Gestalt in the More-Than-Human World: Practice, Presence and Responsibility
2026-05-23 09:00 - 12:00 (Australia/Brisbane)
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 23rd 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.

Supervision Group: The Therapist in the Room: Vulnerability, Subjectivity, and Clinical Practice
2026-08-04 09:30 - 11:30 (Australia/Brisbane)
These groups are a space to reflect on the deeper personal and developmental influences that shape us as therapists. Our clinical decisions, theoretical orientations, and responses to patients are inevitably informed by our own histories, vulnerabilities, and ways of relating. By bringing curiosity and awareness to these influences, therapists can strengthen their capacity, ethical accountability, and understanding of the complex dynamics that emerge within the therapeutic relationship.

This supervision group invites exploration of how and why we make the decisions we do with our patients. Together, we will reflect on the conscious and unconscious factors informing our clinical responses, with particular attention to rupture and repair processes, therapeutic decision-making in heightened moments, and the interplay between authenticity and empathy. Through this lens, participants will deepen their understanding of how their own self-structures and vulnerabilities shape the therapeutic encounter.

Groups will be facilitated by GANZ Fellow Member Claire Taubert. Each group is limited to 6 participants. Participation is open to Gestalt practitioners with a minimum of five years’ post-graduation experience following Gestalt Therapy training.

Choose your group

Online (Zoom)

Sold out

Group One

Time

Tuesdays, 9:30–11:30am (Melbourne/Sydney)

Dates

4 August · 18 August · 1 September · 15 September · 29 September · 13 October

GANZ members

$720 / 6 sessions

Non-members

$960 / 6 sessions

Sold out — registration closed

In-Person (Brunswick, Melbourne)

Group Two

Time

Thursdays, 9:30–11:30am

Dates

27 August · 24 September · 29 October · 26 November · 28 January · 25 February

GANZ members

$720 / 6 sessions

Non-members

$960 / 6 sessions

Register for the in-person group

Connection, Conflict and Co-Parenting: Supporting Couples Through the Challenges of Contemporary Parenting
2026-08-06 17:30 - 20:00 (Australia/Melbourne)
Parenthood, at any stage, is one of the most significant challenges couples will face, and one of the most common reason couples come for therapy. Contemporary parenting movements emphasise emotional attunement and responsiveness to children and while these approaches offer enormous benefits, they can also introduce complexity for the couple relationship. Many partners find themselves navigating exhaustion, resentment, identity shifts and a loss of intimacy, alongside differences in parenting values and expectations. Couples may struggle to find space for their relationship while adjusting to the demands and responsibilities of raising children.

This presentation explores how therapists can support couples who are parents. Alongside understanding the pressures parenting can place on relationships, the seminar introduces a practical parenting framework that helps partners clarify, communicate and align their parenting, supporting collaboration rather than conflict.

Drawing from attachment parenting models (like Tuning into kids/Teens and circle of security & S.T.E.P) the seminar offers perspectives and interventions that help couples strengthen both their parenting partnership and their relationship. The seminar will also include opportunities for group reflection and discussion, allowing participants to share experiences and approaches that support couples navigating parenting and family life.

This presentation will benefit you in:

– Understanding the relational impact of parenting on intimacy, identity and emotional connection

– Recognising common couple dynamics that emerge during early parenting and family life

– Learning a parenting framework that supports couples to clarify and communicate their parenting values

– Supporting partners to collaborate rather than polarise around parenting differences

– Helping couples maintain connection while navigating the demands of raising children

– Strengthening the co-parenting relationship while also supporting the couple bond

Date: Thursday 6th August

Time: 5:30pm-8:00pm AEST (Melbourne/Sydney)

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

Purchase your ticket here.

About your Presenter:

Sean Tonnet (MGest) has been working as a full-time clinical psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and international facilitator for the past 20 years. His reputed and respected practice reflects his comprehensive training and clinical excellence in therapy and facilitation. Specialising in relationships, Sean has over 18,000 case hours working with couples and families as a Gestalt Therapist. Sean is a passionate father and has worked with a number of parenting initiatives including the Heart to Heart Parenting Program, the not-for-profit organisation Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond, and as a facilitator for fatherhood programs with Interrelate. His work has been reviewed in radio, television and in print, and he is a highly sought-after therapist and facilitator across Australia.
