Whether you commit to a weekend or the full Diploma course, magic happens and each weekend is a journey into the depth of your being. This builds your inner support which in turn expands the work you do with your clients. It’s an absolute privilege for me to observe the changes in students during the courses and hear how their practice changes as a direct result of the learning from these trainings.

Foundation in Integrative Sandplay

A highly experiential introduction to sandplay therapy which will also build on any prior experience you may have had and act as a refresher and so much more… It is an ideal starting point for anyone wishing to start their sandplay journey and also a good ‘topper upper’ for those who have experienced some sandplay in their learning journey. Based on Jungian and transpersonal perspective.

Course Dates 2026 / 2027

12th & 13th September 2026 (almost full)

7th & 8th November 2026

20th & 21st March 2027

8th & 9th May 2027

10th & 11th July 2027

Cost

£250 this includes a deposit of £100 which hold the space for you.

Participants will be provided with handouts and a CPD Certificate

Feedback for this course is terrific:

‘The best CPD I have ever done’

‘An opportunity to fully explore and gain a deeper understanding of sandplay therapy’

‘I am full of the weekend…the images I have created are deeply helpful… I feel the three Sandtrays I created have done more for me than a whole year of therapy’

Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapy

This course is organised as four 3-day weekends.

The aim of this course is to bring depth and understanding to your sandplay work from a Jungian and Transpersonal perspective. The course carefully weaves theory and experiential work. This work integrates well into other theoretical perspective

Course Dates 2026/ 2027

• Weekend 1: 4th, 5th & 6th December 2026
• Weekend 2: 8th, 9th, 10th January 2027
• Weekend 3: 26th, 27, 28h February 2027
• Weekend 4:16th, 17th, 18th April 2027

Cost: £2000 payable in instalments

Qualifying for the Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Studies

Certificate of Attendance

You will need to:

Attend the course in full. (Catch up sessions due to illness can be arranged) Full Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Studies You need to:

• Attend the course in full (catch up session due to illness can be arranged)
• Complete 50 hours of client sandtrays which have been supervised by an AIST approved supervisor.
• A minimum of 10 hours supervision with an AIST approved supervisor.
• Use the Supervision Record Template provided and submit a log of the supervision record signed by your AIST supervisor.
• The supervisor will need to provide a declaration the supervision has been completed to a satisfactory level. Supervision should be for current clients and should contain at least one example of a series of sandtrays from the same client which have been reflected upon (as a series) in supervision.
• Completed a minimum of a Level Four or Diploma in Counselling. If you do not have this please discuss with Ruth your eligibility.
• In some circumstances the individual may be asked to complete further therapy prior to receiving the full Diploma.
• This will be discussed with the Course Tutor prior to the end of the course.
• If you have failed to achieve the above requirements the opportunity to pass the course to a satisfactory level will be available through either additional supervision and/or therapy.
• To keep a personal journal of your sandplay journey throughout the duration of the course.

Advanced Diploma in Integrative Sandplay 2027

This course will take us on a deeper dive into the world of sandplay. It is aimed at those people who have completed a certificate or diploma in sandplay therapy.

If you have completed a sandplay course elsewhere please contact me to discuss joining this programme. 

• Weekend 1: 29th, 30th & 31st January 2027
• Weekend 2: 12th, 13th & 14th March 2027
• Weekend 3: 23rd, 24th & 25th April 2027
• Weekend 4: 21st, 22nd & 23rd May 2027

Cost: £2000 payable in instalments

Cost: £2000 payable in instalments

Foundation in Therapeutic Art (2-day course)

An introduction to therapeutic art and symbolism. 

Expressing our inner world through paint or pastels can help us make new sense of ourselves in the present.

10th & 11th October 2026

2027 dates to follow please enquire

Cost

£250 this includes a deposit of £100 which hold the space for you.

Diploma in Therapeutic Art

I now have a number of people wanting to do this course – so do be in touch if you are interested 

Creative Retreat 2027: 26th & 27th June 2027

Venue: White Cottage, Stokeinteignhead. TQ12 4QR Local accommodation list will be provided.

Dates: please contact Ruth

Supervision Groups

Interested in group supervision?

It’s a great way to learn from each other.

Monthly: Tuesdays at The Nautilus Rooms, Totnes

6pm – 8pm

£40 per person

If you would like an online Zoom supervision group contact me. I have an existing online group which is working well.

Some experience of sandplay is required to join these groups. If you are interested please contact me.

Am I eligible for these courses?

These courses are aimed at counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, coach’s’, and those working more widely in the helping professions and education. They are suitable for people working with all age’s groups i.e., children through to adults, couples and groups.

Course Location

The courses are run from The Nautilus Rooms in Totnes, Devon UK which houses a fabulous collection of sandplay symbols built specifically to give students a full experience of the power of sandplay.

Totnes is a thriving market down and in itself a fantastic place to source symbols (it has become a tradition to look at student’s symbol purchases after lunch).

People travel from all over the country and abroad for these courses. Totnes is on the mainline railway from London Paddington.

Accommodation list is provided.

CANCELLATIONS of BOOKING

Course numbers are small to maximise learning.

Cancellation/ postponement requests have a significant impact upon the financial viability of running the course. · By paying the deposit you are committing to pay the full course fee.

• Requests to attend a course at a different date to the one booked will be considered so long as they are received prior to 14 days before the start date of the booked course. The fee for this transfer is £75.
• Cancellations within 2 weeks of the course start date are fully payable and non-transferable.
• You can only transfer to a different course once.

IF THE COURSE DOES NOT RUN

• The deposit can be transferred to another date, or a full refund can be given.
• The training provider cannot help you with the cost of any prepaid accommodation or travel costs in the event of a course or part of a course being postponed, cancelled or moved online.

CANCELLATION COVID / SERIOUS ILLNESS

Please do not attend a course if you have covid.

If we have a further lockdowns payment can be transferred to a future course or refunded.

If you are unable to attend due to Covid please contact me to discuss all options including transferring to another course or a refund. Evidence of a positive test will be asked for.

Questions

Course size

Courses tend to be small 5-8 people which allows plenty of time for individual processing and experiential work. These creates a fantastic intimacy and depth of work.

Can’t make the date.

Interested in a course but cannot make the date – do let me know there may be others in the same position as you.

Bespoke Courses

I have run a number of trainings for organisations and charities in sandplay therapy. If your organisation or group of colleagues are interested please contact me to discuss.

About Ruth

Ruth’s first degree is in psychology, she has been working as a counsellor and psychotherapist, supervisor and consultant for almost 30 years. With the exception of brief forays into the world of publishing and handweaving Ruth’s career has been people facing. She worked with high-risk offenders in the Probation Service offering group and individual work before moving into the NHS where she worked in the field of drugs and alcohol and mental health both as a case worker and in project and service management. She has a passion for working with change be they individuals or systems. Ruth offers supervision and consultation to a wide range of organisations from small charities to larger health related organisations.

She brings to her teaching her wide experience of working with individuals, couples and groups in a range of settings along with a lifetime’s passion for learning.

She has extensive training in Integrative Sandplay Therapy and Therapeutic Art and is a teacher and supervisor within the Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists (AIST). She is a trained teacher of Mindfulness.

Ruth is a committed student of the Diamond Approach which is a dynamic, evolving teaching and exploration of all that leads to openness, freedom, and realization of the many dimensions of our human potential—especially the amazing secrets of our spiritual nature.

She has a love of nature, lives on a small holding and enjoys – walking – swimming – gardening, growing and being in wild spaces (particularly water!).

Ruth’s depth of knowledge and experience is valued and commented on by students as is her ability to hold the space for deep and rich learning to take place.

Feedback on Ruth’s teaching:

‘Thank you, Ruth, for your gentle teaching, holding and facilitation. As I get older, I find myself a bit fussy about who I feel I can learn deeply from and you are definitely one of those people who wisdom and knowledge has a depth which is so rich I find I can settle in (relax) and absorb with confidence.’

‘I found the practical frameworks very useful’

‘…such thoughtful training. Ruth created an environment in which I felt safe and secure at all times. ‘ Why train with Ruth …

Ruth offers small courses which by their very nature have an intimacy to them. Each weekend is a journey in itself and transformation happens at a deep level in the psyche.

‘The handouts are very comprehensive and will be hugely helpful to refer back to’

‘Having experienced sandplay as a client I really have the sense of depth it can bring to my clients’

‘The balance of experiential work and practical was so useful – I feel I am going away with some really solid foundations from which I can experiment and grow my practice.’

‘There was honestly nothing that wasn’t useful this weekend’.

‘Thank you so much for the most incredible and powerful weekend. I am so glad I took the leap to do this course.

From Dora Kalff the originator of Sandplay Therapy :

‘In the hands of a properly prepared therapist, sandplay is a powerful invaluable modality….

(And about becoming a sandplay therapist) …even psychotherapists highly experienced in other methodologies .. should have a deep personal experience of doing a sandplay process…

Kalff 1980

Sandplay and expressive arts are such a wonderful way of connecting with our depth. Come and explore your wilder edges – or maybe the soft belly of your inner self. I look forward to connecting with you.

Ruth

Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

The Nautilus Rooms have large airy rooms and space to spread out. The courses are small which reflects my passion for students to have the optimum experience of the depth and power of this work. It is my firm belief this will then inform the quality of the client work. 

Please feel free to share this page with colleagues who may be interested in one of these courses – thank you These courses are accredited by the Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists

www.sandplaytherapy.co.uk

If you would like to be added to Ruth’s  mailing list email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com