Held at Sage Counselling Sanctuary, Sunshine Coast QLD
[unless otherwise noted]
9am - 4:30pm
Morning & afternoon tea provided
BYO Lunch
Trainer: Mark Pearson
[unless otherwise noted]
Supporting Young Clients in Communicating Emotions
Explore a comprehensive introduction to the use of Emotional Literacy Activities, Emotion-focused and Resilience-building Processes, Somatic Self-expression, Movement, Art and Music in Counselling, Therapeutic Writing, Body Focus, Visualisation, and Role-Play. This highly experiential 3-day course offers training in creative arts-based, emotionally expressive methods and Inner-Life Skills that promote emotional integration, self-awareness and resilience in children and adolescents.
Training Topics
The activities presented in this training are used with children from 6 to 19 years. Research and supervision reports indicate that ET provides substantial long-term benefits such as an increase in resilience, self-motivation, increased attention span, less aggressive behaviour and a stronger sense of self. This style of Expressive Therapies integrates many person-centred, psychodynamic, attachment-based, emotion and somatic-focused activities, and is based on the framework and methods of creative arts therapies, Jungian, Gestalt, and Emotion-focused Therapy, with a long history of research in the creative arts therapies. An extensive training manual and digital Book of Readings will be provided.
*This course is Module One of our Certificate in Expressive Therapies with Children and Adolescents
19-21 FEBRUARY 2026
$975
The Art Room, Melbourne, Victoria
27-29 MAY 2026
$950
Sunshine Coast, Victoria
Creative Arts-Based Approaches to Counselling
This highly experiential training day will provide an overview of Expressive Therapies and introduce the main modalities. It will give practical assistance in using some of the methods with children and adolescents. The day will focus on helping clients contact, recognise, release and communicate about the feelings that may be impacting on behaviour, relating and learning.
Expressive Therapies provide support for young clients affected by grief and loss; those at risk of depression, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, and developing behavioural difficulties. There will be new ways to use drawing, writing, self-discovery worksheets, role-play, self-awareness, bioenergetics and emotional release processes.
5 MARCH 2026
$295
Experiential Training and Supervision in the Expressive Therapies Approach
This is a highly experiential, interactive program that will provide many skills to support your clients move into resilience and emotional confidence. Participants will have the experience of following their own personal growth journey using the processes at each training workshop, gaining much experience in the client role.
18 MARCH 2026
Sunshine Coast, QLD
$950 per Workshop
Catalysts for Therapeutic Conversations
A practical one day workshop using projective techniques developed in Australia over the last thirty years by Mark and Helen, the founders of Expressive Therapies Australia. Learn to use a collection of miniatures to support clients to open up, symbolise their inner world, talk about self and resolve issues. Symbols can be used to increase communication, activate creativity, clarify cognition, process emotions and enhance problem-solving. In this innovative program you will gain confidence in using miniatures with art, with movement, with life narratives, with emotion-focussed processes, and with somatic awareness.
30 APRIL 2026
$295
Increasing Self-Compassion
This highly practical training offers creative arts-based and self-reflective approaches for identifying and disempowering automatic negative thoughts critical of the self. The Expressive Therapy tools of visual art, symbol work, self-discovery worksheets, emotion-focused role-play and dialoguing with parts, will be introduced. Along with mindfulness and self-compassion practice, we will explore understanding of, and separation from, self-criticism. This day for therapy professionals, while focused on supporting adult clients, provides much that can also be applied with younger clients.
The inner critic can be likened to a script, self, or perhaps even 'voice', scolding us from the inside – imposing prohibitions on what we do, what we need, how we feel.
Extract from Pearson & Wilson 2009
25 JUNE 2026
$295
The Inner Landscape: Sandplay and Body Awareness
This three day workshop focuses on exploring embodied presence and embodied resonance through working with sand and symbols. We will extend our understanding of somatic holding patterns and how they might show up in the sand. In addition, we will tune in to, and learn from, bodily sensations in our experiential processes.
During the course we will step into a sacred space of exploration, where imagination and the body meet the healing medium of sand and symbols. We will engage in both discovery and creative expression of somatic wisdom. There will be time for professional learning, and a focus on personal integration in a nurturing group setting, with others who have explored and experienced Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Work.
29-31 JULY 2026
$950
Trainers: Helen Wilson & Andrea Snow
Prior completion of the ETA Certificate in Sandplay Therapy & Symbol Work (or equivalent), is a prerequisite for registration.
Evidence-based Creativity for Wellbeing with Young People
Welcome to the program that empowers you to inspire creativity in young people from 8 to 12 years, through using the Creative Desk Workbook. This workbook was developed by the trainer on the basis of creativity research from the past 20 years. Engagement with the workbook supports the wellbeing of young people through making art, inventing stories, learning about feelings, and thinking and imagining about their inner and outer worlds.
Help young people:
Through directly engaging with the workbook over the training day, participants will gain confidence with guiding others, and will receive a free electronic copy of the workbook. Creative Desk is designed for use with the guidance of a counsellor, teacher, parent or mental health worker. It be used solo, however, its use in a groupwork setting can increase the development of additional collaboration skills.
13 AUGUST 2026
$310