Gestalt Art Therapy Centre: 2024 The Broken Self © A Gestalt Art Therapy approach

26 Dec 2023

2024 The Broken Self © A Gestalt Art Therapy approach - Face to Face Workshop- Brisbane

2024 The Broken Self © A Gestalt Art Therapy approach -

Face to Face Workshop- Brisbane

Time & Location

30 Mar 2024, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm AEST

Ashgrove, 2 Findlay St, Ashgrove QLD 4060, Australia

About the event

THE BROKEN SELF©

Have you ever felt (or are you feeling) broken?

Even though the difficult and painful situation has already passed, the sensation of feeling broken is still alive.

Have you heard of "heartbreak"?

There is medical research that shows that emotional pain is transferred to the parts of the body and the body suffers what you feel.

If we reflect on our lives, we can see how many times we have felt lost, or we have lost someone, we have felt unheard, and/or not loved. We have felt fear, sadness, and abandonment.

An interesting tool to work with PTSD.

All these emotions have somehow made us feel "split" into pieces - broken.

Kintsugi and Resilience theory are both concepts that center around the ideas of healing, growth, and transformation in the face of adversity. Let's explore each of these concepts and then discuss how creating a piece using Kintsugi can be therapeutic.

Kintsugi as a Philosophy:

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form in which broken pottery is repaired using lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Instead of disguising the cracks, Kintsugi highlights them, turning the object's history of damage into a beautiful and valuable part of its story. This philosophy embodies the idea that imperfections and challenges are not to be hidden or discarded but embraced as an integral part of an object's, or a person's, history.

Resilience Theory:

Resilience theory focuses on individuals' ability to adapt and grow positively in the face of adversity, trauma, or significant stressors. It suggests that resilience is not just the ability to "bounce back" to a previous state, but also the capacity to develop new strengths and insights through the process of overcoming challenges.

Therapeutic Benefits of Creating a Kintsugi Piece:

Creating a piece using the Kintsugi technique can have therapeutic effects aligned with both Kintsugi philosophy and Resilience theory:

Embracing Imperfection: The act of repairing broken pottery with precious metals symbolizes the acceptance of imperfection and the beauty that can emerge from it. Similarly, during the process of creating a Kintsugi piece, individuals can reflect on their own life experiences, accepting their flaws and learning to appreciate their unique journey.
Narrative Transformation: Kintsugi transforms brokenness into a story of transformation and value. This parallels the resilience process, where individuals can view their challenges as opportunities for growth. Engaging in the physical act of repairing broken pieces can serve as a metaphor for repairing and transforming their own life.
Mindfulness and Focus: Creating a Kintsugi piece requires focus, attention, and precision. Engaging in this mindful process can help individuals temporarily detach from stressors and anxieties, promoting a sense of relaxation and calm.
Symbolic Representation: The visual outcome of a Kintsugi piece, with its intricate gold lines highlighting the mended cracks, serves as a tangible reminder of one's ability to overcome difficulties. This can boost self-esteem and self-efficacy, key components of resilience.
Cathartic Expression: The act of repairing and beautifying broken pottery can provide a cathartic way to express emotions related to pain, loss, or trauma. The physicality of the process can help release pent-up feelings and promote emotional healing.

In summary, creating a piece using Kintsugi techniques aligns with both the Kintsugi philosophy and Resilience theory, offering therapeutic benefits by promoting acceptance, growth, mindfulness, and emotional expression. It's a tangible way for individuals to engage in a transformative process that reflects their own journey of resilience and healing.

In this workshop from the Gestalt approach and from the beautiful metaphor of the ceramic technique you will know:

To identify which these broken parts of your life
To find the nutritious part of each experience that has happened to you
To integrate the pieces of your life in a powerful and transformative way.

We do not seek to "forget" or erase these painful experiences, we seek to accept and integrate them, and from this act, we will be closer to healing and transformation.

During this workshop, we will explore the main teaching from the Kintsugi as a philosophy and the Resilience theory.

This will be a "hands-on" workshop, where the "process" will be the most interesting. The "how" will be more important than the "what" or "why".

The final result is not the objective, although you will be surprised at what you can create and, above all, integrate into your "here and now"

Materials included in the workshop cost

Workshop information:

Day: March 30th, 2024

Where: Gestalt Art Therapy Centre.

2 Findlay St. Ashgrove. Brisbane. Qld.

Time: 10 am to 12 pm (Brisbane- Australian time)

Cost:

Members of the Gestalt Art Therapy Center Participation: $95Aud Click here to pay by Credit card (Paypal)

General participants

Click here to pay by Credit card (Paypal) Participation: $120Aud

Registrants from Australia can obtain their CPD /OPD hours (non-endorsed activities)

AASW CPD hours

ACA OPD hours

PACFA CPD hours

Workshop REGISTRATION HERE

Please note:

Covid Requirements

Following the Australian Government Health Department's indications and to offer a safe space for all patients and Counsellors:

Every participant before being admitted to each Face-to-face session/ workshop:

• Before each workshop/ session temperature measures will be taken. If the participant has symptoms like fever (37°C or more), coughing, sore throat, or shortness of breath, unfortunately, he/she will not be admitted to the event/ session, and the session will be rescheduled.

Important information from Government:

Testing positive for COVID-19

Any person who tests positive for COVID-19 will need to immediately isolate at home or other suitable accommodation for at least 4 full days from the date the person had their test. Follow the advice from Queensland Health, including the first steps to take if you have COVID-19.

Close Contact

If you are a close contact, on the day of the event/ session you should have a negative test and wear a mask.

If there is a positive test, please reschedule the session.

ART THERAPY - A GESTALT APPROACH

Hello! Welcome to our creative therapy centre!

Here you will find everything related to Art Therapy using the Gestalt approach.

What is Art ?:

Art is genarally known as what is done by a person whose purpose is to express a message through symbols.

These symbolic tools can be music, paintings, sculptures, theater and so on.

What is Gestalt Therapy ?:

Gestalt therapy is a methodology within psychology that grew out of the research and work of the psychiatrist Dr.Fritz Perls and his wife Dr.Laura Perls.

These two professionals were coming from the psychoanalytic perspective and felt that this method was not enough to work with clients. Today we are clearly aware that no one single method can resolve the issues that involve a range of human suffering and growth.

Gestalt is a German word roughly meaning "Shape" or "configuration".

This concept is understood, in gneral terms, that all individual experiences are shaped by a figure and a background. As time goes on, and our needs change, the figure can become the background and vice versa. So in the client's experience, the figure is changing at all times from becoming a background and as the needs arise, the figure emerges seeking completion.

When we block or prevent this process, we become unaware and suffer. That is a part of the theoretical foundations of Gestalt therapy.

Gestalt therapy, therefore, is a "philosophy", a way of being in the world in the "here and now" and taking "response-aibility" without pushing the river. Thus life is a flow ..

What is GESTALT Art Therapy?

It is the sum of the two previous concepts, Gestal therapy and the use of tools we learn to use in art therapy.

Using the artistic tools and adding the gestalt language between client and psychotherapist we work jointly to decode the messages hidden in the intrinsic symbols representing the client's situation. The Psychotherapist accompanies the client in the process of "discovering" what is helpful and not analysing or interpreting, but suggesting and asking the client what it is he or she knows are the answers and supports client's need to discover the ncessary solutions.

WE ARE SURE THAT YOU WILL BE ATTRACTED by this new way of working with emotions, whether or not you are a professional psychologist or therapist, since many of the exercises can be used personally for your own growth.

Our work is done in Australia & Spain and other countries. We have given workshops and participated in conferences throughout the world. We are located in our offices at the Gestalt Art Therapy Centre in Brisbane -Australia.

BE HAPPY HERE AND NOW..... AND BE CREATIVE !

Yaro Starak - Gestalt Psychoterapist
Gemma Garcia- Gestalt Therapist- Ericksonian Hypnosis

SEE LABELS ON THE RIGHT SIDE

1-TRAINING MODULES FOR SALE: Gestalt art therapy

1.1-FOR PSYCHOLOGY & THERAPY PROFESSIONALS:

Here you will find and carry out therapeutic work with tools that combine art and gestalt method.

You can learn new ways of providing therapeutic treatment depending on the particular situation and client needs.

1.2-ART AS PERSONAL GROWTH

These modules can be practical exercises for your "realize" how do you do in your life.

There are specific modules that you can play with your partner and / or family.

SKYPE - ON LINE THERAPY

We offer brief therapy sessions via Skype. You may request a no-obligation appointment with us, the first session is free.

This is a way of doing personal therapy we call "Emergency work" used in very special cases and situations. For us, the therapy session should be mainly for the benefit of the client needing immediate help.

BOOKS FOR SALE:

GESTALT THERAPY theory and practice - some books written by Yaro Starak

A GESTALT TEST: you can acquire to discover your potentials.

VIDEOS & DVD focussing on gestalt work and art therapy work.

ARTICLES: Written by varoius therapists from Australia, NZ and overseas.

Yaro Starak

He graduated in Psychology from the University of Manitoba and in Social Work from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He continued his doctoral studies at the University of Toronto, specializing in group psychotherapy and Adult Education. He trained in Gestalt Therapy with Jorge Rosner at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto and after graduation, he was a faculty member for four years. He worked as a professor at the University of Queensland, Australia and is the founder of the Gestalt Center in Brisbane and Terrigal near Sydney in this country. Yaro conducts gestalt training workshops in Spain, Mexico, Denmark, Germany, and Canada. He also gives workshops for groups of men using indigenous rituals. Yaro is Gestalt Art Therapist CAT®. Co-Director of the Gestalt ART Therapy center (Australia). Co-Director of the Arteterapia Gestalt (Gestalt Art Therapy training in the Spanish language)
Yaro has an interesting range of Books related to the Gestalt works, Couples & Groups work.

Gemma Garcia

Gestalt Art Therapist CAT® Gestalt Art Therapy. Gestalt Therapist Master diploma from the Gestalt Institute Valencia (Spain). Art Therapist using the Gestalt approach CAT. Master in Ericksonian Psychology at the University of Valencia (Spain). Communications Operator at the Provincial Emergency Coordination center and Fire Consortium (Castellon, Spain) Naval radiotelephone operator. Group work and individual psychological intervention in crisis and emotional impact on collective emergencies with firefighters, policemen, paramedics using Gestalt art therapy techniques. Aurasoma Therapist Level 2. Dip. of Visual Arts. Curator. Coordinator-Art Group exhibitions. Co-Director of the Gestalt ArtbTherapy center (Australia). Co-Director of the Arteterapia Gestalt (Gestalt Art Therapy training in the Spanish language)