Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association (HKSTA)

20/08/2026

Training 🧑‍🏫 | Introduction to Sandplay Therapy and Jungian Symbolic Thinking

HKSTA is pleased to announce our new training event in November.

Date: November 29, 2026 (Sundays)
Time: 9:30AM - 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM - 5:30 PM (Hong Kong Time)
Mode: hybrid (online, in-person)
Location: YL Workspace, Rooms 903 & 905, Harvest Building, 29-35 Wing K*t Street, Central, Hong Kong (Sheung Wan MTR Exit E1)
Language: Cantonese, English
Facilitator: George Kwok (ISST Certified Sandplay Teaching Member)

For more information, please refer to the flyer or our official website.

Registration: https://forms.gle/CrP24FGgTucjM1p29 or via link in story/website

29/07/2026

🌟May Liu, our new ISST certified sandplay therapist

Dear HKSTA members,
We congratulate Ms. May Liu Yun Fung on becoming the eighth locally trained ISST Certified Sandplay Therapist in Hong Kong.

May is a Registered Social Worker at the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong and holds a Master's degree in Counseling. She is also a US Registered Play Therapist (RPT) and a Hong Kong Registered EMDR Therapist. Her clinical approach integrates structural therapeutic work with the symbolic healing of the unconscious. During her certification process, she was supervised and advised by Ms. Lenore Steinhardt.

May is an active member of HKSTA, dedicating her time to promoting sandplay therapy and supporting professional growth within the community. She has served on the Executive Committee for twelve years (2014–2026).

May has also contributed to the field's literature based on Jungian and Kalffian traditions. She authored her first symbol paper on the Greek Goddess, Artemis, and published a second symbol paper, "The birdcage in sandplay therapy: From confinement to freedom," in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Vol. 34, No. 2 (2025). Her final case study for certification, titled "Sandplay and the Alchemical Odyssey: A Ten-Year Passage from Matriarchal Containment to the Sovereign Masculine," documents a 10-year clinical process.

We are proud to celebrate this milestone with her. HKSTA supports members who are working toward certification and will continue to offer programs to facilitate this process.

Best regards,
Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association (HKSTA)




#香港沙遊治療學會

10/07/2026

Study Group 📖| August
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝟗-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦

Selective mutism is often understood as a behavioural anxiety disorder, yet Jungian sandplay therapy offers a deeper symbolic lens: silence may function as a protective defence for a vulnerable psyche and as an expression of developmental arrest or disconnection between the conscious ego and the unconscious.

Sandplay provides a non-verbal medium through which the muted voice can emerge through images, symbols, and archetypal patterns rather than direct speech. In the sand tray, figures may embody archetypal imagery that gives form to what cannot yet be articulated, while the tray itself becomes a symbolic stage where inner conflicts can be safely dramatized.

In this study group, the presenter will use case material from a 9-year-old boy with selective mutism to explore how sand tray images “speak,” how symbolic representations unfold across the sandplay journey, and what clinicians can observe when verbal expression is limited.

Event Details:
Date: August 11, 2026 (Tuesday)
Time: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Presenter: Sally Chan, ISST CST and TM
Fee: Free for HKSTA members | $100 for non-members

Registration: https://forms.gle/gFUU4rMZfdCspbkn9 or via link in bio/story
Registration deadline: 4 August 2026

07/07/2026

It was truly meaningful to revisit the "birdcage" imagery, this time exploring it through the fresh perspective of the mother complex. This represents a long and profound journey for both me and my client. I am deeply grateful for his trust and for his consent to share these valuable materials for clinical sharing and training.

【Reflection: Is there a birdcage in your heart, too? 🕊️】

Is a "birdcage" a warm shelter or a confining prison?

In our July Study Group, May LIU shared a profound 10-year sandplay therapy case. The young male client entered therapy with a heavy "mother complex." For a long time, his inner world was like a birdcage—trapped in a fossilized hesitation between longing for freedom and fearing being swallowed by his family's overwhelming maternal structure.

But life always finds a way. As therapy progressed, the "door" of his inner cage finally opened. It became a "transit station" where he developed a dual mindset of "security and curiosity." This allowed him to keep a safe retreat while actively breaking free from his family's arrangements to explore a life of his own.

Ultimately, the confining birdcage faded away, replaced by flexible personal boundaries. He successfully navigated the separation from his mother and stepped into adulthood with profound self-awareness and wisdom.

This 10-year journey of transformation asks us all a gentle question:

**Are we also ready to push open the door of that invisible birdcage in our hearts and fly bravely to the blue sky?** 🌱

07/07/2026

【Reflection: Is there a birdcage in your heart, too? 🕊️】

Is a "birdcage" a warm shelter or a confining prison?

In our July Study Group, May LIU shared a profound 10-year sandplay therapy case. The young male client entered therapy with a heavy "mother complex." For a long time, his inner world was like a birdcage—trapped in a fossilized hesitation between longing for freedom and fearing being swallowed by his family's overwhelming maternal structure.

But life always finds a way. As therapy progressed, the "door" of his inner cage finally opened. It became a "transit station" where he developed a dual mindset of "security and curiosity." This allowed him to keep a safe retreat while actively breaking free from his family's arrangements to explore a life of his own.

Ultimately, the confining birdcage faded away, replaced by flexible personal boundaries. He successfully navigated the separation from his mother and stepped into adulthood with profound self-awareness and wisdom.

This 10-year journey of transformation asks us all a gentle question:

**Are we also ready to push open the door of that invisible birdcage in our hearts and fly bravely to the blue sky?** 🌱

07/07/2026

【聽後反思：你的心裡，也有一座鳥籠嗎？🕊️】

「鳥籠」，是溫暖的保護，還是禁錮的牢籠？

在7月的研習小組中，May 分享了一個歷時十年的沙盤個案。這名年輕男性帶著沉重的「母親情結」來到治療中。在很長一段時間裡，他的內心就像一座鳥籠，在渴望自由與害怕被龐大母性結構吞沒之間，陷入了「走與不走」的化石化猶疑。

但生命總會找到出路。隨著時間推進，他內心的「籠門」終於打開，鳥籠成為了可以進出的「過渡站」。他帶著「穩陣與好奇」的雙軌心態，開始在現實中擺脫家族安排，探索真正的自我。

最終，象徵禁錮的鳥籠漸漸淡出，取而代之的是更有彈性的自我邊界。他成功處理了與母親的分離，帶著深刻的自覺與人生智慧步入成人世界。

這十年的生命轉化非常震撼，也溫柔地叩問著我們每一個人：

**我們是否也準備好，推開內心那扇無形的鳥籠，飛向屬於自己的那片天空？** 🌱

#沙盤治療 #心理成長 #母親情結 #聽後反思 #生命轉化

14/06/2026

Tune in as our chairperson discusses sandplay therapy, developmental trauma, and the role of the therapist in these RTHK interview replays:

23/5/26 什麼是沙遊治療？
30/5/26 如何處理創傷？
6/6/26 治療師的角色




#香港沙遊治療學會

一首歌一個故事： 太陽歌 - 願祢受讚頌 — Vansie@AMDG 耆樂加油站： Chris —沙遊治療是甚麼？

14/06/2026

We wrapped up the 'Memories, Dreams, Reflections' book club last Sunday! The club aimed to bring Jungian psychology to life through experiential activities—helping us connect with the unconscious in our own unique ways, just as Jung did and emphasized: we all walk our own different paths. The chance to touch the actual Red Book—to see what Jung created back then—was a truly deepening experience. Thank you to all participants for your engagement and contributions to the group.



#香港沙遊治療學會
#沙遊治療

05/06/2026

🌟We are excited to announce that Ms. Sally Chan has become our new teaching member! Congratulations Sally! 🌟

Ms. Sally Chan Shook Yim became the fifth locally trained ISST Teaching Member in Hong Kong on June 3, 2026. She is a family therapist working in a social service agency. Sally began her sandplay journey in 2010 after attending a workshop in Hong Kong led by Dr. Alexander Esterhuyzen. In the years that followed, she pursued extensive sandplaytraining. She was certified as an ISST Certified Member by the International Society for Sandplay Therapy on February 10, 2021. Throughout her demandiing yet profoundly exciting and deeply rewarding journey as both a certified sandplaytherapist and teaching member, she was greatly inspired by her two major supervisors, Ms. Lenore Steinhardt and Dr. Alexander Esterhuyzen.

Sally has been a committed and active member of HKSTA, making continuous contributions to the association. She has served in several leadership roles, including Committee Member (2014–2017), Vice-Chairperson (2017–2020), and Chairperson (2020–2026). She currently continues to serve on the committee as a Committee Member.

Sally began teaching Sandplay Therapy in Cantonese from a Jungian perspective in March 2019, when she led the HKSTA workshop “Initial Tray: Clues to the Psyche.” At the 26th International ISST Congress in Israel, she presented “The Closet in Sandplay Therapy: Incubation, Rebirth and Transformation,” a transformative case study of a traumatized middle-aged woman based on 150 sand trays.

She also conducted two workshops for the Dutch Society for SandplayTherapy (NVST), an ISST member society, in December 2025 and March 2026: “Sandplay for Children: Special Attention to Emotional Outbursts, Depression and Anxiety.” In these workshops, she demonstrated the full sandplay process through 44 sand trays created by a 6-year-old boy.

In January 2026, she co-taught the HKSTA workshop “The Hero’s Journey – Exploring the Archetype in Jungian SandplayTherapy” with Ms. Carina Conradie and presented an in-depth case study of a young woman with complex trauma, using 55 sand trays interpreted through the stages of the Heroine’s Journey.

She has also published two papers: “The Closet in Sandplay Therapy” in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2021), and “The Image of the Well in Ming’s Sandplay Therapy” in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Vol. 34, No. 1 (2025). Sally looks forward to sharing more of her clinical experience through writing and teaching in the coming near future.



#香港沙遊治療學會
#沙遊治療

31/05/2026

Who knew reading C.G. Jung could be this interactive and fun?

We just wrapped up Session 2: The Descent of our Journey into the Soul workshop series, and the energy in the room was incredible!

This session focused on Jung’s complex relationship and eventual breakup with Freud, his descent into the unconscious, and his unwavering dedication to his own truth. To help us integrate these profound concepts, Chris facilitated two fantastic experiential activities:

• 📝 The Word Association Test – tracking the footprints of our complexes.

• ✂️ Soul Collage – giving visual form to the unconscious through active imagination.

Participants thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on process, noting how powerful it was to feel the theories come alive. A huge thank you to Chris for her meticulous preparation—not only mastering the text but also enriching our visual landscape with incredible images from Jung's Red Book.

Give Chris a big hand in the comments! 👏✨ We can't wait to see how our inner journeys culminate in Session 3.