Theory and practice of gestalt therapy: awareness and presence

This is the first workshop in a series of three, see below for informaton on the other workshops.

Date: Saturday 18 May 2024

Duration: 10.00 am–5.00 pm (optional program info session 4.00 pm-5.00 pm)

Location: Elie, Gestalt Centre Training Campus, 27 Royal Parade Parkville, VIC 3052

Fees: $220 including GST

Facilitated by: Tony Jackson (Managing Director)

Hosted by: Eugenia Yuan (Community & Partnerships Lead)

What do awareness and presence mean in gestalt therapy, and why are they important?

Awareness is the goal of relational gestalt therapy. Unlike many therapies that focus extensively on the past or future, Gestalt therapy concentrates on the client's immediate, present-moment experience. The therapist and client work together to explore and understand the here and now. The client is encouraged to become more attuned to their sensory experience, bodily sensations, environmental influences, and the ways they make meaning.

Presence provides a way of being in the here and now with openness and flexibility, allowing us to respond to the fullness of the moment. In the place of presence, we are aware of the ways our history and other contextual conditions might organise our current experience. From presence, we are more able to confirm the humanity of others.

With awareness and presence, we can hold others with deep and life-changing compassion.

What can I expect from this workshop?

This experiential workshop will introduce some of the building blocks of relational gestalt, including presence and awareness, and their role in personal development and therapy.

The workshop is highly interactive. You will practise and apply the key concepts through pairs and small group activities. We will also introduce you to our inquiry-based teaching methodology.

Along the way, we will also explore some of the philosophical roots of gestalt theory and how they interplay to inform a holistic and compassionate approach to living and health.

By the end of this workshop, you will know more about gestalt, how it informs therapy, how to apply presence and awareness in personal and professional contexts, the role of a gestalt therapist, and pathways to further learning.

If you are interested in becoming a gestalt therapist, you can stay on to attend the program info session 4.00 pm-5.00 pm. There is also an option to attend the info session only.

Is this for me?

This one-day introductory workshop is designed for anyone interested in learning more about gestalt, whether it is to apply gestalt principles to your current work, personal life, or explore becoming a gestalt therapist.

Past workshop participants come from diverse professional backgrounds, including psychology, social work, youth work, counselling, occupational therapy, nursing, pastoral care, people management (HR), coaching, engineering, and consulting.

What are the other workshops in this series?

There are three workshops in the “Introduction to gestalt therapy” series designed around the foundations of gestalt: present & aware; receptive & choiceful; situated & engaged. The dates of the future workshops will be announced soon.

You don’t have to attend the workshops in a certain order, and you can choose to attend one or more. A certificate of completion is available upon request if you have attended all three workshops.

https://www.gestalttherapyaustralia.com.au/

About your facilitator

Tony Jackson, Managing Director, Gestalt Centre

B.Theol, BA.Psych, GradDip.Counselling, AdvDip.Gestalt Therapy, GradDip.Supervision, M.GANZ

Tony is a psychotherapist, facilitator and coach with over 20 years of experience. Tony works with people to support resilience and wellbeing and helps them develop a sense of vitality and choice in their lives. He provides supervision for psychotherapists which assists them to deepen their own personal and professional capacities. Tony also provides training for individuals and groups that focuses on building responsiveness to individual and group needs in emergent situations.

About your host

Eugenia Yuan, Community & Partnerships Lead, Gestalt Centre

B.Com, M.Social Work

Eugenia brings her diverse skills and experience in community building, business development, entrepreneurship, facilitation, consulting, and coaching to the Gestalt Centre. With a mixed background in commerce and social work, Eugenia has worked in multiple industries across business and not-for-profit sectors, and has developed her passion for empowering meaningful human connections through learning and practising gestalt. You can connect with Eugenia or reach out to her on LinkedIn if you are interested in collaborations.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!