Previous Announcements

The Passing of Ms. Ruth Ammann

3 August 2023

We are sad to share that Ms Ruth Ammann, one of the significant contributors in sandplay therapy, has passed away on 3 August 2023.  

Ruth was a Jungian analyst and had a private practice in Switzerland.  She was a graduate of the C G Jung Institute in Kusnacht where she was a lecturer and training analyst.  She studied with Dora Kalff, the pioneer of sandplay therapy, and she was a past president of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy.

Ruth will be dearly remembered and we send our sincere condolences to her family.

New ISST Certified Sandplay Therapist

15 November 2022

Dear HKSTA members,

We would like to congratulate Ms Cheung Yee Ping Chris who has become the sixth locally trained Certified Sandplay Therapist in Hong Kong. Chris was certified by the ISST (International Society for Sandplay Therapy) as a certified member as of Nov 15, 2022.

In brief, the certification process includes (1) a personal process in sandplay therapy with an ISST member; (2) theoretical training of a minimum of 100 hours of participation in training seminars by ISST Teaching members in the tradition of Dora Kalff that is based on the principles of the psychology of C.G. Jung; (3) two written symbol papers; (4) 80 hours supervision of practical work in individual and group sessions; and (5) one completed written case study evaluated by three International ISST case readers.

Chris is an educational psychologist working in local primary and secondary schools. For years, she has participated in training in hypnotherapy, art therapy, play therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The therapeutic skills and symbolic thinking hatched by these training are incorporated widely in her daily work. Her interest in sandplay was ignited when she witnessed similar phenomena manifested in her clients’ sandtrays. Her curiosity led her to Dr. Alexander Esterhuyzen’s sandplay workshop in Hong Kong in 2018, with whom she also went through the personal process. She has been actively engaging in various sandplay and Jungian training locally and online ever since. Her major supervisors are Ms. Carina Conradie and Ms. Adelina Wong. She wrote about ‘Dog’ and ‘Clock’ as her symbol papers. Chris is serving as an executive committee member of HKSTA since 2020 to contribute to the promotion of sandplay therapy in Hong Kong. To pursue her dream of becoming a Jungian analyst, Chris is now a router in the IAAP (International Association for Analytical Psychology) Router Training Program.

HKSTA fully supports those who intend to become certified sandplay therapists. We will continue to offer programs and other means to facilitate the process.

Sally Chan is Certified as an ISST Sandplay Therapist

10 February 2021

We would like to congratulate Ms. Sally Chan Shook Yim who has become the fifth locally trained Certified Sandplay Therapist in Hong Kong.  Ms. Chan has been certified by the International Society for Sandplay Therapy (ISST) as a Certified Member as of 10 February, 2021. 

In brief, the certification process includes (1) a personal process in sandplay therapy with an ISST member; (2) theoretical training of a minimum of 100 hours of participation in training seminars by ISST Teaching members in the tradition of Dora Kalff that is based on the principles of the psychology of C.G. Jung; (3) two written symbol papers; (4) 80 hours supervision of practical work in individual and group sessions; and (5) one completed written case study evaluated by three International ISST case readers.

Ms. Chan began her sandplay journey in 2010 when she attended sandplay workshop conducted by Dr. Alexander Esterhuyzen in Hong Kong. She continued to engage in numerous sandplay training in the following years. She went through her personal sandplay process with Barbara Turner.  Her two major supervisors are Dr. Alexander Esterhuyzen and Ms. Lenore Steinhardt. She has done “The Well as a Symbol in Sandplay” and “The Closet in Sandplay Therapy” as her symbol papers. Sally has been an active and dedicated member of HKSTA and has contributed in a significant way.  She served as a Committee Member from 2014-2017; and as a Vice-Chairperson from 2017-2020.  Currently she is the Chair-Elect.  Sally is looking forward to sharing her clinical experiences in writing and teaching.

HKSTA fully supports those who intend to become Certified Sandplay Therapists.  We will continue to offer programs and other means to facilitate the process.