How to Work With Couples: 6-Week Hands-On Experiential Course

(Online Format)

Marla Silverman, Ph.D.
How do I make sense of the behavior between a couple? How do I understand what fears/hurts/wounds each member is protecting?  How do I help them move to a place of greater safety and connection?  This hands-on, practicum style, 6-week course is for therapists who want to develop or increase their skills with couples.  Each 3-hour session includes:  Didactic: principles and strategies of couples work; Questions: about your cases and the didactic material; Practicum: hands-on practice with couples role-played by group members, get feedback on your interventions - what did and did not work - and a chance to try other interventions.

Objectives:

1. Help couples recognize their patterns that cause distress.

2. Help each partner connect to the beliefs, fears and protective mechanisms that fuel their reactive responses.

3. Personally experience, via hands-on practice, the client’s protective mechanisms and fear, different character structures’ internal life, and the impact of the therapist’s stance, openness and interventions.

Six Saturdays in 2026:
September 19
September 26
October 3
October 17
October 31
November 15

9 am – 12 pm (ET)
18 CE hours • $850

Registration page pending

Getting Real with Real Clients

(In Person)

Ken Meyer, Ph.D.
How do we deal with real clients?” is the most common request I hear from trainees and graduates. While our method of working with each other in training provides a solid foundation, it does not fully prepare us for clients who are not familiar with Gestalt therapy. We will cover a variety of ways to engage clients in experiential work, particularly new clients and those who can’t – or won't – engage in experiential methods. This will be a hands-on workshop including demonstration and practice exercises, valuable for both beginning and experienced therapists.

Participants will learn how to:

• What to do in the intake (that is not covered in the intake guide!)

• Introducing the concept of experimenting.

• How to deal with client’s self-consciousness when starting chairwork.

Saturday, October 10, 2026
10 am – 4 pm (ET) (one hour lunch break)
5 CE hours • $195
($135 current GCPT students - contact the office for more info)

Registration page pending

An Aesthetic and Phenomenological Diagnosis of Contacting: The Six Fundamental Movements

(In Person)

Ruella Frank, Ph.D.

In this workshop, participants are introduced to a precise phenomenological language for those subverbal interactions that form the foundation of lived-experience: the Six Fundamental Movements. These patterns emerge through ongoing movement dialogues within the first year of the infant-parent dyad, and are seen to have a functional similarity in the making of meaning within the patient-therapist dyad. The analysis of these movements, unfolding within therapy, enables therapists to uncover routine inhibitions in contacting, appreciate their important function in the immediate present, and discover how to restore the lively flow of lived experience.

Objectives Day 1:

1. Understand the forming of contacting through movement.

2. Learn how contact and support are inseparable.

3. Learn the relationship between aesthetics and contacting.

Objectives Day 2:

1. Understand how all moving patterns that support contacting are in relation to the other. I do not exist without you.

2. Understand that, and how, the client and therapist influence each other through ongoing movement dialogues.

3. Understand how our internal receptivity and kinesthesia, is crucial to aesthetic diagnosis.

Two Days
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Sunday, October 25, 2026
(must attend both days for credit)
10 am – 5 pm (ET)
12 CE hours • $350
($300 current GCPT students - contact the office for more info)

Location:
HI New York City Hostel
891 Amsterdam (between 103rd & 104th streets)
New York, NY 10025

Click here to register

Voice Attunement for Therapists

(Online Format)

Naaz Hosseini, MA, LP

Somatic and Embodied, Voice is central to human experience and integral, while invisible, to the therapeutic process. Voice attunement opens therapists’ ears to deepen perception, connection, and intention with clients. Through a gestalt lens, we will explore voice as a window to inner states and processes using discussion, experientials, case examples, and demonstrations. In this workshop, you will:

• Understand the connection of voice, body tensions, and defenses.

• Learn to use vocal cues to hear clients with greater attunement.

• Learn to use your voice responsively to nurture rapport, support, and co-regulation.

• Access voice as an additional channel to inform therapeutic interventions.

For clinicians at all levels and anyone interested in exploring the nature of voice.

Day 1
Participants will learn how to:

• Identify connections between voice, body tensions, and defenses.

• Identify ways voice can reflect inner states and processes.

• Attend to vocal cues to hear clients with greater attunement.

Enhance capacity to:

• Identify connections between voice, body tensions, and defenses.

• Identify ways voice can reflect inner states and processes.

Day 2
Participants will learn how to:

• Apply the Day 1 objectives.

• Practice and explore use of voice therapeutically.

• Explore connections between vocal expression and contact.

Day 1 is a pre-requisite for Day 2, except:

• Anyone who has taken Day 1 or Level 2 ‘Voice and ERTs’ previously is eligible for Day 2.

Make sure to register for the correct event.

Friday, January 15, 2027 - DAY 1
2:30 – 5:30 pm (ET)
3 CE hours • $140
($120 current GCPT students - contact the office for more info)

Saturday, January 16, 2027 - DAY 2
10 am – 1 pm (ET)
3 CE hours • $140
($120 current GCPT students - contact the office for more info)

January 15 & 16, 2027 - BOTH DAYS
6 CE hours • $260
($230 current GCPT students - contact the office for more info)

Registration page pending

Understanding Sex Addiction: From Cycle To Recovery

(Online Format)

Alessandro Hillel Zanoni, LP-D, NCPsyA, SCPsyA, CSAT

Sex addiction is often misunderstood as simply a problem of excessive sexual behavior. In reality, it is a complex cycle involving attachment wounds, emotional regulation difficulties, shame, compulsive coping strategies, and neurobiological processes that can leave individuals feeling trapped despite repeated attempts to stop. This workshop provides clinicians with a practical and accessible framework for understanding the addictive system, recognizing common clinical presentations, and supporting clients in moving from compulsivity toward recovery.

Participants will explore the addiction cycle, the role of shame and trauma, the brain's reward and stress systems, and the relational dynamics that sustain addictive behaviors. Through lecture, discussion, case examples, and experiential exercises, clinicians will gain tools they can immediately apply in their clinical work.

Participants will learn how to:

• Understand the neurobiology of addiction, including dopamine, reward, craving, and withdrawal processes.

• Identify the core components of the sex addiction cycle and the role of toxic shame through a gestalt therapy lens.

• Recognize common defense mechanisms, distorted thinking patterns, and attachment dynamics associated with compulsive sexual behavior.

• Differentiate between healthy sexuality and compulsive sexual behavior.

• Apply practical clinical interventions to support clients in disrupting addictive patterns and strengthening recovery.

Thursday, May 20, 2027
8 – 9 pm (ET)
1 CE hour • $165

Registration page pending

Gay Gen X 101

(Online Format)

Tom Lorio, LCSW

Gay Gen X 101 is a clinical workshop for therapists exploring the unique considerations of working with gay men in midlife. Participants will examine the impact of minority stress, developmental trauma, internalized shame, HIV-related fear and loss, family acceptance or rejection, identity development, and midlife transitions. This experiential workshop offers practical Gestalt-informed tools for supporting healing, resilience, and authentic self-acceptance.

DAY 1
Participants will learn how to:

• Identify and safely address clients’ internalized shame.

• Facilitate a therapeutic alliance between the wounded gay child and the resourced adult self.

• Help clients identify and work with toxic self-sufficiency.

DAY 2
Participants will learn how to:

• Understand the WINDOW OF TOLERANCE as it impacts the nervous system.

• Understand how PTSD impacts gay men, often silently.

• Offer Post Traumatic Growth as an antidote to PTSD.

• Understand how generativity vs stagnation shows up in gay midlife.

Friday, June 4, 2027
10:30 am – 12 pm (ET)
1.5 CE hours • $155

Friday, June 11, 2027
10:30 – 12 pm (ET)
1.5 CE hours • $155

Friday, June 4 & 11, 2027 - BOTH DAYS
3 CE hours • $305

Registration page pending

Past Workshops

Beneath the Magic of Gestalt Group Therapy

(Online Format)

Patricia Tucker, LCSW

This experiential workshop guides group therapists in applying Gestalt theory to group work. Through lecture, dyadic exercises, and group process, we will uncover ways that Gestalt therapy theory informs and enlivens our interventions as group leaders. First, we will explore how our focus on phenomenology, somatic experience, field theory, creative adjustment, polarities, and the paradoxical theory of change lead us to the interventions we make as Gestalt group leaders. Second, we will discuss and practice putting in place the structures that assist us in staying true to our theory, developing a secure ground, and creating and maintaining the conditions for dialogue.

Objectives:

1. Describe how Gestalt theory informs group therapy interventions.

2. Identify and describe three necessary elements of Gestalt Group Therapy structure.

3. Learn three ways to enhance communication through embodied dialogue.

Saturday, June 13, 2026
10 am – 4 pm (ET) (with one-hour lunch break)
5 CE hours
$190
(2 full scholarships available for current GCPT students - contact the office for more info)

Becoming a Psychedelically-Informed Gestalt Therapist: A Two-Part Workshop for Gestalt Therapists

(In Person)

Daniel Tisman, LCSW

Ken Meyer, Ph.D.

Annalisa Birdsall, LMFT

Gestalt therapy, with its emphasis on present-moment awareness, relational depth, and integration of mind/body/spirit, is uniquely positioned to support the psychedelic experience of our clients, who are increasingly finding venues for these experiences, both unsupervised and in supported, therapeutic and ritual settings. However, for us to help them make the best use of these experiences, the nuances of working with non-ordinary states of consciousness require our own preparation, specialized knowledge, and skill. 

This two-part workshop is designed specifically for trained Gestalt therapists who wish to deepen their understanding of psychedelic-assisted therapy from a Gestalt perspective. We will explore:

• The intersection of Gestalt therapy and psychedelic work, including theoretical and ethical considerations

• The role of the therapist in preparing for and integrating psychedelic experiences

• The importance of set and setting for a valuable and safe experience 

• Safety, mitigating harm, and who is not suitable for psychedelic-assisted therapy

• Practical applications, case discussions, and experiential role-play to embody a psychedelically-informed Gestalt approach

As the "psychedelic renaissance" continues to unfold, Gestalt therapists have an opportunity to contribute meaningfully— but without proper training and appropriate preparation, there is a risk of integrating psychedelics into therapy in ways that are misattuned, unsafe, or disconnected from the best practices being developed.

Join us in this workshop series to ensure your practice is aligned with both the experiential knowledge base of Gestalt therapy and the evolving field of psychedelic-assisted therapy.  

Module 1: Psychedelics Through a Gestalt Lens

• The intertwined history of Gestalt therapy and LSD

• The Gestalt therapy principles used at Johns Hopkins’ psychedelic research

• Set, setting, and science: how psychedelic-assisted therapy is different

• Methods and molecules: the various psychedelic substances

• The role of the therapist in preparation (or dissuasion)

• Safety, ethics, and best practices

Module 2: Integrating Gestalt Practice into Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

• Neuroplasticity, Gestalt dreamwork, and post-experience integration

• Working with trauma

• The role of spirituality

• Working with challenging experiences

• Next steps: the hopes and challenges ahead

Objectives:

1. Apply Gestalt therapy concepts, methods, and attitudes to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

2. Understand the scientific, medical, and philosophical foundations of psychedelic therapy.

3. Address the legal and ethical challenges to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

4. Understand and incorporate the existential and spiritual aspects of psychedelics.

5. Prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of psychedelics.

6. Prepare patients who are planning for psychedelic therapy or retreats.

7. Working with past trauma and challenging experiences.

Saturday, November 8, 2025
Sunday, December 14, 2025
11 am – 4 pm (ET) (with one-hour lunch break)
8 CE hours
$250