This ‘hands-on’ Gestalt workshop, now in its 18th iteration, caters for counsellors, psychotherapists, and for other professionals working with young people in education, health, social and pastoral services. It will also interest those wanting to explore their relationship with creativity and play.
When
- Tuesday 5 April to Saturday 9 April 2022
- 10am to 5pm each day
Where
The Gestalt Centre
15-23 St Pancras Way
London
NW1 OPT
The course
The course draws inspiration from the pioneering gestalt approach of psychotherapist Dr Violet Oaklander (1927 to 2021) whose methods put the relationship between therapist and child at the very heart of the therapeutic process.
Children use their contact skills (senses, body, feeling, intellect) as natural relational tools. Troubled youngsters often struggle to make good contact; they tend to restrict healthy expression of their feelings. Others possess a poor sense of self. Therapy encourages exploration of these difficulties; as children develop awareness of their needs and wants they become better able to communicate these in a dialogue. This in turn enables them to find agency, make informed life choices and cope better with some of the challenges encountered while living through the pandemic.
Training methods
Applicants receive a recommended reading list after payment. A folder containing worksheets and resources is supplied.
The group will experience at first hand many of the following arts modalities:
- drawing
- clay
- haiku
- movement work
- lyric writing
- sand tray
- music-making
- sound healing
Around this is woven a carefully tailored mix of theory, ‘live’ demonstrations, experiential work, role play and clinical discussion. Participants will acquire skills in engaging children and parents in a therapeutic dialogue.
A Statement of Attendance is awarded on completion of the course, showing 30 CPD hours of training.
Objectives
Participants will learn:
- to conduct a family assessment interview
- Gestalt theory of child development
- how to incorporate the arts in therapy using image, metaphor and play
- to engage young people in an exploration of troublesome thoughts and feelings
- a trauma-informed, crisis intervention approach to contemporary child and family problems
Fee
£700* (self-funded) or £900 (sponsored).
Fee includes all art materials.
*20% discount for current GC Dip Couns & Psych students and graduate members.
Payment plans can be arranged for those applying in time.
Course tutor
Jon Blend MA Dip Child CQSW is a European child psychotherapist, supervisor, musician and Gestalt trainer with over 40 years’ experience of working with children and families. He is a teaching member of the Violet Solomon Oaklander Foundation and a Wellbeing Faculty trainer with the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education, London. Jon teaches the Oaklander projective-arts approach to therapy throughout the UK and internationally. His chapter on adolescence and several articles on child and adolescent therapy are available in the articles section of this website.
