Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles

04/20/2026

GTILA presents: The Language We Swim In: Why Words Matter in Gestalt Therapy with Steven A. Elkind, PhD

Saturday May 2, 2026
10:00AM-11:30AM PT
Use discount code: FB-Language
Zoom
🔗
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-language-we-swim-in-why-words-matter-in-gestalt-therapy-tickets-1978208005396?aff=oddtdtcreator

Description: “There are no facts, only interpretations.”— Friedrich Nietzsche. Gestalt therapy has long emphasized presence, awareness, and dialogue — yet each depends on language, the very medium through which we both connect and distort experience. This presentation explores how linguistic habits shape perception, organize the therapeutic field, and subtly define what is possible in relationship. Drawing on field theory, phenomenology, and Korzybski’s “map is not the territory”, Dr. Elkind examines how words structure the world we inhabit and how therapists can learn to speak in ways that better mirror process, movement, and participation. Participants will gain new insight into how language both reveals and limits awareness, and how refining our use of words can deepen contact, support self-regulation, and enliven the dialogic field.

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A presentation with Steven A. Elkind, PhD

03/27/2026

Join us for GTILA presents: “Therapeutic Presence, Dialogue and Co-Regulation in Troubled Times,” with Gestalt Therapists Charlie Bowman, LCSW and Peter Cole, LCSW.

Sunday April 12th 2026
10:00am-11:30am PST
Online zoom
🔗 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/therapeutic-presence-dialogue-and-co-regulation-in-troubled-times-tickets-1977548067504?aff=oddtdtcreator

In this presentation Gestalt Therapists Charlie Bowman, LCSW and Peter Cole, LCSW will discuss their recent article I Am Here: A Gestalt Perspective on Navigating Through Troubled Times scheduled to appear in the Spring 2026 issue of Gestalt Review. They will explore the impact of the U.S.’s current authoritarian political climate on the practice of psychotherapy. They will discuss the Mass Induction of Trauma, a concept they introduce in this paper and will examine how therapists and clients can work together toward co-regulation and hopefulness in these trying times. Drawing on theory and practice, including field theory and relational gestalt therapy theory, Charlie and Peter will outline ways to sustain therapeutic presence and healing in today’s challenging sociopolitical atmosphere

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03/18/2026

GTILA board members spotted in the wild! 👀

02/18/2026

Join us for GTILA Presents: Devotion, Ritual, and the Ground of Gestalt Therapy with Jordan Dann, MFA, LP, CIRT, SEP.

March 21, 2026
10:00AM-11:30AM PT
Zoom

Tickets Available on EventBrite

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/devotion-ritual-and-the-ground-of-gestalt-therapy-tickets-1978207618238?aff=oddtdtcreator

Discount code: FB-Ritual

Description: Gestalt therapy invites us to meet what is—fully, reverently, and with care. This workshop explores devotion not as dogma or sentiment, but as a disciplined, embodied orientation toward presence. Devotion in the therapeutic encounter arises through contact, humility, and human-to-human meeting—but also through the ritual structures that hold the work: our attendance to time, boundaries, beginnings and endings, the preparation of space, the rhythm of return, and the ongoing tending of the field. In both physical and virtual rooms, the therapist’s devotion is expressed in how we create and sustain the conditions for awareness. Every ritual gesture—lighting a candle, opening a laptop, arranging the chairs—can be understood as a way of saying “you matter; we matter.” Devotion, then, becomes a form of aesthetic and ethical care: attention to the relational, the environmental, and the temporal. Through dialogue, experiential practice, and reflection, we will explore how devotion and ritual together root Gestalt therapy in an ethic of presence, reverence, and responsibility—to self, other, and field.

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02/17/2026

Join us for GTILA Presents: Chairwork Psychotherapy: Using the Four Dialogues in Clinical Practice with Amanda Garcia Torres, LMHC, and Scott Kellogg, PhD

Feb 28, 2026
10:00AM-11:30AM PT
Zoom

Tickets Available on EventBrite
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chairwork-psychotherapy-using-the-four-dialogues-in-clinical-practice-tickets-1978074437892?aff=oddtdtcreator

Description: Within Gestalt therapy, addiction and trauma are not seen as isolated pathologies but as expressions of the field—creative adjustments that emerge in response to disconnection, overwhelm, and unmet relational needs. In this Gestalt Salon, we will explore how a relational and field-sensitive perspective allows us to meet these experiences with compassion, curiosity, and embodied awareness.

Rather than reducing addiction to a behavior or diagnosis, this conversation invites us to consider it as a movement toward restoration and contact—a spontaneous attempt by the organism–environment field to regain balance. Drawing from Field Theory, Relational Gestalt practice, and Polyvagal-informed awareness, we’ll reflect together on how therapeutic presence, co-regulation, and somatic attunement open possibilities for healing and integration.

Together we will explore:
– Addiction and trauma as field phenomena rather than intrapsychic dysfunctions.
– How the relational stance of the therapist supports contact, co-regulation, and embodied safety.
– How somatic and nervous system awareness enhances field sensitivity and deepens presence.
– The application of the Compassionate Relational Gestalt Trauma Model (CRGTM) within the living field of therapy.

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01/27/2026

GTILA Presents: Integrating Somatic, Polyvagal, and Gestalt Approaches with Rafael Cortina

Eventbrite 🔗 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/healing-addiction-trauma-through-a-compassionate-relational-lens-tickets-1977524823982?aff=oddtdtcreator

Use discount code - FB-Rafael

Within Gestalt therapy, addiction and trauma are not seen as isolated pathologies but as expressions of the field—creative adjustments that emerge in response to disconnection, overwhelm, and unmet relational needs. In this Gestalt Salon, we will explore how a relational and field-sensitive perspective allows us to meet these experiences with compassion, curiosity, and embodied awareness.

Rather than reducing addiction to a behavior or diagnosis, this conversation invites us to consider it as a movement toward restoration and contact—a spontaneous attempt by the organism–environment field to regain balance. Drawing from Field Theory, Relational Gestalt practice, and Polyvagal-informed awareness, we’ll reflect together on how therapeutic presence, co-regulation, and somatic attunement open possibilities for healing and integration.

Together we will explore:
* Addiction and trauma as field phenomena rather than intrapsychic dysfunctions.
* How the relational stance of the therapist supports contact, co-regulation, and embodied safety.
* How somatic and nervous system awareness enhances field sensitivity and deepens presence.
* The application of the Compassionate Relational Gestalt Trauma Model (CRGTM) within the living field of therapy

Art 🙏🏻

12/21/2025

On January 24th, 2026at 10am pst The Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles (GTILA) is kicking off our 2026 season of educational salons with this important offering -

GTILA Presents: Expanding Awareness And Promoting Contact Across Differences In Polarized Times: Getting From Me To We with Deborah L. Plummer, PhD and Jon Frew PhD, ABPP

Description: What can we, as members of the Gestalt community in the US and globally, do to address the deep divisions that exist in places where we live, work, serve, worship and socialize? How do we effectively work with and relate to those with whom we vehemently disagree? How do we learn to support ourselves and others to live cohesively with ambiguity and uncertainty? In this seminar, innovative and viable concepts including radical respect, a relational model for managing the dynamics of differences, and developing a “Me to We Mindset”, all rooted in essential Gestalt concepts such as field theory, phenomenological inquiry and dialogue, will be presented. Together, we will explore and practice deep listening for bidirectional understanding of the beliefs, history, experiences, worldviews, perceptions, values, attitudes, and motivations of others. We will integrate this Me to We characteristic as an example of the intersection and blending of Gestalt therapy’s three fundamental philosophical foundations. The Salon will end by turning conversation into action as participants complete the statement, “Moving forward I will…”

10% discount code: FB-Awareness

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/expanding-awareness-and-promoting-contact-across-differences-tickets-1977746790891?aff=oddtdtcreator

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12/12/2025

December GTILA board meeting 🙌🏻 We have some really exciting things coming your way in 2026, so stay tuned!

08/21/2025

Please join us Saturday, September 6 · 10am - 11:30am (PT) for GTILA Presents: Couples-Finding Each Other Within Conflict. An online workshop on working with couples with David Narang.

To register click https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gtila-presents-couples-finding-each-other-within-conflict-tickets-1555053891049?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

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06/17/2025

We stand with our immigrant communities in LA

Over the past week, ICE raids, detentions, and surveillance have not only disrupted lives, they have also deeply traumatized individuals, families, and entire communities. As mental health professionals, we witness the profound emotional and psychological toll this takes: the chronic fear, anxiety, grief, and loss that ripple through homes, workplaces, and schools.

Los Angeles is built on the strength, resilience, and brilliance of immigrants. We will not be silent as ICE continues to target and terrorize our communities, our families, our friends, and our neighbors.

No human is illegal
ICE has no place in our communities
We demand safety, dignity, and freedom for all

We uplift the voices of our undocumented, refugee, and displaced community members, and we fight alongside you for justice and liberation.