In this lecture, Dr. Eva Pattis Zoja explores the Jungian principle of the psyche’s astonishing capacity and determination to regulate itself by creating images and narratives as soon as a free and protected space for expression is provided.

About the Lecture 

In this lecture, Dr. Eva Pattis Zoja explores the Jungian principle of the psyche’s astonishing capacity and determination to regulate itself by creating images and narratives as soon as a free and protected space for expression is provided.

The psyche spontaneously and continuously produces images  with the purpose of counteracting existing  mental and emotional imbalances.

Eva will focus on the method of expressive sandwork (www.sandwork.org), which is a structured method of care for children and adults in acute crisis situations such as natural disasters or war. Expressive sandwork is based on the imaginative activity of children, a circular process of dialogue between the inner and outer worlds (the sandtray).  Eva will show examples from children’s sandwork processes in war-shaken cities in Ukraine, where the method is helping families to cope with trauma and loss.

This lecture serves as an Introduction to our next Public Programmes lecture by Ursula Mukarker, from Wings of Hope, who will be sharing her experiences practicing expressive sandwork in Jerusalem.

About the Presenter

Dr. Eva Pattis Zoja is a clinical psychologist, Jungian psychoanalyst (IAAP) and Sandplay Therapist (ISST), working with adults and children in her private practice in Milan, Italy since 1985 to present date, excluding the two years (2000-2002) she practiced in New York.

She founded the International Association of Expressive Sandwork (IAES), a non-profit organization which creates projects of Expressive Sandwork in the many areas where psychotherapy is not available. (www.sandwork.org). Eva has initiated projects of Expressive Sandwork in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

She has offered training in Jungian Analysis and Sandplay Therapy over many years with the following Jungian Associations: the C.G. Jung Institute, Zürich;  the C.G. Jung Foundation in  New York; Austrian Association of Analytical Psychology (ÖGAP) in Vienna; German Association of Analytical Psychology (DGAP)  in  Berlin and Stuttgart; the Italian Centre for Analytical Psychology (CIPA) in Milan and the Southern African Association of Jungian Analysts (SAAJA) in Cape Town.Besides her work with Jungian associations, Eva played a significant role from 2002 to 2010 in the teaching and training  IAAP Developing Groups in Hong Kong and Buenos Aires.

Dr. Pattis contributed to, edited and authored several books, including Sandplay Therapy: The Treatment of Psychopathologies; Sandplay Therapy in Vulnerable Communities (Translated in 7 languages); Abortion, Loss and Renewal, a Search for Identity; Where Soul Meets matter: clinical and social applications of Jungian Sandplay Therapy.