anxiety, or stress-focused sessions. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this 4 CE course, participants will be able to: 🍎 Describe the different parts of the nervous system essential to Polyvagal Theory and how to explain them to older children, teens, and adults. 🍎 Explain how experiential sandtray activities can be used to teach nervous system awareness rather than immediate in-session regulation. 🍎 Identify at least five directive sandtray prompts for exploring and mapping different nervous system states with clients. 🍎 Demonstrate ways to integrate psychoeducation, reflection, and symbolic sandtray work to build clients’ nervous system literacy. 🍎 Apply self-care strategies from the training to support your own regulation and creativity as a play therapist.