Welcome to the Gestalt in Action website

 This site promotes the consultancy and workshop programs available from 'Gestalt in Action' and the more therapeutic offerings of  'Renewal'.

                                     Common Questions:

So what's Gestalt? - Gestalt is a German word meaning 'pattern' or 'constellation'. A gestalt practitioner inquires in an holistic and humanisic way into the patterns of perception and feeling and thinking people use to co-create their reality with and live by. Working within the framework of an authentic relationship, which uses art and metaphor and dialogue to illuminate how people derive meaning, gestalt explores our energetic presence in the world. It has been much influenced by Zen and phenomenological inquiry, and aims to illuninate a felt sense of our own 'experiential truth' rather than an intellectual appreciation of life.

So what do you offer? - We offer a bi-monthly Saturday Group which is open to any and everyone where people drop in for quality feedback, to sample the flow of a Gestalt group or to receive supervision around their practice - see page Renewal Fortnightly Groups. We also offer a regular programme of workshops - see the daters below and view the content on the page entitled Current Workshops.

What might I read to prepare me? - Free Downloads are available on this website, click on to the articles on Page 3 (About the Facilitator) entitled 'A Brief Review of Gestalt Facilitation' for an appreciation of the origin and scope of the wider model, or 'Gestalt in Coaching & Consulting: A Dialogue with Holism & the Soul' for a fuller understanding of Gestalt's application to coaching; or if you are a more experienced reader try a Gestalt critique of traditional training and education see 'Keeping Psychotherapy Trainees in 'Their Place' - How Training Institutions can Stifle Love and Breed Complience' .  Maybe come to a Saturday Group (£75) as a taster of this approach - see Page 4, or dip into the optional pre-workshop reading cited below in Barber, P (2006) 'Becoming a Practitioner-Researcher - A Gestalt Approach to Holistic Inquiry' .

So how will I experience this approach? - You will be invited to attune to the here and now and to focus upon what is foreground to your current awareness, to reflect on your current needs, to explore the support you might require to meet these current needs and to experiment with new ways of experiencing the world. Many have described my style as high in support and challenge and laced with humour. Maybe read the reactions of others on Page 2 for an extra appreciation of this way of working.

How do I book upon a Workshop or Saturday Group? - Email gestaltinaction@msn.com to reserve a place or send the fee (weekend workshop £200 or Saturday Group £75) made out to Paul Barber at 7 Ridgeway Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6PQ.

Where might I stay as it's a two day workshop? We have three Travelodges close to Redhill, at Gatwick (12 miles), Dorking (9 miles) and Leatherhead (10 miles) - see www.travelodge.co.uk plus a good hotel  Nutfield House Priory www.4hotels.co.uk (2 miles) , plus a list of B & B's.

                                Our Values & Facilitation Style:

We are committed to the development and education of the whole person.

We empower individuals, groups and communities by working alongside them to identify strategies which honour their unique needs and visions.

We use Gestalt  (which emphasises)

    ð holism;

    ð organic development;

    ð experiential learning;

    ð a focus upon what is unfolding moment to moment.

To honour the whole of our psychological and spiritual reality, soma and the soul.

We explore through dialogue and experimentation . . . rather than teach;

Look to the inter- relatedness of things . . . rather than isolate out facts;

Raise awareness to the options . . . rather than provide ready made answers.

Our workshops function in a person-centred way where participants inform the agenda and take responsibility for how much they contribute to any given activity. We welcome novices and experts alike, for we believe that much more can be gained when people with differing skills and experience work and experiment together.

                                                      Services:

• Organisational Consultancy (Clients have included - 'The Merchant Group';  Hendon Police Training College; Family Planning Association; Surrey University)
• Team Building: (Clients have included - GlaxoSmith Kline; Tower Hamletts Social Services; St Lukes Hospital; Gerrards; Senior Community Health Management - Kent)
• Coaching; (Clients have included - Price Waterhouse Coopers; The Roffey Park Institute; Ashridge; Unilever; BBC; Sussex Police College; The Benefits Agency)
• Shadow Consultancy: (Clients have included - Price Waterhouse Coopers; Diageo;  Management Consultancy Business School; Psychosynthesis Trust)

We provide In-House Courses and Qualitative Research tailored to your community or organisational needs by request.

We are able to assist in the Prepation of Academic Dissertations up to doctorate level.

We run the following non-residential weekend workshops at Redhill in Surrey: