The GTIP Training Program meets in person one weekend per month from September through May. Trainees can expect to participate in the following over the course of a training weekend:
Saturday
9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — Session meets for theory presentation, including a short break in the middle. This session is directed toward formal theory discussion and holds the most concerted didactic aspects of the training with attention to the reading assignments.
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. — The session meets for practical applications of the theory that was presented in the morning. This could include discussion of case examples (brought in by students or faculty), personal work with a focus on the topic for the month, additional experiential exercises, and/or further explication of the theoretical material. If personal work is done, and in order to integrate the understanding of the theory, students will be encouraged to query the faculty about the theory involved in the work. During work, trainees are encouraged to attend to and seek the support they need in order to participate in this way.
Sunday
9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Trainees are divided into triads and quartets and assigned a Supervisor (usually a faculty member or graduate of GTIP). One trainee is the therapist, one is the client, and there are one or two observers. The typical therapy session lasts 20 to 25 minutes. The observers and the Supervisors use the remainder of the time for feedback to the trainee acting as a therapist. The roles within the triad are rotated so that each trainee will have a turn working as the therapist. Following triad sessions, each cohort meets together for 30 minutes at the end of the day to discuss and debrief about their experiences. Trainees have reported that the online format has actually improved the practicum experiences, decreasing the anxiety of being watched while acting as the therapist or client during the therapy sessions.
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. — The session is an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of Gestalt practice through individual and group experiential work guided by faculty. Work is not expected to have any particular focus. There is also opportunity to discuss learnings from the morning’s practicum, and to explore the cohort’s group development from a Gestalt perspective. Trainees are encouraged to develop ways of supporting one another – verbally and non-verbally.
Exceptions
On the first training weekend in September, directors, board members, faculty members and trainees meet together from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. on Friday night for an orientation.
During the academic year, GTIP may hold community meetings for deepening our relationships with one another.
Once a training year, part of Sunday is devoted to assessment, feedback and evaluation in each class as part of building and demonstrating trainee proficiency.