Gestalt Training & Workshops

“A few years ago, I completed Carmen’s Introduction to Gestalt Therapy course, and I still recommend it to colleagues who want Gestalt taught as something that can be carried out, not merely described.

The material was thorough and well organized, but what made it special was its experiential component. Instead of just showing us the techniques as something to admire, Carmen had us work with our own material in real time, then asked us to stay with what came up. It is precisely this kind of experience that changes the way you handle a client afterward. Reading about the empty chair, or about contact and interruption, is one thing; going through the moment when you want to move on but are asked to stay is another. That experience is the difference.

Carmen teaches with genuine enthusiasm rather than putting on a show, and she always makes clear not only what she is doing but why. She gave direct answers to questions, including the practical ones that come up when you try to use the approach in a typical session: timing, resistance, and when not to push an experiment. She held the group so we could take risks while staying connected with her and with one another.

I practice Gestalt within a relational tradition and have definite views on how it should be taught. Carmen works in the present tense and in the body, and she teaches it that way. I would take another training with her, and I would send a supervisee.”