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$20.001_Overview of Gestalt
Introducing Gestalt! A broad overview including historical context, contemporary developments, and the ‘Four Pillars’ - Phenomenology, Field Theory, Dialogue, and Experiment.
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$35.002_Awareness and Figure Ground
Gestalt = awareness. We explore the 3 Zones, Awareness Cycle, & the contributions of Gestalt Psychology through Figure / Ground. Unfinished Business = incomplete Gestalten, which naturally move towards resolution with support at interruption points.
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$50.003_Field Theory
The roots of Gestalt derive from Jan Smuts & the Gestalt psychologists who pioneered holism; Kurt Lewin developed Field Theory - now a central pillar. Explore using context in therapy, spheres of influence, 5 core principles, & co-created realities.
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$60.004_Responsibility
Gestalt is rooted in the concept of Existential Responsibility - incorporating autonomy, choice, freedom, & the power to change direction, any moment. We focus on ownership of experience, and pay careful attention to language that reflects agency.
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$25.005_Contact
Contact and awareness go hand in hand in Gestalt. We move towards meeting in Good Contact and explore what organises Poor Contact. Clear boundaries are an inherent part of ‘meeting in difference’, as are the sensory Contact Functions.
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$45.006_Contact Boundary Phenomenon
We understand contact that goes awry as being related to Contact Boundary Phenomenon. In old language the word ‘Resistance’ was used; in Gestalt we prefer to observe the dynamics of Contact Styles, understanding them as Creative Adjustments.
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$15.007_Polarities
Life is a never ending sequence of polarities’. We look at splits in the psyche, how to achieve integration, flexibility rather than rigidity, and the Creative Indifference of Salamo Friedlander.
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$15.008_Organismic Self Regulation
Faith in the Wisdom of the Organism is fundamental to Gestalt. We examine basic philosophical underpinnings of this concept & its practical applications; the oppressive nature of Shouldistic Control, the operations of Conscience, & the Way of Tao.
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$35.009_I-Thou
Gestalt draws on the philosophy of Martin Buber - his ideas of I-Thou relating & the Between. Gestalt is one of the original Relational Therapies, premised on radical authenticity, therapist transparency & the practice of ’therapy without questions’.
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$10.0010_Dreamwork
Freud, Jung & Perls recognised the value of dreams. In Gestalt, dreams are brought alive through Experiment; their mystery is unmasked by the client rather than the interpretations of the therapist. The process is often playful & reveals core issues
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$20.0011_Phenomenology
The pillar of Awareness derives from Phenomenology & Eastern traditions of Zen & Taoism. The ‘science of experience’ focuses on the subjective & unique. Rather than starting with psychological models, we allow embodied awareness to naturally emerge.
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$20.0012_The Gestalt Experiment
The pillar of Experiment moves away from ‘talk therapy’, adding colour, drama, creativity & experiential learning to the Gestalt process. We explore a variety of experiments, tailoring them to the client, and phases from introduction to completion.
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$20.0013_Middle Zone, Metaphor, Fantasy and Story
Lose your mind and come to your senses’ said Fritz Perls. However, Gestalt does use the mind as metaphor, imagination & projection. Meaning making is one of 3 Zones of Awareness; we explore how it can be part of an organic, present centred therapy.
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$15.0014_Paradoxical Theory of Change
The paradox: change occurs spontaneously when you let go of agendas & goals. ‘What is, is, & one thing follows the next’ is a Gestalt take on Existentialist notions of Being and Becoming. We examine Beisser’s contribution to the theory and practice.
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$10.0015_Art and Creative Media
Art is a powerful medium in therapy & the Experiment in Gestalt is ideally suited to its utilisation. We explore a variety of practical ways to apply creative process, support transformation and explore awareness, instead of offering interpretations
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$20.0016_Style, Authenticity and Unvirtues
Existential notions of authenticity underpin Gestalt principles & practices. We are not trying to change people; rather help them become more fully themselves. Recognising and owning ones own ‘style’ - healthy & shadow - is inherent to this process.
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$25.0017_Managing a Unit of Work
A Unit of Work is a practical application of the Awareness Cycle in terms of a therapeutic session. The four distinct phases provide a orienting guide to the therapist in terms of managing the process, in any time slot, from start to completion.
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$50.0018_Somatics
Gestalt is fundamentally a Somatic Therapy. We work directly with the body using movement, touch, awareness, breathing & grounding. We convert words to body experience, & visa versa. We explore over & underbounding, streaming and postural support.
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$20.0019_Shame
Shame underpins many emotions people feel and express; however it’s often hidden. We explore a ‘shame-sensitive practice’; the tension with expectations of responsiblity & agency; what is required of a therapist; and poles of belonging or isolation.
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$30.0020_Psychopathology
Gestalt emerges from the humanistic tradition of therapy - a growth-oriented view of human development and actualisation. How does an holistic therapy address mental conditions which severely limit people’s capacity for embodiment or relationship?
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$20.0021_Groupwork
Gestalt is ideallly suited to working with groups. Interactive Groups operate through the Here & Now-I & Thou orientation of Gestalt. We explore the phenomenology & psychology of group process, & apply a Relational orientation at 3 levels of a group
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$45.0022_Couples and Family Work
We take a tour through Marital & Family Therapy, looking at conjunctions with the four pillars. We examine a specifically Gestalt approach: process oriented, boundaried, using limited interventions plus experiments, support and integration.
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$10.0023_Suicide
Suicide is a difficult subject to address in therapy, and we look at a Gestalt perspect, starting with the personhood, experience, and values of the therapist.
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$40.0024_Sexuality
We view this complex topic with a Gestalt lens, starting with Field context, addressing the experience & personhood of the therapist, & the place of the Erotic. Awareness of sexual feelings is considered valid to address in the therapeutic dialogue.
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$60.0025_Attachment and Developmental Approaches
Gestalt does not have a developmental theory; any foray into a person’s Field is brought into the Here & Now. We examine a range of developmental orientations, attachment theory, other therapeutic modalities & their interface with Relational Gestalt
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$55.0026_Character and Personality Systems
Although Gestalt is process-oriented, there is a widespread interest in systems of classification - which can become limiting, diminishing & reductionist. We look at the interface of personality systems, temperament, and a phenomenological approach.
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$45.0027_Historical Influences
Gestalt Therapy is a synthesis of many sources. Here we explore the people, systems of thought, and historical context, ranging through Existentialism, The Grotesque, the Cooperative Anarchism of Kropotkin, and the General Semantics of Korzybski.
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$90.0028_Ethics and Clinical Practice
We examine core ethical theories, the Situational Ethics which Gestalt draws on, & the difference between Emic & Etic perspectives. We challenge orthodoxies & look at how complexity can be incorporated without compromising the interests of a client.
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$65.0029_The Transpersonal
Gestalt is a-theoretical in its phenomenolical base, focusing on Being-With-What-Is, in a Zen awareness style & using Wu Wei - the Creative Void - as a Taoist therapy style. We explore a range of Transpersonal approaches & their relevance to Gestalt
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$55.0030_Work with Trauma and Abuse
The Gestalt approach to trauma underpins many current modalities. We look at working with sexual assault & violence in terms of both clients’ trauma, and clients as perpetrators. We explore a range of orientations including Narrative and Systemic.
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$40.0031_Working with Children
We take the core Gestalt principles & practices, and apply them to the population of children as clients. We explore a range of techniques & approaches that are very suited to the Gestalt lens, and specifically Gestalt ways to work with children.
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$30.0032_Gestalt and Organisations
Gestalt approach is highly suited to Organisation Development and Consulting. Gestalt books include Authentic Management, and Neurotic Organisations. We explore these concepts & approaches, applying the 4 pillars to working with business settings.
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$90.0033_Gestalt and The Larger Ecology
Therapy has come under fire as being too focused on the individual and not enough on larger systems. Here we address bigger contexts - community, politics, social change; how therapists can utilise Gestalt approaches to transform the wider Field.
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$50.0034_Working with Addictions
Addictions are complex & difficult to work with in therapy. We look at a range of approaches to understanding & working with addictions, applications of Field Theory, & explore an explicitly Gestalt model which is correlated with the A...