The Dublin Gestalt Centre

The Dublin Gestalt Centre, formerly Dundrum Gestalt Centre, has been in practice since 1994 providing counselling and psychotherapy for individuals, couples and families. It was established by Claire Counihan, Kay Ferriter and Judy O’Hanlon. They each have a background in social work and are fully accredited therapists, IAHIP, IACP, EAP. They were trained by Netta and Marvin Kaplan of The Nof Yam Institute of Advanced Gestalt Therapy in Israel and Vincent Humphreys of the Dublin Institute of Gestalt Therapy. More recently Bridann Reidy has joined the Practice Development Team of The Dublin Gestalt Centre. She has training in both  Clinical Psychology and Gestalt Psychotherapy with extensive experience, over many years, working as a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and clinical supervisor.

Gestalt Therapy is suited to both short term and long term work as its focus from the outset is on improving the healthy functioning of the individual, couple or family. The centre provides supervision for counsellors, psychotherapists and other professionals in the helping professions. Since 2004, it is running a training course in supervision to the standard of IACP accreditation for supervisors.

Since 1994, Kay, Claire and Judy have developed post graduate training courses in Gestalt therapy. These one-year courses are experiential and provide practioners with the experience of the Gestalt process and how to integrate it in their work. Kay, Claire and Judy have been the principal trainers in delivering training programmes in Gestalt Psychotherapy and Supervision.

They have also trained Psychotherapists in specialist areas, e.g “Working with Dreams” , Working with Couples, Sexuality, Using the Creative Modalities in Psychotherapy.

Dublin Gestalt Centre has experience in running workshops and training courses for specific groups, designed to meet the needs of the group. These courses may have a particular focus, e.g. dreams, sexuality or some specific aspect of the Gestalt approach, depending on the requirements of the group.

What is Gestalt Therapy?

The word Gestalt is  German, used in describing the whole as being more than the sum of the parts and the pattern within the whole.

The Gestalt approach to Psychotherapy draws on both these meanings, seeing people as inextricable parts of their environments, both affecting and affected by these environments.

Gestalt psychotherapy is a practical and creative approach to psychotherapy, emphasizing that people cannot be understood in isolation, but only as part of the environments in which they live.

We can all get  “ stuck” in old patterns of behavior and fixed ideas, and this can block our communication and contact with others. The focus of Gestalt Therapy is on helping the individual to develop more awareness of these behaviors and ideas. This awareness is supported by fosusing on the  ‘here and now’ within the therapy session.

Gestalt Practitioners in the Dublin Gestalt Centre highlight a relational focus in Gestalt therapy, and believe that the self can only be realized and individualized in the context of others. Throughout the counselling or therapy process, the major therapeutic“ tool” lies in the relationship between the client and the counsellor. Kay, Claire, Judy and Bridann trained with Vincent Humphries and the Kaplans; Vincent and the Kaplans ran the first Intensive Gestalt training in 1990 in Dublin. Vincent and the Kaplans emphasized the concept of the self organization of experience in a relational context as a theoretical basis for Gestalt Therapy work. They emphasized the mutual creation of the therapeutic relationship.

Further Reading

– The Therapist’s Use of Self from a Gestalt Perspective

Gestalt therapy is effective with individuals, couples, families and in groupwork settings.

It is also highly effective with people who have a wide range of difficulties, and can be offered as short-term or long-term therapy.