Sydney Gestalt Therapy Training Institute
The Illawarra Gestalt Centre
Gestalt Training Institute WestAustralia
Brisbane Gestalt Institute
Brisbane Gestalt Therapy & Training Centre
Northern Rivers Gestalt Institute

(Consult also Histories)

The Gestalt Therapy Training Institute Sydney offers an established and comprehensive Three Year Gestalt Therapy Training Program. The first year may be undertaken as a single training year or as a foundation year for those wishing to continue on to advanced level training. At the satisfactory completion of the One Year Training programme students may apply for acceptance into Second Year Training and from there proceed on to Third Year Training.

The program is designed to provide an in-depth comprehensive approach to all aspects of the theory, methodology and practice of Gestalt Therapy. Focus is placed on the personal work and growth of the student as the experiential foundation for the development of, a deeper sense of self, more satisfying contact with others, a rich repertoire of well integrated personal and professional skills and a sound theoretical base applicable to the practice of Gestalt therapy.

The course emphasises learning by experience through the exploration of personal issues, creative experimentation, structured exercises and the group process. Teaching is in relation to the theoretical basis of the Gestalt approach and the personal work explored in the group. The understanding of theory and its relationship to practice is facilitated by required reading, practical work and presentations by students. It is essential for students to be open to change and growth and be prepared to challenge many of their existing concepts about themselves and others.

Program Structure

The course is conducted over 10 weekends and the Monday evening following each weekend. Each training year involves 180 hours of group time. Additional study time is required for reading and assignments.

Faculty

Anna Bernet is the Principle and a senior trainer at The Gestalt Training Institute Sydney. She graduated in Community Welfare at J.C.U. Qld. in 1980 where she specialised in Counselling, Group work and Community Development. After completing three years of Gestalt work with Jacqueline Hering in 1982 she went on to complete a further four years training at The Brisbane Gestalt Institute. Her significant teachers apart from Jacqueline Hering were Jorge Rosner from The Toronto Gestalt Institute and Hameed Ali (A.H.Almaas) founder of The Diamond Approach to Self Realization. Anna is a frequent guest leader in Brisbane and Melbourne. In 1987 she co-founded the Sydney Gestalt Centre where she was a co-director and a senior trainer for six years. In 1992 she founded The Gestalt Therapy Training Institute Sydney. Anna brings with her nineteen years of experience in working with the Gestalt approach. She is recognised as one of Australia's most experienced Gestalt therapists and works at the leading edge of her field.

Yaro Starak is the Director of The Brisbane Gestalt Institute and a senior trainer with The Gestalt Therapy Training Institute Sydney. Yaro lectures in Group Work at The University of Qld. He travels extensively conducting training seminars and workshops in Australia and overseas.

Bruce Furner is senior counsellor at the University of New Castle, NSW and one of the pioneers of Gestalt therapy in Australia.

The Brisbane Gestalt Institute (BGI) is a training and educational institute committed to providing introductory courses, training courses and Continuing Professional Improvement (CPI) seminars in Gestalt Therapy and methodology.

Aims of the Training Programme

• To facilitate a thorough theoretical and experiential knowledge on Gestalt psychotherapy including its basic philosophy as the core content.
• To provide an in-depth understanding of Gestalt Therapy theory and practice
• To establish self-directed learning and self-support within a group atmosphere in order to establish high standards of competence during the training stages
• To incorporate high standards of competence and ethics in Gestalt Therapy practice
• To facilitate an understanding of Gestalt Therapy within the context of other therapies and their potential contributions to social and environmental issues.

Training Process

The learning process during the training is determined through active participation and dialogue between the students and their personal training facilitators. Hence the student is encouraged to identify his or her own needs and contribute actively to the design of the learning process.

The first stage of training consists of an introductory year that is the basic course for entry to the second and third stage. The second and third stage comprise the CORE training in Gestalt Therapy and requires the completion of all the requirements of the course before the candidate is awarded the Diploma of Gestalt Therapy (Dip G.T.) The completion of the Introductory course and partial completion of any of the stages will be awarded with a Letter of Completion of the specified subjects and hours.

Course Structure

Stage One

A prerequisite to enter the second and third stage of training is the completion of the Introductory Gestalt Course or an equivalent approved by the Director of the Institute.

Stage Two

Focuses on the CORE theoretical and practice material learned in stage one with more emphasis on developing advanced knowledge and skills as a Gestalt Therapist. Methods and techniques will be practised with senior leaders and in small groups to provide more depth and broaden the student's capabilities as a practitioner.

Self-directed small groups enable students to practice their skills and techniques with each others, particularly those that have been demonstrated during training weekends.

Personal development sessions are required of each student, completing a minimum of ten individual session per year with a recognised Gestalt Therapist.

Stage Three

The major focus of this stage is the rigourous application of Gestalt Theory and Practice in the work place, with consideration of key issues involved in the therapeutic process and the preparation for the final examination. Two video recordings of work with an individual client and one with a small group is done to present to the examiners plus a 2,500 word essay on a particular aspect of Gestalt Theory.

All students finish the year at a residential seminar to finish the year's work according to the requirements of each stage. Expectations and evaluations of the work is undertaken. The course is recognised professional training under the National Council for Experiential Therapies Inc. This is the current standards setting body for all experiential therapist including Gestalt Therapy in Australia.

Director

Yaro Starak

Faculty

Maria Vogt
Anna Bernet
Barry Blicharski
Margaret Koenning

In operation since 1985, the centre is located near the University of Wollongong and is attended by professionals from all over NSW, ACT and Victoria through a course structure of weekend workshops and residential programs. It is the commitment of these people as much as the teaching faculty and centre manager, which make up the community that is the Illawarra Gestalt Centre.

The centre offers two professional programs. (1) A one year certificate course in gestalt counselling (100 hours) which integrates the theory, skill and practice of counselling based on the gestalt approach. This course is accredited with 20 hours supervision towards registration for psychologists in New South Wales. (2) A three year accreditation program in gestalt therapy (400 hours) which addresses the specific skills, practice and process of the gestalt approach to psychotherapy, followed by supervision and thesis work on completion of the training component.

In the last few years the centre has developed national and international links with other gestalt training programs, and was chosen as one of a panel of five centres from across the world to present on training at the 1st International Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy in New Orleans in October 1995.

Centre Manager

Jenny O'Neill is the Centre Manager of the Illawarra Gestalt Centre. She is a gestalt therapist and works in private practice as well as managing the centre's administrative and financial activities.

Teaching Faculty

Brian O'Neill is the Director of the Illawarra Gestalt Centre and is a faculty member of several Gestalt Training Programs in Australia. He is a Board Member of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy (USA) and presents counsellor training courses throughout Australia. He is Director of the IAHS Drug,Alcohol & HIV Prevention Service and a Senior Fellow at the University of Wollongong.

Judy Leung is a psychologist who has training and experience in gestalt, psychodrama, hypnotherapy, family therapy and play therapy. She has worked with the Department of Health for many years as well as being in private practice in the Illawarra. She has substantial experience in working with groups, families and individuals and provides training and supervision for psychologists, counsellors and health professionals. She the president of the Shoalhaven Branch of the Australian Psychological Society.

Michael Reed is a qualified social worker and registered psychologist with over 25 years experience in working with individuals, families and groups across a variety of health care, educational and therapeutic settings. Currently Michael is the Co-ordinator of the Centre for the Advancement of Adolescent Health and Consultant Family Therapist to the Department of Adolescent Medicine, The New Children's Hospital and Westmead Hospital. Michael runs a small private practice in Sydney.

Visiting Faculty

Barry Blicharski was director of the Sydney Gestalt Centre for over 12 years and has trained in gestalt therapy with Erv and Miriam Polster. He is an accredited psychodrama director as well as having trained in family therapy and sandplay. He is a psychiatrist and works in private practice.

Zish Ziembinski is the executive director of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Western Australia and provides training in gestalt therapy in USA and Europe. A Clinical Psychologist in private practice, he has extensive experience as a psychotherapist in a variety of settings, in the past twenty years.

Comments from the third year group re the effect of focusing on the individual organism level and then translating this to the group and community as a living organism.

Effect on Individuals

• Has allowed me to see my self not only as an individual but also as how I am connected to the group, how I make contact and withdraw, and by this approach I have taken responsibility and taken risks in relationships and how I am in relationship
• An awareness of the continual process of exploration from moment to moment At times the waters flowing down the river become choppy and fast at other times calm and supporting - yet forever moving and changing
• Environmental awareness of the group provided me with a holistic awareness. Work with others made aware of the process happening in me Provided me with a systemic approach Let me be aware of the Love and Wisdom of the group organism
• The self regulation of the group organism is far more powerful and self supporting than individual gestalt development
• An experiencing of something beyond the group, the individual etc Reveals a broad application of the principles of gestalt A sense of belonging and being apart of Has lead to difficulty in being different accepting seperateness on occasions
• More aware of similarity and diffrences.. really confronting As a group and at a group level the contact episode explains more than other group models. The group process in terms of the contact episode enabled me to see me in relation to others clearly, to be touched by warmth and authenticity at a level I've never been through except with a lover.. How strange
• Provides more realistic complete perspective of gestalt - stimulates and facilitates personal growth Process of growth and enrichment across cultural/environmental backgrounds
• As a loner this approach was very challenging since it confronted me with how others see me...I learnt much more about myself and the relationships I am in...I realised I was part of a whole and an individual with unique features at the same time....There is a greater richness in the whole than there are in the component parts .. it's like traesure hunting .. I am the treasure and so is everyone else
• I am aware of the connections between group members and that there exists a collextive wisdom..My experience is of the group self-regulating itself to have each memebers needs met after a period of struggle and polaristaion This has moved me towards accepting the differnces between individuals and yet being the same
• Enriches awareness of myself in relationship to others... a deeper awareness of process... enriches my awareness of the group as a coneected whole organism and how together we contact and withdraw
• Engages me excites me involves ma at a different level Feel part of a bigger, wiser,more loving than just me or me and therapist
• The wisdom of the organism and my sense of of essence has been explored and clarified and my understanding is based on the spirit humaness and nature in a wholsistic perspective The richness of experience has been enhanced in this interconnectedness

Effect on The Community of the Illawarra Gestalt Centre

• Gives a sense of community Nurturing Growth Support Bonds and holds community together widens and enriches Encourages growth and change
• Feedback valuable Provides a richer experience of the whole group
• The copmmunity as a whole is a source of richness where diversity can be exp[ressed freely with mutual espect and so uncovering blind spots
• Themes expressed in personal work are often a reflection of group theme
• Group boundaries are continually tested and expande
• learn about new perspectives and so broaden our horizons of awareness
• Gestalt community has a richness in experience knowledge skill and perspective to offer a broad figure/ground relationship
• Connectedness of similarities as well as differences gave greater strenght to challenging myself and group
• Adds more colour and diversity in the process
• Group development is a building process of individuals contributing to the whole group experience and awareness
• Individual growth feeds group growth feeds individual growth leading to an awareness of the uniqueness of group process

The GTIWA Training Programme

The Gestalt Training Institute West Australia offers a comprehensive and internationally respected,experientially based, four year training programme. The same programme has in past years been offered by The Gestalt Therapy Institute of Perth, with the same Training Faculty.

Training is based on the completion of progressive yearly modules, run from late February to early December, each year. Trainees can choose to do one or more years of training, accordingto their personal and professional interests. Each training year consists of five workshops, three of which are residential, as well as weekly evening meetings over four terms.

Training is in a group setting, with emphasis on personal learning, group process, development of practical skills through supervision of trainee's work in group, as well as theoretical lectures and discussions.

To facilitate the enhancement of adequate self-awareness and contactfulness, which is the foundation of this psychotherapeutic approach, all trainees are required to undertake a minimum of 25 individual therapy sessions per year, with a Gestalt Therapist recommended by the Institute.

This programme respects the personal and professional backgrounds that individual trainees bring to the training group by encouraging development at each trainee's own pace. The eventual goal of completing this training course is the development of a competent Gestalt Therapist with a unique personal style; one that reflects the individual nature and personal background of the practitioner, and recognises and respects individual differences.

Progression in Training

Training in Module one is focused on developing awareness, contactfulness and self support, as a preliminary foundation to skills development. In the second year of training, trainees are encouraged to begin practising the work under supervision, with more emphasis placed on theoretical reading anddiscussion. In the third and fourth year of training, the emphasis is on the continued development of practitioner skills, and a thorough understanding of the theory and processes underlying the Gestalt Therapy aproach, through extensive reading, theory seminars and written assignments.

Accreditation of Training

A"Certificate of Completion of Training" isissued to trainees on request, at the completion of each year of training.To obtain such a Certificate, you must attend at least 80% of all workshops and group evening meetings, complete a minimum of 25 individual therapy sessions, and complete any set theoretical components.

Trainees are assessed by Faculty as to their readiness to continue to the next level of training or final certification.At the end of at least four years of training, trainees may, on theinvitation of the Training Faculty, undertake a formal "Certification of Competence" assessment. Successful candidates become "Graduates of the Institute".

Course Structures and Costs

Training is completed in yearly Modules.Trainees coming into training must commit themselves to a training group on a yearly basis, on acceptance of an offer to join Module One group. The fee for Module One in 1998 will be $2300. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is due with acceptance of a place in a training group. The remainder ($1800) is payable two weeks before the training programme begins.

Module One will be limited to a maximum of 14 members. It will start the training year in mid February and finish in early December, 1998. The group will have three residential workshops,which will be either three or four days, according to the group's size. The cost of accomodation and food is an extra cost, not covered in the training fee. The group also meets weekly on a Monday evening over four terms (each seven evenings) and have two non-residential workshops in between. Workshops are scheduled over weekends. Please note that workshops and eveningmeetings do not necessarily coincide with school or public holidays.

As well as completing the group component oft he training, trainees are required to complete at least 25 individual therapy sessions, for training purposes, with a Gestalt therapist recommended by the Institute. This represents an additional cost of $85 per session. Both the fee for Group Training andTherapy fee are ordinarily considered a deduction off your taxable income, if you are completing the training as a necessary part of practising your profession.

Local Training Faculty 1998

Principal Trainers

ZISH ZIEMBINSKI trained with the Perth Institute's inaugural group, beginning in 1981, and joined the Faculty as a trainer in 1984. He was the Director of The Gestalt Therapy Institute from 1990 to 1996 and is Co-Director of GTIWA. Zish is visiting Faculty Member of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles and is a visiting trainer with a number of Institutes in Australia.He is on the Editorial Board of The Gestalt Review and The Australian Gestalt Journal. A Clinical Psychologist in private practice, Zish has more than twenty years extensive experience as a psychotherapist in a variety of settings.

CLAUDIA ROSENBACH - ZIEMBINSKI trained with The Berlin Gestalt Centre and is also a graduate of the Los Angeles Institute's European programme. Originally a teacher for ten years, she later completed studies in Clinical Psychology. She was invited several times to Perth as an overseas Trainer before deciding to live in Perth in 1988, joining The Gestalt Therapy Institute of Perth as a local trainer. She is currently a Co-Director of the Gestalt Training Institute West Australia. Claudia is also a visiting Faculty Member of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles as well as a visiting trainer to a number of Australian institutes. She has extensive experience as a psychotherapist and has a private practice in Clinical Psychology.

Other Local Trainers

RICHARD HESTER is a Psychiatrist and Graduate of the Perth Institute's first training group. Richard undertook psychotherapeutic and psychiatric training in England before returning to Perth, where he worked as a senior consultant Psychiatrist in a large teaching hospital for twenty years. He now works mainly in his own practice and has many years experience as a psychotherapist.

LYN DURHAM is a Graduate of the Perth Institute currently working in private practice as a psychotherapist at a community based counselling service. She also has many years experienceworking in the public health area with groups and individuals.

WILHELM HURTZ is originally from Germany,where he had a private practice in Occupational Therapy. He is a Graduate of the Perth Institute and currenlty the Director of Counselling at a large youth based agency working with groups, families and individuals.

Visiting Faculty

BOB RESNICK, Ph.D. is a co-founder of the Los Angeles Institute. He trained with Fritz Perls and Jim Simkin. He is a major figure in the training of Gestalt Therapists in North America, Europe and Australia. He has a private practice in L.A. and is completing a book to do with couples, from a GestaltTherapy perspective.

RITA RESNICK, Ph.D. works in private practice and is a long time Faculty Member of the Gestalt Institute of Los Angeles. She is interested in working with couples and is trained as a Social Worker and Clinical Psychologist.

MAYA BRAND is a psychotherapist in private practice and a Trainer for the Portland Gestalt Therapy Training Institute (PGTTI), in Oregon. She convened the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy's first Conference in New Orleans, in 1995. She trained for many years with Isadore From.

DAVID HOBAN, M.D. received his training in Gestalt Therapy from Jim Simkin. He works as a Psychiatrist in private practice in Santa Cruz, and has many years experience as a Medical Administrator / Practitioner in a large private hospital, as well as Gestalt Therapy Trainer in the States, Australia and Europe.

GABE PHILLIPS, PhD is a clinical psychologist in private practice and a co-director of Gestalt Therapy Australia, in Melbourne. He trained with the Melbourne Institute.

MICHAEL REED, PhD trained as a Social Worker in Israel and a Psychologist in Australia. He is a trainer with the Illawara Gestalt Centre and the chief psychologist at a large children's hospital in Sydney.

CLAIRE TAUBERT, is a graduate of the Melbourne Institute. She works in private practice as a clinical psychologist and is a trainer and co-director of Gestalt Therapy Australia.

What To Do

To apply for training in 1998 you need to complete an Application Form. On submission of your Application Form, you will be interviewed by a Faculty Member. A fee of $60 is charged for the interview. Alternatively, you may wish to attend a "taster" weekend workshop to be held in November. Early application is appreciated, and the closing date for applications is 31 December, 1996. If you are interested in starting training in 1997 or want more information, please write, phone, fax or e-mail us.

The purpose of this Gestalt centre is to provide quality training for people interested in applying Gestalt to their work with others.

The structure and process of training is designed with this purpose in mind. It is not an absolute structure; it is open to change as per the needs of time, place and person, and in response to what is most effective in training terms. Training times are set so that people can attend from a distance.

The aim is that students achieve a sufficient grasp both theoretically and personally of the practice of Gestalt. They are expected to demonstrate throughout the training a commitment and ability to apply Gestalt principles both in work with others as well as in their own life. Students are encouraged to understand Gestalt in terms of a philosophy and approach to living, as much as the learning and refinement of a technical modality.

Assessment is on an ongoing basis, and feedback is given to trainees as to their standing in terms of the above. The achievement of a level of a sufficient level of competence is judged both on the basis of observations over time, and demonstrated ability at the time of completion of the course.

The Institute operates out of Lismore, in northern New South Wales, Australia. The director and principal trainer is Stephen Gunther, and each year visiting faculty are drawn from a wide cross-section of trainers. Guest trainers include Eileen Wright, Chris Campbell, Mac Hamilton, Zish Ziembihski, and Bruce Furner. The training spans three years, and is accredited with the National Council for Experiential Therapies.

Contact details:
Stephen Gunther
ph 066-213 911; fax 215 203
46 Uralba St.
Lismore, NSW 2480
email: sgunther@scu.edu.au

The programme at the Centre was first offered in 1991 by Mac Hamilton who qualified in Australia (Coolangatta) and the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. The Centre now has seven staff, and provides a three year programme for training as a Gestalt Therapist, with an exit point at two years for people wishing to use Gestalt method in other work areas. We have approx 30 students at any one time. The staff are all qualified Gestalt Therapists, some being graduates of the programme and fulfilling assistant trainer roles. We operate as a team, with guidance from a management committee. Between us we hold a range of tertiary qualifications from Certificate to Honours Degrees in Education, Science, Psychology, Counselling, Arts, and Chinese Medicine. We also have diversity in employment history, and client populations. We are : Mac Hamilton, Ann Gordon, Alexia Lennon, Alan Meara, Kathy Moran, Jo Ross and Greer White. Some staff are continuing study, and several have attended training in the U.S.

The programme has an experiential approach with four concurrent learning streams. A series of weekend workshops contain two streams: in the mornings, a didactic presentation of Gestalt concepts in theory and practice which can also include the use of experiential exercises and personal and group work; in the afternoons, small group practicum, where trainees rotate through roles of intervener, client and observers who provide oral feedback. Staff supervise the practicum and provide written feedback to the interveners. We use the term intervener rather than the term trainee therapist, to de-emphasise the need to make something happen. The practicums provide a structured build up in Gestalt process skills and length of interaction, with full therapy sessions introduced in the middle of year two. The other two streams are provided by fortnightly personal development groups, facilitated by staff, and by monthly personal work with a staff member with a requirement to work with at least three different staff. In third year, live supervision of working one to one leads to assessment as a competent therapist and is followed by a choice of working with groups or couples and family. We are currently seeking accreditation of our programme as a higher education Graduate Diploma.

81 Frederick St., Toowong, Brisbane,
Queensland, 4066. Australia.
Telephone: + 61 7 3371 8163
Fax (c/-): + 61 7 3395 5284
Email (c/-): ameara@ozemail.com.au