Gestalt Foundation
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Scientific Activities
Gestalt Foundation besides providing educational and training programs to mental health professionals is also involved in organizing and participating in various scientific meetings and activities.
Just a year after its foundation, in 1999, it incorporated in its training program an annual 4day workshop. Year after year this workshop is enriched and it continues to evolve and as a result is managed to establish and expand its participation in a community where individuals co-create and contribute in their own unique way.
This 4 day scientific meeting has become an institution and takes place annually in different locations in Greece. Due to its experiential character participants are asked to stay in the venue that hosts the workshop.
The workshop program includes training and experiential groups, mental health professional groups as well as presentations by trainees and graduates. It is a workshop open to trainees, center graduates and to individuals who are interested in Gestalt, mental health professionals and professionals from other areas that would like to participate in experiential groups.
In these annual 4day workshops important issues are explored and the coordination of the groups is entrusted not only to the centers trainers but also to established and respected Greek and foreign Gestalt psychotherapy trainers.
Subjects that have been explored during these annual meetings include:
- “Τhe world of experience… a creative process”
May 2023, Volos
- “ The human body is animate and its soul incarnate”
May 2022, Volos
- “ Phenomenology in the Field”
May 2021, Athens
- “ Group Dynamic”
May 2020, Athens
- “Flying without wings: The paradoxical theory of Change”
May 2019, Volos
- “Commitment”
May 2018, Volos
- “Process: The continuum in space-time”
May 2017, Volos
- “Earth, Water, Air, Fire…Flesh…: The experience of Being”
May 2016, Volos
- “The “relational” within the Field”
May 2015, Volos
- ‘Eros: Our creative power»
May 2014, Volos
- “Aggression: Its functional and non-functional aspects according to Gestalt Therapy”
May 2013, Karpenisi
- “Thinking, feeling, observing, experimenting, growing.”
Experience and process in Gestalt Therapy
May 2012, Kamena Vourla
- “Creative Adjustement of a Society in Crisis”
May 2011, Athens
- “Gestalt Theray in Practice”
May 2010, Litochoro Pieria
- “Vision, Creation, Evolution”
May 2009, Litochoro Pieria
- “Time and I. I, Time”
May 2008, Pelion
- “Differentiation: Tolerance or Acceptance”
May 2007, Pelion
- “The art of psychotherapy, The art of Living”
May 2006, Pelion
- “Interdependency in Relationships: A human Condition”
May 2005, Pelion
- “The experience of self: sex, identity, nature”
April 2004, Pelion
- “Gestalt Psychotherapy “Here and Now”: Exploring sensitive issues of our society”
May 2003, Chalkidiki
- “Σ.Χ.Ε.Σ.Η. (Meeting – separation – intimacy – presence – contact”
May 2002, Agios Konstantinos
- “Transference - Countertransference”
May 2001, Pelion
- “Therapeutic Relationship”
April 2000, Pelion
- “Gestalt and Psychopathology”
April 1999, Pelion
The founding members of Gestalt Foundation regularly participate in international conferences and meetings with speeches, presentations, lectures, or workshops including:
- The 9th NOPG Worksop
Athens, December 2018
- Two-day meeting of HAC
Athens, December 2017
- 8th NOPG Conference
Athens, December 2017
- 12th European Conference of Gestalt Psychotherapy
Taormina, September 2016
- 1st Colloquium of HAGT
Athens, October 2015
- 20th European Congress of EAP
Athens, June 2015
- 5th Panhellenic Conference of Young Blood Donors Volunteers
Arta, March 2012
- 10th European Conference of Gestalt Psychotherapy
Berlin, 2010
- 7th Pan-Hellenic Conference on Alzheimer Disease and Related
Disorders
Thessaloniki, 2010
- 25th International Conference of Alzheimer Disease
Thessaloniki, 2010
- 6th Pan-Hellenic Conference on Alzheimer Disease and Related
Disorders
Thessaloniki, 2009
- 10th Pan-Hellenic Conference of Psychosocial Oncology
Athens, 2006
- 8th European Conference of Gestalt Psychotherapy
Prague, 2004
- European Conference for Multiple Sclerosis
Greece, 2004
- World Conference for Alzheimer disease
Greece, 2003
- 7th European Conference of Gestalt Psychotherapy
Stockholm, 2001
- Greek Company of Counseling
Greece, 2001
The organization of the 9th European Gestalt Psychotherapy Conference
Gestalt Foundation Psychotherapy and Training Center was selected by the EAGT (European Association for Gestalt Therapy), to host the 9th Pan-European Gestalt Psychotherapy Conference which was successfully held in September 2007 at the Divani Caravel Hotel, in Athens.
The 9th European Gestalt Psychotherapy Conference was sponsored by the EAGT, Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture and the main subject was: ”Exploring Human Conflict”
The trust shown by the European Association for Gestalt Therapy (EAGT) by selecting Gestalt Foundation to host these Conference as well as the Response of the Gestalt scientific community with its 500-delegate participation and the support of EAGT, the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture who sponsored the conference, is a testament to the Centers’ evolving and dynamic course.
Also, the founding members, always in action, participated, as well, in the organization of international scientific events such as:
Within the framework of this Conference, Gestalt Foundation, under the auspices of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, organized experiential workshops, held on 25th – 26th November 2006, in Athens and on 20th – 21st January 2007, in Thessaloniki, entitled:
- “Experiential Workshop aiming at sensitizing on matters of conflict resolution at schools, based on Human Rights”
The results of these workshops were presented by Gestalt Foundation and associates, during the Conference
Also, the founding members, always in action, participated, as well, in the organization of international scientific events such as:
- Gestalt Therapy International Network
- Writers Conference for Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt Foundation as an educational and training Center always aspires to provide innovative services to individuals who entrust it for their education, training and continuous updating. To achieve this it organizes regular Meetings in both Athens and Thessalonica, on subjects such as:
April 2023
Organization of an open day - Conference on "Gestalt Psychotherapy: A psychotherapeutic approach for everyone...", held on Saturday, April 1, 2023, in the Lecture Hall of the Nea Ionia’s Cultural Center, Volos. The program of the event included, personal shares, Gestalt and education, Gestalt and art, Gestalt and body, Gestalt and chronic diseases, interpersonal relationships, parenting.
At the same event there was a presentation of the book by Ms. Yiamarelou Yianna entitled "The flow of experience and the necessity of short-term groups in today's becoming: A relational perspective of the Gestalt approach", Armos publications. The presentation was prefaced by Ms. Dafni Filippou.
October 2022
Organization of an open day – Conference on "Gestalt Psychotherapy: A psychotherapeutic approach for everyone...", held on Saturday October 1st 2022, at Mylos of Pappa, Larisa. The program of the event included, personal shares, Gestalt and Education, Gestalt and Art, Gestalt and body, Gestalt and chronic diseases, interpersonal relationships, parenting.
December 2018
One day anniversary Conference to celebrate the 20 years since the establishment of the Gestalt Foundation with the theme “Phenomenology in Gestalt Therapy”, which took place on Sunday, 9th December, 2018, 9:30-19:30 in the ‘Antonis Tritsis’ Amphitheatre, at OPANDA, Academia’s str., 50, in Athens.
November 2018
One day anniversary Conference to celebrate the 20 years since the establishment of the Gestalt Foundation entitled ”GESTALT FOUNDATION “20 YEAR TOGETHER”, in collaboration with the Greek Association for Alzheimer and Related Disorders, Xen Thessaloniki, Support Organisation “Krousmaton”- volunteer counseling station for adolescents and their families in the municipality of Thermaikos, Association of volunteer support of minors and young people: “inside&outside”, Association for cancer victims in Edessa and surrounding areas. The Conference took place on Sunday 4th November, 2018, in the Town Hall of Thessaloniki.
October 2018
One day anniversary Conference to celebrate the 20 years since the establishment of the Gestalt Foundation entitled GESTALT THERAPY AND VOLUNTEERISM “20 YEARS TOGETHER” ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY sponsored by the municipality of Larissa and in collaboration with: The Association for the visually impaired “Magnetes Tyfloi” in Magnesia, Association for Cancer victims in Larissa, XEN in Larissa, TEI in Larissa, University of Thessalia, Panthessalian Association for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Parent Association for Diabetic Children and Adolescents in Magnesia. The Conference took place on Sunday, 21st October from 10:00 to 15:30 at Milos tou Pappa’, in the town of Larissa (Main Building, 53 Georgiadou Street).
February 2014
One-day Meeting in Athens, organized by Gestalt Foundation in cooperation with the Municipality Moschatou -Tavrou entitled “Approaching creatively vital concerns of the community on February 2014, in the small theater at the Tavro’s former City Hall
November 2008
One-day Meeting in Athens, for the celebration of 10 years from the foundation of Gestalt Foundation, under the general theme:“Training in Psychotherapy”, on November 2008 at the Cultural Center of University of Indianapolis, Plaka
October 2008
One-day Meeting in Thessaloniki for the celebration of 10 years from the foundation of Gestalt Foundation, under the general theme“Psychotherapy and Society”, on October 2008. “Pavlos Zannas” Hall, “OLYMPION” Cinema
January 2007
Organization of an experiential workshop under the auspices of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, entitled “Experiential Workshop aiming at sensitizing on matters of conflict resolution at schools, based on Human Rights” held in Thessaloniki, on January 20 – 21, 2007
November 2006
Organization of an experiential workshop under the auspices of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, entitled “Experiential Workshop aiming at sensitizing on matters of conflict resolution at schools, based on Human Rights” held in Athens, on November25 – 26, 2006
November 2004
One-day Meeting, organized in cooperation with the National Organization of Psychotherapy in Greece and the Psychotherapy & Ergotherapy Center “Morfi & Fonto” and with the support of the “The Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Relative Disorders”, “The Association of Cancer Patients of Macedonia – Thrace” and YWCA of Thessaloniki, entitled “Gestalt Therapy in the 21st century: in dialogue with differences” (14 November 2004)
Conference Center: Thessaloniki History Center, Billis Building.
The Gestalt Foundation doesn’t rest on its laurels and will tirelessly continue to foster and promote the Gestalt therapeutic approach through any scientific activities.
Gestalt Therapy Approach
The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is for the individual to attain awareness of what he is doing and experiencing. Through the process of awareness, the individual gains an understanding of himself and his environment. He recognizes the potential for change and his capacity to make choices, so that he may live an authentic, meaningful life.
Identity and Goals
The Gestalt Foundation, Psychotherapy and Training Centre, has been operating in Thessaloniki and Athens since 1998 and in Larissa since 2019.
Its main goal is to provide education, constant training and support to professionals based on the theory and methodology of Gestalt therapy as well as improving the practice and promotion of the Gestalt therapy philosophy on a wider range of human activities.
Therefore, our first main concern was to plan and apply an up to par educational program of Gestalt psychotherapy, complete and evenly balanced between theory, experience and clinical practice. A program recognized by all the competent and authoritative bodies.
Throughout its course the Gestalt Foundation, with its willingness to utilize its human resources to the best of their abilities responded to a series of significant activities, collaborations and revisions, that although were not planed, proved important for the Foundations identity.
Gestalt Foundation is internationally certified and a member of the National Societies of Psychotherapy and Counseling. Is accredited by the EAGT (European Association for Gestalt Therapy) the EAP (European Association of Psychotherapy), the NOPG (National Organization for Psychotherapy in Greece) HAC (Hellenic Association for Counseling). It satisfies all the educational requirements set by these organizations and operates according to their provisions.
Gestalt Foundation collaborates with other leading centers and organizations from abroad that are at the forefront of evolution in training, theory and research and today, till September 2023, it lists up to 408 graduates and 169 trainees.
Its founding members are actively collaborating with the European Association for Gestalt Therapy and take part in the decision-making process on the advancement of Gestalt Therapy in Europe.
The Foundation also aims to promote the principles of Gestalt Psychotherapy to a wider range of human activities such as the application of these principles in the workplace environment and especially on issues of power management, conflict, malfunction within the workplace communication etc.
The Gestalt Foundations’ philosophy centers on the belief that humans have the capacity to evolve and creatively adapt to their environment. Its core belief is the principle of “equal opportunity” for all on education and psychotherapy, regardless of religious beliefs, race, political affiliations, sexual orientation, social status, physical or mental capabilities or age group.
The founding members intent to continue to keep abreast with the developments on the field of psychotherapy as well as the ever-changing needs and concerns of the immediate and wider social field, aiming to evolve the training and activities program on both scientific and educational areas. They aspire to carry out this development through:
- The enrichment of the training process with new methods
- The empowerment of Gestalt theory and its applications
- The development of the Greek Bibliography on Gestalt Theory
- The participation of Greek therapists in the international Gestalt bibliography
- The conducting and participation on research and
- The creative utilization of its graduates.
Program of the Advanced Group
Friday 19/05/2017
12:00 – 13:30 Arrival – Registrations - Welcome
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 17:00 Topic: “How to create or enhance safety/security when working with clients with great difficulty in contact”
Coordinator: I. Le Peuc’h
17:00 – 17:30 Coffee-Break
17:30 – 19:00 Continuation and closure of the group
19:30 – 20:30 Parallel Alumni Presentations
Topic: "The role of Discomfort and Distress Crying in the Formulation of Self"
Coordinator: K. Kostas
Topic: “Figure or Ground? Bridging the gap in the paths of autism”
Coordinator: A. Varsamopoulou
Topic: “The chronicle of a failed therapy”
Coordinators: G. Yiaglis, R. Shadmon
Topic: "Creative leadership: a new blueprint for our personal, professional and social life"
Coordinator: G. Stamatis
21:30 – Performance: Body=Carrier and exponent of meaning
Saturday 20/05/2017
10:00 – 13:00 Topic: “How to create or enhance safety/security when working with clients with great difficulty in contact”
Coordinator: I. Le Peuc’h
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 17:00 Continuation of the group
17:00 – 17:30 Coffee-Break
17:30 – 19:00 Continuation and closure of the group
19:30 – 20:30 Parallel Alumni Presentations
Topic: “Wrapping the world around our figure, like a ribbon in the hands of women sitting by the window dreaming”
Coordinator: P. Theodorou
Topic: “Because the world when you share it exists…” (Tasos Leivaditis, 1997, p. 109)
Coordinator: I. Goutzioti
Topic: “…being in the cave of Plato”
Coordinator: P. Koutroufinis
Topic: “Are we born or made?”
Coordinator: E. Koutela
21:30 – Gala – Helping Hands
Sunday 21/05/2017
10:00 – 12:00 Topic: “How to create or enhance safety/security when working with clients with great difficulty in contact”
Coordinator: I. Le Peuc’h
12:00 – 12:30 Coffee Break
12:30 – 14:30 Continuation and closure of the group
14:30 – 15:00 Plenary session – Closure of the 4-day workshop
Program of the Experiencial Group
Friday 19/05/2017
12:00 – 13:30 Arrival – Registrations - Welcome
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 17:00 Topic: “The travelogue of a drop”
Coordinator: M. Farmaki
17:00 – 17:30 Coffee-Break
17:30 – 19:00 Continuation and closure of the group
19:30 – 20:30 Parallel Alumni Presentations
Topic: "The role of Discomfort and Distress Crying in the Formulation of Self"
Coordinator: K. Kostas
Topic: “Figure or Ground? Bridging the gap in the paths of autism”
Coordinator: A. Varsamopoulou
Topic: “The chronicle of a failed therapy”
Coordinators: G. Yiaglis, R. Shadmon
Topic: "Creative leadership: a new blueprint for our personal, professional and social life"
Coordinator: G. Stamatis
21:30 – Performance: Body=Carrier and exponent of meaning
Saturday 20/05/2017
09:00 – 10:00 Arrival – Registrations - Welcome
10:00 – 13:00 Topic: “The travelogue of a drop”
Coordinator: M. Farmaki
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 17:00 Continuation of the group
17:00 – 17:30 Coffee-Break
17:30 – 19:00 Continuation and closure of the group
19:30 – 20:30 Parallel Alumni Presentations
Topic: “Wrapping the world around our figure, like a ribbon in the hands of women sitting by the window dreaming”
Coordinator: P. Theodorou
Topic: “Because the world when you share it exists…” (Tasos Leivaditis, 1997, p. 109)
Coordinator: I. Goutzioti
Topic: “…being in the cave of Plato”
Coordinator: P. Koutroufinis
Topic: “Are we born or made?”
Coordinator: E. Koutela
21:30 – Gala – Helping Hands
Sunday 21/05/2017
10:00 – 12:00 Topic: “The travelogue of a drop”
Coordinator: M. Farmaki
12:00 – 12:30 Coffee Break
12:30 – 14:30 Continuation and closure of the group
14:30 – 15:00 Plenary session – Closure of the 4-day workshop
Program of Trainee's Group
Thursday 18/05/2017
13:30 – 14:30 Arrival - Registration
14:00 – 15:00 Welcome coffee
15:00 – 20:00 1st year of Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “… Impasse …”
Coordinators: K. Hatzilakou, K. Kostas
2nd year of Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “The self as a Realization of the Potential”
Coordinators: A. Konstantinidou, K. Siampani
3rd year Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “Content-Process: The what and how in Gestalt therapy”
Coordinator: Y. Yiamarelou
4th year Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “Don’t Push the River…”F. Perls
Coordinator: D. Balliou
20:30 Dinner
Friday 19/05/2017
10:00 – 11:15 Plenary session - Presentation 3rd year of Thessaloniki
Topic: “Dreams: The continuous journey in the space-time of our existence”
11:15 – 12:30 Plenary session - Presentation 3rd year of Athens
Topic: “Let’s watch the sunrise as we walk towards the sunset”
12:30 – 13:30 Plenary session – 1st & 2nd year (Posters)
2nd year of Thessaloniki
Topic: “Change: What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, life calls it a butterfly”
2nd year of Athens
Topic: “Investing in the Power of the Group”
1st year of Thessaloniki
Topic: “Transformation”
1st year of Athens
Topic: “I change so I exist”
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 17:00 Topic: “Spiral…tornado or labyrinth?”
Coordinators: Κ. Hatzilakou, Κ. Κatsamakis
Topic: “Who am I”
Coordinator: A. Konstandinidou, A. Giagou
Topic: “The balance of the Pendulum”
Coordinator: G.Diplas
Topic: “The creative role of time in mental processes: The myth of Centaur Chiron”
Coordinator: K. Siampani, K. Kostas
Topic: “Each one of us is such a lump of mud… What is our duty?” N. Kazantzakis
Coordinator: D. Balliou, G. Giaglis
17:00 – 17:30 Coffee-Break
17:30 – 19:00 Continuation and closure of the groups
19:30 – 20:30 Parallel Alumni Presentations
Topic: "The role of Discomfort and Distress Crying in the Formulation of Self"
Coordinator: K. Kostas
Topic: “Figure or Ground? Bridging the gap in the paths of autism”
Coordinator: A. Varsamopoulou
Topic: “The chronicle of a failed therapy”
Coordinators: G. Yiaglis, R. Shadmon
Topic: "Creative leadership: a new blueprint for our personal, professional and social life"
Coordinator: G. Stamatis
21:30 – Performance: “The body that delivers and is delivered”
Saturday 20/05/2017
10:00 – 11:30 Plenary session - Presentation 4th year Athens
Topic: “Meeting Fritz therapeutically. From the there and then to the here and now”
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary session - Presentation 4th year Thessaloniki
Topic: “The gender inside me, the gender outside of me”
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 17:00 Topic: “The balance of the Pendulum”
Coordinator: G.Diplas, A. Giagou
Topic: “Expansion of a Relationship through diversity, a perpetual process”
Coordinator: Y. Yiamarelou, G. Giaglis
Topic: “The awareness of uncertainty in the therapeutic process”
Coordinators: D. Balliou
Topic: “The Silence as Lived Body”
Coordinator: Α. Konstantinidou, K. Kostas
Topic: “The awareness of uncertainty in the therapeutic process”
Coordinator: E. Pappa
17:00 – 17:30 Coffee-Break
17:30 – 19:30 Continuation and closure of the groups
19:30 – 20:30 Parallel Alumni Presentations
Topic: “Wrapping the world around our figure, like a ribbon in the hands of women sitting by the window dreaming”
Coordinator: P. Theodorou
Topic: “Because the world when you share it exists…” (Tasos Leivaditis, 1997, p. 109)
Coordinator: I. Goutzioti
Topic: “…being in the cave of Plato”
Coordinator: P. Koutroufinis
Topic: “Are we born or made?”
Coordinator: E. Koutela
21:30 – Gala – Helping Hands
Sunday 21/05/2017
10:00 – 12:00 Plenary session – all four training groups FISHBOWL
12:00 – 12:30 Coffee Break
12:30 – 14:30 1st year of Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “Group Process”
Coordinator: A. Giagou
2nd year of Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “Group Process”
Coordinators: K. Kostas, G. Giaglis
3rd year of Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “Group Process”
4th year of Athens & Thessaloniki
Topic: “Group Process”
14:30 – 15:00 Plenary session – Closure of the 4-day workshop
Training groups
Thursday 18/05/2017 (3rd year training group)
- “Content-Process : The what and how in Gestalt therapy”
“The proper, the appropriate and the timely” with just three words Aristotle illustrates the process as the continuum in the space-time. In this meeting we will discuss and explore how the meaning of these words, as parts of the space-time field, affect us and expand the concept of the relational in the present.
Saturday 20/05/2017 (open training group)
- “Expansion of a Relationship through diversity, a perpetual process”
Human relationships can be Friendly, Intimate or Companionship, Parental, Collegial, Social, Political, Economical. In all kinds of relationships what comes up as a dominant characteristic is “respect”. What is respect? How do we define it? It exists? It happens? In this meeting we will look back at the philosophical questions and experience of the past and through the Platonic myth of Gyges we will delve and give meaning to the “relational” in today’s’ world.
Yianna Yiamarelou, M.A. Clinical Psychology, Gestalt Psychotherapist, Trainer & Supervisor, member of EAGT. ECP Holder (European Certificate of Psychotherapy). Founding member of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy.
Ada Giagou, Psychologist – Gestalt Psychotherapist, member of EAGT and HAGT, supervisor at the clinical practice of Gestalt Foundation at Juvenile Detention Center of Diavata. Trainer trainee
George Giaglis, MD, MSc, PhD, specialist neurologist, psychologist, Gestalt Psychotherapist. He has postgraduate studies in Medical Research Technology, in Statistics, in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology and in Adult Education. He has been trained in Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology at London, UK. He has completed the 4-year training in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Foundation, Greece. He works and collaborates with various institutions as a trainer, as a researcher and as a therapist. He collaborates with the Psychotherapy & Training Center Gestalt Foundation, as a seminar coordinator. Trainer trainee
Friday 19/05 and Saturday 20/05/2017 (open training group)
- “The balance of the Pendulum”
Watching the movement of the pendulum, a watch for example, we observe the change of movement and the monotonous repetition of the same positions over and over again. It goes from a momentary immobility to acceleration, reaching the zenith of velocity in the nadir of its spatial height; then to deceleration, then to momentary immobility and from there back to the beginning again. It seems immobile within a constant reciprocating motion. The repeatability produces an image of permanence. Motion gives the impression of…immobility. Nevertheless the hands are permanently turning towards the same direction and that is the process of the watch. In the process of life we explore the phenomenon of certainty inside uncertainty and the meaning of this paradoxical condition in the field of psychotherapy.
George Diplas, PgD in PCA Counseling, Gestalt therapist, trainer and supervisor, EAGT member (European Association for Gestalt Therapy), ECP holder and member of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy (H.A.G.T.)
Ada Giagou, Psychologist – Gestalt Psychotherapist, member of EAGT and HAGT, supervisor at the clinical practice of Gestalt Foundation at Juvenile Detention Center of Diavata. Trainer trainee
Thursday 18/05/2015 (2nd year training group)
- “The self as a Realization of the Potential”
“The present is a transition from past to future and these are the parts that compose the scene of an act by the self, as it comes in contact with reality” that is what Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman mention in “Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality” (1951). And here the “reality” is not an “objective” static situation but that which happens through action during contact. In the same way, the self is not a concrete conceptual construction. On the contrary self happens each time during the act of contact, there where everything is potentially feasible!
Friday 19 & Saturday 20/05/2017 (open training group)
- “Who am I?”
Am I my body? My thoughts? My emotions? My actions? Nothing of the above? All of the above? Or and something more? We will experiment with these questions using meditation techniques and the process of touch in the here and now.
Antonia Kostantinidou, M.Sc. Clinical & Social Psychology (A.U.Th.), Gestalt Psychotherapist, Trainer & Supervisor, member of EAGT and the National Psychotherapy Company of Greece. ECP Holder (European Certificate of Psychotherapy). President & Representative of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy.
Katerina Siampani, MSc Counseling Psychology, University of Sheffield, Gestalt Psychotherapist, Trained in Art-Therapy. Member of EAGT and of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy, accredited by the National Accreditation Centre for Continuing Vocational Training (EKEPIS). She has been working for many years at W.M.C.A. of Kalamaria (Thessaloniki, Greece) and elected in the Executive Board in W.M.C.A. of Greece. For the last five years she has been working at the Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders, while she is working as psychotherapist. Since 2008 she has been collaborating with Psychotherapy & Training Center Gestalt Foundation as coordinator in training workshops.
Ada Giagou, Psychologist – Gestalt Psychotherapist, member of EAGT and HAGTsupervisor at the clinical practice of Gestalt Foundation at Juvenile Detention Center of Diavata. Trainer trainee
Konstantinos Kostas, psychologist, social worker and Gestalt psychotherapist. Member of EAGT (European Association for Gestalt Therapy) and vice president of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy (H.A.G.T.) and member of the Association of Social Workers of Greece. Gestalt Foundation graduate.. Trainer trainee
Thursday 18/05/ 2017 (4th year training group)
- “Don’t Push the River…” F. Perls
How true? How Lie? Let’s explore it…
Friday 19/ 05/ 2017 (open training group)
- “Each one of us is such a lump of mud… What is our duty?” N. Kazantzakis
“…I am not a suspended, rootles thing in the world…
I am earth of its earth and breathe of its breath.
I am a weak, ephemeral creature made of mud and dream. Humanity is such a lump of mud, each one of us is such a lump of mud. What is our duty? To struggle so that a small flower may blossom from the dunghill of our flesh and mind…”
N. Kazantzakis/ Excerpt from Ascesis: The Saviors of God
Saturday 20/05/2017 (open training group)
- “The awareness of uncertainty in the therapeutic process”
“As much support as necessary and as little as possible” is what Laura Perls writes when she refers to the support that the therapist needs to provide in the therapy room. And in fact a “well balanced” support from the therapist towards the patient can cultivate a quality contact.
But sometimes a therapist, exaggerating, may end up working driven by the need of safety, self-protection, and self-care while it is well established that at any given time insecurity enters our lives for the simple reason that we are complex beings and we live and breathe in a complex environment.
But what happens with uncertainty in the therapeutic process?
How much of this experience we allow to surface?
What happens with the therapists’ uncertainty?
What happens when sometimes a patient seeks absolute safety from the therapist?
How much room does the process of awareness allows to the inclusion of the sense of uncertainty?
So does this Laura Perls phrase expressed as “as much as”, includes both?
Certainty and Uncertainty?
Despina Balliou, M.Sc. Counselling Psychology, Gestalt Psychotherapist, Trainer & Supervisor, member of EAGT. Trained in Traumatotherapy’s method EMDR. ECP Holder (European Certificate of Psychotherapy). Founding member and secretary of the board of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy.
George Giaglis, MD, MSc, PhD, neurology specialist, psychologist. He has postgraduate studies in Medical Research Technology, in Statistics, in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology and in Adult Education. He has been trained in Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology at London, UK. He has completed the 4-year training in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Foundation, Greece. He works and collaborates with various institutions as a trainer, as a researcher and as a therapist. He collaborates with the Psychotherapy & Training Center Gestalt Foundation, as a seminar coordinator. Trainer trainee.
Thursday 18/05/2017 (1st year training group)
- “… Impasse …”
Osho in his book “The Hidden Harmony” (Speeches on Heraclitus) quotes “Everything comes in its own time” (Rebel, 2003). I wander; can I wait without forcing things?
Friday 19/05/2017 (open training group)
- “Spiral…tornado or labyrinth?”
The spiral is connected to the navel, as the center of life and power and it can be observed in both our finger prints and our DNA. It symbolizes the rebirth and the eternal life. We can only imagine that the soul lives forever, evolving in the space-time.
Katia Hatzilakou, M.Sc. Clinical & Social Psychology (A.U.Th.), Gestalt Psychotherapist, Trainer & Supervisor, member of EAGT (ex-Chair of NOGT and External Relation of EAGT) and the National Psychotherapy Company of Greece. ECP Holder (European Certificate of Psychotherapy). Founding member of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy.
Konstantinos Kostas, psychologist, social worker and Gestalt psychotherapist. Member of EAGT (European Association for Gestalt Therapy) and vice president of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy (H.A.G.T.) and member of the Association of Social Workers of Greece. Gestalt Foundation graduate.. Trainer trainee
Konstantinos Katsamakis, Kinesiologist, graduate of Major Professional School of Danse of Thessalonikis’ Municipality.
Friday 19/05/2017 (open training group)
- “The creative role of time in mental processes: The myth of Centaur Chiron”
Among the people who decide to go through psychotherapy there are a lot who come in asking for solutions and recipes declaring: “I don’t have time for me now, tell me something, a quick fix, I cannot concentrate on myself right now. There are those who need me more, my mother, my husband, my kids. I don’t have time to spend on my needs and wants”. There are others who are anxiously asking: “how many sessions would it take to solve my issues?” How many times do we manage to trap our progress, our growth, our wings opening using the excuse of space and time?
In the group we will approach the concept of space and time through the myth of the Centaur Chiron who lived with his wound and his pain and managed not only to heal himself but learned how to help and heal others.
Katerina Siampani, MSc Counseling Psychology, University of Sheffield, Gestalt Psychotherapist, Trained in Art-Therapy. Member of EAGT and of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy, accredited by the National Accreditation Centre for Continuing Vocational Training (EKEPIS). She has been working for many years at W.M.C.A. of Kalamaria (Thessaloniki, Greece) and elected in the Executive Board in W.M.C.A. of Greece. For the last five years she has been working at the Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders, while she is working as psychotherapist. Since 2008 she has been collaborating with Psychotherapy & Training Center Gestalt Foundation as coordinator in training workshops.
Konstantinos Kostas, psychologist, social worker and Gestalt psychotherapist. Member of EAGT (European Association for Gestalt Therapy) and vice president of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy (H.A.G.T.) and member of the Association of Social Workers of Greece. Gestalt Foundation graduate. Trainer trainee
Saturday 20/05/2017 (open training group)
- “The pause and repetition in the continuum of my being”
In a musical piece the pauses works as a period of silence covering a certain time. The small pauses create a place for the music to breath; some of those close a phrase and open another one; while the longer pauses give the opportunity to other instruments and other voices to surface, creating a musical dialog.
With repetition music creates motifs and symmetry; it influences the audiences’ memory and promotes identification and familiarity. Usually repetition works as a bridge that leads to something new and eventually to a climax or an ending. Within the field of eternity and infinity I can understand space-time as a line. Each moment I am on that line of space-time and I expand in space and time. In my perpetual movement I take pauses active ones, heavy ones, absolute ones, and abrupt ones. I repeat what my memory combines with my senses, as the ascending course of a spiral that turns again and again on the same spot.
How can a pause not become an end; the repetition a constant coming back? How do I include these qualities in the space-time continuum and the coexistence with others?
Exarmenia Pappa, BA in Psychology (National Kapodistrian University of Athens), MSc Mental Health Studies, Gestalt Psychotherapist and Trainer, Member of EAGT and HAGT, PgCert Gestalt Body Process (Trained by James Kepner) Certificate in Performance Studies in Dance (Birkbeck College London). She runs a private practice in Athens, Greece. She facilitates groups and workshops that combine gestalt therapy with movement and dance, support groups for teachers in secondary education and educational workshops for gestalt therapy trainees. She is particularly interested in exploring movement, dance and somatics methods and applying them in her therapeutic work.
Graduates Parallel Presentations
Friday 19/05/2017
- “The role of Discomfort and Distress Crying in the Formulation of Self”
The way in which our environment treats the emotion or experience of distress and its expression through distress crying in infancy and childhood fundamentally determines the formulation of Self. Starting with Sylvan Tomkins’s’ theory of the punitive socialization of distress we will focus on how can we utilize distress as an agent of vitality and fulfillment.
Konstantinos Kostas, psychologist, social worker and Gestalt psychotherapist. Member of EAGT (European Association for Gestalt Therapy) and vice president of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy (H.A.G.T.) and member of the Association of Social Workers of Greece. Gestalt Foundation graduate.
- “Figure or Ground? Bridging the gap in the paths of autism”
Autism attacks the sensory perceptual function of the brain. As a result each emerging experience has no way to be organized and interpreted in order to allow the individual to have a full mental and emotional experience. Using the principles of Gestalt Psychotherapy we intervene and train the senses, guiding the brain to a more complete perception of facts! The whole process of this psycho-education is based on the holistic approach of people, where the biological side is directly connected to the psychosocial side. The training uses as exercises the everyday events of the individuals’ life. This training can help an autistic person become more aware of each moment and function in his everyday life in a fuller way, always in his unique way!
Anastasia Varsamopoulou, Psychologist - Social Theologian, MSc Counselling, Gestalt Psychotherapist, Art Therapist.
- “The chronicle of a failed therapy”
Giorgos: Rama, are you satisfied with your therapy? Did you confront the symptoms or the causes of your difficulties? Did you have high expectations, reservations, and negativity or did you help and collaborated? Was your therapist experienced and charismatic or he just “gave up” with your case?
J Rama: At least he was happy with the therapy! JMaybe it had to do with the timing. And you,Giorgos, how were your therapy? Did you repeat the same things you do in life (succeeding or failing) or did you experience something different this time?
Giorgos: I think that it is important to find out what helped me and what blocked me the most, and where the chemistry between as worked. I hope that after some years, when the seeds of therapy will grow inside me, I will change opinion and fell that it was more successful than I thought!
Rama: And what is considered success in therapy? The relief? The change ? The awareness, the meaning, the freedom or the acceptance? Or something different for every patient (and every therapist)?
Giorgos (to you): Taking part in our presentation we hope that all of us will gain a clearer view of what we believe is failed therapy and what factors influence this outcome. And through awareness we might make a change or accept these perceptions.
Rama: Or simply we can spend our time pleasantly!
George Giaglis, MD, MSc, PhD, neurology specialist, psychologist. He has postgraduate studies in Medical Research Technology, in Statistics, in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology and in Adult Education. He has been trained in Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology at London, UK. He has completed the 4-year training in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Foundation, Greece. He works and collaborates with various institutions as a trainer, as a researcher and as a therapist. He collaborates with the Psychotherapy & Training Center Gestalt Foundation, as a seminar coordinator. Trainer trainee
Rama Shadmon, MSc Social & Clinical Psychology, Gestalt Psychotherapist & Supervisor. She works with adults both individually and in groups. She collaborates with Psychotherapy & Training Center Gestalt Foundation as a supervisor both for individuals and for groups (W.M.C.A.)
- “Creative leadership: a new blueprint for our personal, professional and social life”
In this experiential presentation we will explore the role of leadership featured under the Gestalt approach prism as a fundamental factor in our professional and personal development.
We will experiment and put forward, in individual and group level, questions such as:
What does it mean and where does it serve us that which we perceive as leadership? What are our leadership features? How can we showcase them? Which forms of leadership provide health, evolution and growth on personal, professional and social level? What is a healthy function of leadership in a working environment? What are the new paradigms of healthy leadership in the social environment in an uncertain and desensitized world?
George Stamatis, B.A. (Law), H.S.D. (Marketing), M.Ed. (Education Adult). Gestalt Foundation Graduate (G.P.O.). Organizations and Business Development Consultant, trainer and coach in Greece and abroad. Gestalt consultant for companies and organizations (G.P.O.) has taught at the Athens University of Economics and UNYP Prague Universities and UNYT Tirana. Author of 12 books, including "The Art of change - Gestalt, a different approach for organizations", along with F. Meulmeester and I. Rizou.
Saturday 20/05/2017
- “Wrapping the world around our figure, like a ribbon in the hands of women sitting by the window dreaming”
This phrase by Fernando Pessoa, which already includes a beautiful metaphor for the perpetual in any process (“ribbon”), seems like a rare crack of motion, change of colors for him who few decades ago has shockingly praised nothingness, immobility, uniformity, resignation.
Today this phrase fits perfectly with the image that we have of a universe which erupts every moment, filling our eyes with wander, fear and dreams. But what happens when this ribbon gets stuck in our hands and instead of playfully wrapping it we feel it like a noose that tightens and bleeds us? When space-time becomes, in front of our eyes, an endless sad plain, where does continuation becomes uniformity? Ultimately is there time for the word “change” to have a meaning? Let’s talk about the line of temporality in the microstructure of human experience; about how we array on her the events of our life and the different and continuous images of our self; about how the music of the flowing moment never stops (regardless if we hear it or not), and like a crystal needle on a turn table incessantly engraves the vinyl of our personal experience with everything that we conceive as happiness, sadness, pain, absence, noise, encounters or silence. About how does the woman dreaming by the window manages not to entangle the ribbon in her hands…
Petros Theodorou, Gestalt psychotherapist, he is working in Greece and Europe, a member of E.A.G.T, an affiliate in training and other courses for the "GESTALT FOUNDATION”, “INTEGRATIVE GESTALT TRAINING INSTITUTE”; Since 2006 he has developed the embodied interaction approach PSP© (Process-Stage-Praxis) that focuses on existential issues as well as on romance-love-desire. By the end of 2016 he will publish in 2 volumes his wider research work on the philosophy that inspired Gestalt therapy.
- “Because the world when you share it exists…”
(Tasos Leivaditis, 1997, p. 109)
The world doesn’t belong to me absolutely (Lévinas, 1989).
But you motivate me to realize that I share the world (Lévinas, 1989).
And that I need You (the other) to exist in life (Mann, 2010).
Because as a human being through you I can become me (Apostolopoulos, 1991).
Because without you my history is impossible (Batler, 2009).
Because my ego becomes real through the sharing of my truth towards you. The grater the sharing the more real it becomes. (Buber, 1958).
“Because people, my companion, live from the moment they find a place in other peoples’ lives” (Leivaditis, 1997, p. 35)
… and life is when others touch you (Chimonas, 2008). “And I still remember that it wasn’t that piece of bread in itself, with its value that had moved me to tears at that moment … It was the human “something” that that person has given me-it was the look in his eyes and the worlds that accompanied that present …” (Frankl, 1972, p. 119).
And I simply share what I have with anyone who happens to be near me. And I feel happy and grateful when the other accepts my love, accepts my present. And the simplicity of giving entails that I don’t expect anything in return. And the more I share, the more I give and the more love and happiness I feel” (Osho, 2009; 2008).
Ioanna Goutzioti, Gestalt Foundation graduate. BSc in Psychology, MSc in Psychology of Child Development, & PGCert in Management.
- “…being in the cave of Plato”
The switching of figures, as a perpetual process of an infinite continuum.
The figure you form, reading these lines, becomes bleary, clear and does that depend on the lines? On the “images”? On me? On you?
The figure you form in the therapy room, depends on you? On the patient? On the diagnosis? Usually the question is what do I see?
Just think for a moment, who sees who?
The genuine observation, often times, is confused with perception; however for me perception prevents observation, to the point that eventually what we see is that we already know.
How will I encounter something new, constantly confirming that which I already know, how will a new form “emerge”?
We live in Plato’s’ cave and the light brings the shadows to life.
Perception kills the present and that is needed…
Observation is a much deeper genuine experience, sensual free of images. It doesn’t follow, it stands, it listens, and it sees and feels both the movement and the stillness. So much that I become a figure for you, you become a figure for me and this interaction creates motion, experiencing stillness, since nothing is important.
Paulos Koutroufinis, Psychotherapist, lives and works privately in Nafplion. He is based, in life and in work, on the Gestalt philosophy.
- “Are we born or made?”
Biological and social gender. Sexual orientation and gender identity. I wander weather I can recognize, around me and inside me, hate speech phenomena, thoughts and emotions that may denote fear of diversity?
My personal stance, in relation to LGBT* and human rights issues, as a human being and as mental health professional, inside and outside the therapy room.
*LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and/or Intersex)
Irini Koutela, MSc Psychology, psycotherapist, Gestalt Foundation graduate, "External collaborator of mental health support line11528", D.E.A. Comparative Literature & dramaturgy studies.
Professionals Group
Friday 19 - Sunday 21/05/2017
- “How to create or enhance safety/security when working with clients with great difficulty in contact”
Most of our difficulties in contact are rooted in a too weak safety/security. This very common weakness is deep, complex and easily hidden behind a wide range of more visible troubles. It can take its source in early growth contact processes with the environment, or in trauma.
One can also blame the lack of good enough context, which is part of the problem especially in early steps of growth. The inner safety is tightly linked to the ability to rely on an outer security and they both contribute to each other and all of one's dimensions (sensorial, those of motricity, cognitive, affective, emotional, relational, social, imaginative…) are deeply impacted by the quality of them both. All these dimensions will be potential levers for improvement.
Safety / security is provided or sustained by the Gestalt-Therapist with different means and a step by step therapeutic process adjusted to the specificity of the client. Some people need to be tightly contained, others need space. Some people have to feel the pressure of time; others need time freedom or flexibility.
Increasing safety/security gives more choice, allows taking more benefits of experiences and leading to a more fully assumed responsibility.
In this workshop, through theoretical presentations, practical guidance, practice and supervision, I:
- will support the mental health professional in considering the question of inner and outer safety / security for themselves and for their clients
- will train them to identify hidden signs of safety / security weaknesses
- will propose to them strategies and tracks for the gestalt therapeutic process to strengthen safety /security
Isabelle Le Peuc’h, Gestalt -Therapist, trainer and supervisor. She is also the director of the french Ecole Parisienne de Gestalt (EPG), which activity was created in 1981 by Serge and Anne Ginger. She is particularly attached to the holistic dimension of Gestalt-Therapy and has therefore completed her training with different body approaches.
Experiential group
Friday 19- Sunday 21 May 2017
- “ The travelogue of a drop”
“The last straw”, “A drop in the ocean”, phrases that capture the power and vulnerability of a drop in space.
In this workshop we will focus on the process of instilling presence in the core of our relationships. We will also explore how we can, with this small (a drop) differentiation-action in the continuum of our contact create beauty in our lives and create our beauty in life.
Maria Farmaki, Psychologist, Early Childhood Educator, Β.Α. Psychologist, Gestalt Psychotherapist. Member of the Pan-Hellenic Association of Early Childhood Educators (P.A.E.C.E), and of EAGT. Founding member and Ex-president of the Hellenic Association for Gestalt Therapy (H.A.G.T.)
