A series of therapy workshops was recently conducted during the month of May and June by an acclaimed therapist from Australia, Prema Jansen. These workshops were held on the 5th Floor, Multipurpose Hall of Than Hsiang and were organized by the Mitra Welfare Centre in Than Hsiang.

During these workshops, a series of creative methods were introduced by Prema to help in a therapy. These methods include sandplay, rebirthing, as well as an exploration into the idea of death and dying.

Three types of Sandplay workshops were conducted during the month of June. A two-day elementary sandplay workshop was held from the 17th to the 18th of May followed by an advanced sandplay workshop from the 24th to the 25th of May. Around 30 to 40 people participated in these workshops.

A special sandplay workshop entitled ‘ How Parents Understand and Build Better Relationships with their Children through Sandplay Workshop’ was conducted from the 31st May till the 1st of June. Among the 50 Participants for this workshop, most comprises of Than Hsiang Kindergarten teachers and parents, hoping to learn a new method to reach out to the children.

According to Prema, sandplay is a method whereby the person dwells in the unconsciousness to help clear any past conditioning. This method only requires the use of a 75cm X 55cm X 12 cm box filled with sand, with small figurines placed within by the person, thus the name ‘sandplay’.

The person is free to express anything they want, by exploring with the small figurines and placing them in whatever position he or she wants to, very much like the idea of painting a picture freely and without confinement. It is known as a ‘projective technique’ as the figures within the sandbox reveals the person’s inner images which comes from the unconsciousness. A further lengthier explanation on this subject can be read from an article titled ‘Sandplay’ written by Prema.

Two series of two-day Rebirthing workshops were held on the 27th and 29th respectively. An amount of 26-40 people were only allowed to participate in this workshop as each participant was personally consulted by Prema. This method requires the participant to reveal their deepest and underlying emotions, thus triggering memories and emotions from the past which comes from within the unconscious collectiveness.

Another workshop, titled ‘Death and Dying’ was held only for one day on the 2nd of June, but attracted a huge turnout. Among the 85 participants, some consists of cancer patients and cancer support groups volunteers. During this workshop, a few participants who had trouble with the concept of death were asked to come out and undergo therapy by Prema. A few tears were shed during this session as some of the participants reveal their deepest emotion regarding the death of a loved one and how they were still unable to cope with it. According to Prema, he believes that when we dwell into the unconscious, we become fully aware, and we will meet death as a friend, not as a victim.

Prema also reveals that based on his experience working in a hospice some years ago, he believes that people who were afraid to die was due to the fact that they had never lived. He also reveals that people who were not afraid to die were adventurers at heart, that they had lived every moment of their lives.