 Presentation Abstracts
Saturday, June 6 |
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| Field in Flux: Gestalt in the World Through Internet Technology
INTERNATIONAL An international panel describes Internet facility as a growing aspect of the world of Gestalt. This presentation includes theory, describes ethical issues in telehealth, practical benefits and uses of the Internet, and advocates artistic expression on the world wide web. It is also experiential in that the technology being described will be partially demonstrated, and those attending will interact directly with two panelists via live web conferencing. Panelist contributions will be augmented with overhead transparencies and notes. Panel co-chairs will encourage and facilitate audience participation during question-answer sessions.
The Gestalt Therapist in the World of the Spirit INTERNATIONAL Gestalt is not just a therapy, it is a way of being in the world. Its philosophy emerges from horrors of the camps. Undergirding Gestalt is a new paradigm of perception: no longer of 'grasping' and 'mastering' but of respect, humility, and allowing to be (different). The thrust of this which informs our least bodily movement is to transform every situation at every level of existence. The horizon against which this embodied perception makes sense is the silent and uncontrollable infinitude of reality present as mystery; a point of departure for spirituality. The presentation will have a strong experiential component.
Gestalt Therapy with Gender Identity Disorder INTERNATIONAL The conditions of transgenderism and transsexualism, above all others, are existential conditions that underline the subjective meaning of 'well-being'. Gestalt psychotherapists do not proceed from the prejudice of an "optimal" development line biologically defined, but can accept the clients' choices without denying what they feel as the truest self: their psychic identity. Creativity is the ultimate aim of Gestalt therapy and in these cases it is a tool for clients and therapists to ease evolutionary processes in completely personal and unique ways.
Touching the Backdop of Your Personal Mythology INTERNATIONAL In this workshop, we will examine the concept of "personal mythology" developed by Feinstein and Krippner, proposing it as a relevant contribution to Gestalt therapy. This is a conceptual framework that can help us understand the uniqueness of each individual's socio-cultural, historical, and transgenerational life experiences. It also can help us access aspects of our backgrounds usually not in our awareness. An experiment will follow that will help participants get in touch with personal inner beliefspersonal mythsthat constitute the peculiar lenses through which we perceive ourselves, others, the world, and our own existential possibilities.
A Hopelessly Optimistic Approach for Couples and Family Therapy Stephanie Bachman, MSSA & Joseph Melnick, Ph.D.; Portland, Maine An approach will be presented for couple's and family therapy that interweaves field theory, system's theory, and Gestalt psychology. Participants will learn how to attend to what is contextually positive in the intimate system's process, how to describe these strengths using phenomenological data, and how to intervene to facilitate change. In this approach, resistances are viewed as habitual, often acontextual forms and patterns of systemic interaction. They are not viewed from an individual perspective. Assessment is viewed as an ongoing collaborative process. The workshop will combine exercises, lectures, and focused discussion.
Conflict, Conflict Resolution, and Culture Marlene Blumenthal, M.A., LPC; Beachwood, Ohio Human conflict and conflict resolution are cultural phenomena. Different cultures develop and value diverse organizations around what constitutes conflict and socially acceptable ways of managing difference in the interpersonal field. In this experiential workshop we will explore our cultural ground, noticing what we each perceive as a conflictual process. After identifying influences in our meaning making of these events or processes, we will attempt to make figural individual differences and explore our experience of holding multiple realities. We will identify emerging themesuniversal and uniquewithin our group, taking into consideration our diverse cultural influences.
Developing a Gestalt Therapy Curriculum in Graduate Schools Todd Burley, Ph.D.,Los Angeles, California; Iris Fodor, Ph.D.,New York, New York; Erv Ruhl, D.S.W.,Fresno, California Training in Gestalt therapy takes place in post-graduate workshops and Institutes rather than in academic centers. The paradox is that compared with paradigms such as cognitive behavior therapy and psychoanalysis, Gestalt therapy is in fact more compatible with current cognitive, biological, and ecological understandings of behavior. Perhaps for that reason Gestalt therapy is making its presence felt in academic settings in the United States and the United Kingdom. This panel brings together the experience of three distinct graduate programs; Social Work, Clinical Psychology, and School psychology. Curricula, syllabi, and experience interfacing with departmental and university systems will be discussed.
Gestalt and Somatics: The New Integration Somatics & Gestalt Therapy Interest Group Gestalt therapy is the original holistic therapy, teaching us to work experientially with breath and awareness, excitement and retroflection. At the same time that Gestalt was being founded, somatic pioneers were developing the technologies that enable us to fully embody our work. This is now a developed area of Gestalt practice. In this presentation, the AAGT Somatics Interest Group will present an overview of the current range of body-based Gestalt therapy. Through panel discussion and group experimentation, we will explore the theory and practice of this work, defining the advantages and challenges that arise at this creative edge.
The Phenomenology of Being a Father Jeffrey Marsh, Ph.D.; Beverly Hills, California Being a father in America will be discussed utilizing the Gestalt lenses of phenomenology, existentialism, and field theory. This exploration will center around the presenter's 15 years of experience running a Grandfather-Father- Child program. Participants will learn to describe father experience from comprehensive Gestalt perspectives and thus sharpen "fathering" as an intriguing figure which has remained shadowy and vague throughout much of history. This clearer figure will be the basis for dialogue during the presentation. As well, participants will be oriented to an extremely successful model for creating and maintaining Father-Child programs.
A Gestalt Approach to the Treatment of Gambling Gambling is one of the most difficult addictions to treat. This workshop will explore a Gestalt approach to the treatment of gambling, both from an addictive point of view and a characterologic point of view. We will explore the constructs that gamblers have limited character options for dealing with the external environment, and very strong negative introjects about self and the world. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to experience the model used by the presenter in his work, understand the role of the therapist in a characterologic approach to treatment of gambling and the integration of the addiction model into the process, |
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