As mental health professionals, we often carry the silent weight of everyone else’s pain while navigating our own with composure and resolve. We work in different modalities, under different pressures, in different corners of the country—but we are united by the same mission: to hold space, to heal, to restore. And yet, too often, we do this alone. This is why gathering—really gathering—matters. Not just through a forwarded article or a quick exchange of notes, but by sitting around a table, sharing the unspoken truths, and daring to admit that even the strongest among us need to exhale.

A congress is not just an event. It’s a crossing-over point—a space where professionals step out of isolation and into collective strength. It is a rare invitation to be both learner and human; to admit that we don’t always know, that we sometimes doubt, and that we yearn to understand more. It’s where we remember we are not just facilitators of healing—we are also participants in it. And as we earn CPD points and gain new knowledge, we also earn back something deeper: perspective, passion, and purpose. We witness one another’s fragility and resilience and are reminded why we chose this path.

This September, take the leap. Invest not only in your professional growth but in your personal reconnection with the heart of this work. Come and sit with fellow therapists, psychologists, counsellors, and healers. Join us at the Sandplay Therapy Congress at Hippo Lakes. Come not because you have the time—but because you need to remember why you care. Get in the car, book the flight, take the road. Healing needs community. And so do we.