An Association of Gestalt
Therapists and Practitioners

In May 1997 the GANZ Association became more than a dream. Michael Reed and I co-facilitated a two-day meeting of representatives from Australian and New Zealand Training Centres. This meeting was a follow-on from the historic meeting in Sydney in November 1996 when a decision was made by that group to work towards forming an association and to look at standards of training and accreditation.

Co-facilitating this meeting with Michael Reed was a privilege and a great deal of fun. This was a very productive and challenging meeting and it was exciting to be working with such a strong minded, lively and committed group of trainers and practitioners with very diverse ideas.

Despite Gestalt Therapy's anarchistic origins and 20 year history in NZ and Australia, most of which has been regionally individualistic, if not fairly separatist, there is currently a developing commitment to working together in a cooperative way to form an association of 'similar' minded professionals.

The two ongoing working groups have been given a number of tasks. The first relating to:

• defining minimum standards and accreditation, and the second to
• defining the form, structure and constitution of the association.

This is an exciting process to be part of. The group was made up of trainers from all training centres in Australia and the Gestalt Institute of New Zealand and included some local Australian practitioners.

They have already contributed 1000's of hours of voluntary time, and will in the future, working towards an association of Gestalt Therapists and Practitioners in order to raise the profile of Gestalt Therapy within our local communities, both professional and general.

Also to raise the trans Tasman/NZ profile of Gestalt within the International Gestalt community. After all, with 20 plus years of "Gestalt down under" we must have developed our own individual "regional" style as we have done in other aspects of our respective countries.

It is time to meet, talk, debate and seek to understand each others' views and to let the rest of the gestalt communities know that we have a great deal to offer.

I believe the impact of this group in "the field" will be considerable.

Brenda Levien
Co-facilitator of GANZ May meeting 1997
Faculty member of the Gestalt Institute of New Zealand.

In early 1995 I had an experience which left me with some nagging questions. I had been shown a map of Australia which identified gestalt therapy training centres and was impressed not only by the number of centres which appeared on the map but also by the number of those that didn't. According to the map, the centre at which I was a faculty member and which had been established for ten years didn't exist! The questions I asked myself were "How is it that there are such limited links between the centres, and, for an approach to therapy which places such importance on the value of 'meeting', was there an interest in forming an association of one sort or another?" Little did I know what would be involved in seeking answers to these questions.

My search for answers began with phone calls to known centres. Each call generated another call and each call was met with varying degrees of interest and enthusiasm at the prospect of forming closer associations between centres. By chance, the journal Psychotherapy in Australia was intending to run an article on gestalt therapy in Australia. This provided an opportunity to send a letter in September 1995, under the banner of 'forging links', to ten centres across Australia and New Zealand, suggesting setting up a mechanism to exchange information between centres.

Nothing much happened until early 1996 when I realised that "nothing much was happening." A trip to Melbourne and one to Perth provided opportunities to meet in person with some of the people I had corresponded with for almost a year. I was delighted at the support and encouragement extended to me and discovered that I was not alone with my questions. Others had been asking similar ones. It was becoming clearer to me that the answers might be found in bringing people together.

In June 1996 each centre was sent the following questions:

1. Would you participate in a meeting of Australian gestalt training centres and institutes if it were to be held over a week-end in Alice Springs (a town in the centre of Australia)?
2. In which month would you prefer the meeting to take place during 1996/97?
3. How many of your faculty members (including yourself) would you anticipate would attend this meeting?
4. What items would you include in the agenda of this meeting?'

A meeting in Alice Springs didn't quite get off the ground but increasing excitement was beginning to emerge around a meeting in Sydney in late November 1996. In August 1996, the first details of the "November meeting" were circulated among 11 centres along with a preliminary program. By the beginning of November, 1996 all 11 centres had indicated they would be attending - a total of 30 participants. I was getting excited.

At 1.30 pm on Saturday 23 November, 1996, I was sitting in a large room at a hotel in Sydney full of people, many of whom I had spoken to, written to, debated and deliberated with over the many aspects of organising this gathering; a room full of history, close friendships, strained relationships; a room full of expectations and uncertainties; a room full of excitement; a room full of people waiting for me to say and do something. The historic meeting was happening! What unfolded over that week-end was a credit to all who participated and whom they represented. There was unanimous support for the formation of an affiliation, provisionally called "The Australasian Association of Gestalt Therapy and Practice." This Association was to seek the advancement of the philosophy, teaching, training, application and research of gestalt therapy throughout this region of the world.

Two working parties were formed:

1. An organisational/liaison working party (endearingly referred to as the 'umbrella' working party) which will consist of representatives from the Centres and practitioners;
2. Accreditation and training working party which will consist of representatives from all training centres.

These two working parties were asked to report on their activities at a further meeting of the Association planned for May 1997 in Melbourne.

The Association agreed to hold the 1st Australian and New Zealand Conference during September 1998 in Perth, Western Australia.

I was reminded of the words of Theodore Herzl, "If you will it, it is no dream."

The announcement of the Association generated considerable interest across the global gestalt therapy community and links with other national and international groups were established and consolidated. In the meantime, preparations for the publication of the 1st edition of the Australian Gestalt Journal were well underway and contact between centres was at an all time high.

Preparations for the Melbourne meeting saw the interest in supporting and participating in the Association extending beyond training centres to include therapy centres, local associations, networks and individuals. All were welcome to join in the debates and deliberations.

The meeting decided to call the Association GANZ: Gestalt Australia and New Zealand - An Association of Gestalt Therapy and Practice. The working parties were asked to pursue further tasks for presentation at the next meeting to be held in Brisbane in March, 1998. The English translations for the various German words which carry the sound "GANZ" received considerable attention -ganz meaning whole and gans meaning goose. In the closing session of the meeting reference was made to the special qualities of geese - they fly in a particular pattern, when the leader becomes tired another takes the lead, when one falls behind others slow down and support them, and when one falls to the ground others stop and assist them in returning to the flock. While we had a few laughs about other qualities of geese, we saw parallels between the special qualities of geese and the qualities we all viewed as intrinsic to the Association. The meeting provided an exciting reminder of what can be achieved when people get together, accept differences and commonalities, and work together toward a shared goal.

I was reminded of Martin Buber and the potential for "healing through meeting."

It is now August, 1997. Almost 2 years have passed since I asked myself whether there was a desire among centres to form an Association. I have an answer to my question and much more. I have had opportunities to meet dedicated and exciting people and opportunities to contribute, along with others, to the establishment of a gestalt therapy community in this region of the world...and it all began with a question!

Here is the end of this part of the journal but not the end to the story.....