Gestalt in the More-Than-Human World: Practice, Presence and Responsibility

This 3 hour online experiential workshop invites Gestalt practitioners into the evolving field of Gestalt Eco-Psychotherapy – an approach that re-awakens our relational intelligence with the more-than-human world.

Grounded in core Gestalt principles of awareness, contact, dialogue, field theory and embodied presence, this workshop explores how our practice extends beyond the therapy room into the living systems that sustain us. Even in online spaces, we remain embedded within ecological field conditions. Together, we will experiment with recognising the Earth not as backdrop or metaphor, but as living context and potential co-therapist.

This work is informed by Indigenous relational worldviews that understand land as sentient, interconnected, and inseparable from identity and wellbeing. We will acknowledge how colonial frameworks have shaped dominant therapeutic paradigms – separating psyche from land, individual from community, and human from ecosystem. Gestalt Eco-Psychotherapy offers a way of making these field conditions visible and interrupting inherited patterns of disconnection.

Through guided experiential processes, reflective dialogue, breakout conversations, and embodied awareness practices participants can engage with from their own environments, we will explore:

• How contact processes shift when the more-than-human world is consciously included in the therapeutic field
• Ways ecological awareness deepens presence, regulation and relational responsiveness
• How colonisation and extractive worldviews influence psychological suffering and therapeutic norms
• The relationship between personal healing, collective wellbeing and ecological justice
• Practical and ethical pathways for integrating eco-psychotherapeutic awareness into everyday Gestalt practice — including telehealth settings

Participants will be invited to work with whatever elements of the natural world are accessible to them (a window view, weather, soundscape, plant life, memory of place, back yard), making the workshop accessible regardless of location.

In a time of climate disruption and social fragmentation, this workshop asks: how might expanding our field awareness support decolonising practice, psychological resilience, community responsiveness and ecological responsibility?

Suitable for all Gestalt practitioners and trainees. No prior experience in eco-therapy or outdoor practice is required.

Cost:                   GANZ Student Members: $15. GANZ Members: $55. Non-GANZ Members: $95.

Date:                   Saturday 23^rd May   

Time:                   9:00am-12:00pm (Melbourne/Sydney)

About your Presenter:  

Ash Power is a Gestalt psychotherapist, educator and founder of Gestalt Sydney and The Relational Institute Australia.  With over three decades of experience in therapeutic practice, training and group facilitation, her work is grounded in relational field theory, embodiment and trauma-informed practice, and continues to evolve in response to contemporary ecological and social challenges.

Ash’s interest in Gestalt Eco-Psychotherapy arises not only from professional inquiry but from lived experience. As a previous custodian of 100 acres of Australian bushland, she spent many years learning directly from Country – developing a deep respect for land as living context rather than backdrop. This experience continues to inform her therapeutic and teaching philosophy.

She approaches ecological and decolonising perspectives with humility, recognising the influence of Indigenous worldviews while remaining mindful of her position as a non-Indigenous practitioner. Her work invites an expansion of Gestalt practice toward greater relational awareness, ecological responsibility and community responsiveness.

Ash warmly invites participants to explore alongside her, sharing curiosity, openness, and a sense of care for the wider world.

You can purchase your ticket here.