How to work with depressed and anxious clients

ConnectGround is a community-based counselling & psychotherapy centre offering low-cost individual and group therapy.​We offer low cost and ongoing psychotherapy that emphasises the therapeutic relationship as a support for developing awareness and flexibility.We are putting into practice relational gestalt theory by emphasising the importance of connection to others and the world in which we live.We offer opportunities for student interns, volunteers and graduate interns to gain experience by working with clients and develop their skills and professionalism.

ConnectGround Clinic

Learn how to support clients struggling with depression and anxiety through a trauma-informed and relational gestalt approach.

Elie, Gestalt Center Training Campus - 27 Royal Parade Parkville

Gestalt events and training  in Melbourne

Bring gestalt thinking into your professional work and develop a perspective that supports you to work well and relate well. Open to all mental health practitioners, including psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, mental health nurses, coaches.

Seminars for mental health practitioners

ConnectGround offers a series of professional extension seminars throughout the year designed to support mental health practitioners deal with very specific client issues.

VAGP

Grounded in gestalt therapy’s power to transform and heal, the Victorian Association of Gestalt Practitioners (VAGP) provides psychotherapists and counsellors with opportunities for connection, learning and reflection.

<h3>Workshop overview</h3>Date | Monday 23 &amp; Tuesday 24 September 2024, 9.30am–5.00pmFee | $660 includes GST.Venue | Elie, Gestalt Centre Training Campus, 27 Royal Parade, ParkvilleFacilitator | Noel Haarburger, BBSc, BEd(Counselling), AdvDipGestaltTherapy, ClinMGANZ, MAPSDepression and anxiety are common in therapy and mental health settings, often presenting together and posing unique challenges for practitioners. This two-day workshop offers a gestalt-informed approach to working with these conditions, emphasising somatic awareness, relational dynamics, and holistic understanding.Through a blend of experiential exercises, group discussions, and didactic teachings, we'll explore the phenomenology of depression and anxiety from a gestalt perspective. You'll gain insights into the somatic expressions of these states, learn to differentiate their various manifestations, and develop confidence in meeting clients with compassion and presence. <h3>Who should attend?</h3>This workshop is ideal for mental health professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of depression and anxiety through a gestalt lens. Whether you're a therapist, counsellor, or allied health practitioner, you'll find valuable tools to enhance your work with clients experiencing these challenges. <h3>Key explorations</h3><ul><li>Understanding depression's phenomenology, somatic expressions, and psychological functions</li><li>Exploring depression as a communication about imbalance and unmet needs</li><li>Examining the relationship between depression, emotional regulation, and shame dynamics</li><li>Integrating insights from polyvagal theory and neuroscience into gestalt practice</li><li>Developing techniques to help clients work with depressive thought patterns and cultivate self-compassion</li></ul> <h3>Gestalt principles in practice</h3>We'll apply core gestalt concepts throughout our explorations, including:<ul><li>Paradoxical theory of change and holistic approaches</li><li>Experimental techniques and phenomenological inquiry</li><li>Here-and-now immediacy in the therapeutic relationship</li><li>Relational and field theory perspectives on depression</li><li>Self-compassion within a gestalt framework</li></ul> <h3>Learning outcomes</h3>By the end of this workshop, you will gain:<ul><li>A nuanced understanding of depression's phenomenology and varied presentations</li><li>Tools for working with the somatic expressions and underlying dynamics of depression</li><li>Strategies for addressing shame, core beliefs, and the inner critic from a gestalt perspective</li><li>Practical applications of neuroscience and polyvagal theory in depression work</li><li>A toolkit of bio-psycho-social principles to support client recovery, grounded in gestalt philosophy</li></ul> Join us for this immersive experience as we explore how gestalt therapy can offer a fresh, holistic approach to working with depression and anxiety. Together, we'll cultivate skills to meet these challenging presentations with confidence, creativity, and compassion.

<h3>About your facilitator</h3>Noel Haarburger BBSc, BEd(Counselling), AdvDipGestaltTherapy, ClinMGANZ, MAPSNoel has been a faculty member at Gestalt Therapy Australia since 2001. He now works in private practice as a Psychologist and Psychotherapist, working with individuals and couples, as well as offering supervision to allied health professionals. He also practices and trains Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Nature Assisted eco-therapy at the equine psychotherapy institute in Daylesford.Noel has worked extensively in a wide variety of counselling and psychological services since 1995, including family counselling, drug and alcohol, sexual assault, problematic gambling, and men’s behavioural change programs.Noel has a special interest in trauma and body work, as well as integrating developmental and attachment perspectives, Buddhist psychology, and non-dual spiritual approaches into his work. He is a certified ‘Somatic Experiencing’ practitioner, which utilises highly effective and safe body awareness methods for negotiating and releasing trauma, developed by Peter Levine. He has also completed training in NA touch. Noel is also an ongoing student of the ‘Diamond Heart approach’, a Western psycho-spiritual school that integrates Western depth psychology, Sufism and Buddhist approaches to personal and spiritual development.We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

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