30
Exploring the
then, now & next
of gestalt therapy
in Australia
WHEN:
15-16th November 2025
WHERE:
The Treacy Centre
126 The Avenue, Parkville
Kulin nation, Melbourne, Australia
The title of the conference reflects that 2025 is the 30th anniversary of the founding of Gestalt Therapy Australia (GTA), which is Melbourne’s gestalt therapy training institute. This conference will in part be a birthday celebration for GTA: a chance to reminisce, catch up with old friends and colleagues, and reflect on the ongoing place and relevance of the institute.
Like any good milestone celebration, this conference will offer the chance for reflection on the then, now, and next:
Then: Where have we, as a community of practitioners, come from? Looking back, we can recognise that we’ve been doing this for a while now, that we’re part of a rich and living tradition, and that there are elders among us. What can our past tell us about where we are now and where we might be headed?
Now: What does it mean to be practicing gestalt therapy here and now, in Australia in 2025? All traditions must evolve to meet the demands of the moment. Are we adequately meeting our moment?
Next: Together, can we imagine a future for gestalt therapy? What do we want this future to look like? As we step into the next moment, what should we hold onto, and what is asking to be left behind?
This conference will also be about more than GTA. We warmly welcome anyone interested in gestalt therapy. Some of the presenters and workshop facilitators will be from interstate and have no affiliation with GTA.
The conference will involve a mix of keynote presentations, presentations, workshops, and panels. Some of the presentations, workshops, and panels will be running concurrently, so participants will be able to choose topics of most interest to them.
Tickets
Standard price*:
One day pass: $300
Full access: $450
* VAGP members receive a 25% discount!
Click here for membership options and to join VAGP.
Financial hardship considerations: We don’t want people who are interested in attending the conference missing out because of the cost. We have a limited number of scholarships available, as well as volunteering opportunities. Please contact us at admin@vagp.com.au to enquire.
The ticket prices include morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea on both the Saturday and Sunday. They do not include the optional dinner and drinks on the Saturday night, which will be hosted at a separate venue - tickets sold separately here.
Location
The conference will be at the Treacy Centre (126 The Avenue, Parkville. See https://www.treacycentre.com.au/), which is close to Melbourne’s CBD, near to the two GTA premises, and right next to Royal Park.
We will be utilising the Edmund Rice function room for plenary sessions and morning and afternoon tea. We will also have access to at least two other rooms for concurrent presentations, panels, and workshops.
The Treacy Centre sits on the land of the peoples of the Kulin nation, for whom the Melbourne area was a centre of trade, celebration, spirituality and law. Peoples from all over Victoria would come to the area now known as Melbourne, with each group having a designated camp. What became Royal Park was traditionally a camp area for Koorie peoples from the Geelong and Western districts.
Accessibility
The Treacy Centre is a mobility-friendly venue with several accessibility features, including wheelchair Access (accessible toilets and ground-level entry to key rooms like the Edmund Rice and Waterford Rooms) and support for assistance animals. For specific accessibility needs or to discuss accommodations, you can contact the Treacy Centre directly at info@treacycentre.com.au or (03) 8359 0101, or contact us at admin@vagp.com.au.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch
Day 1 - Saturday 15 November
9:00 am - WELCOME AND ORIENTATION: Henry Fowkes, Gina Denholm, Craig Delphine
9:30 am - KEYNOTE: Gestalt now: How gestalt practice is responding to this moment — Tony Jackson
10:30 am - MORNING TEA
11:00 am - CONCURRENT SESSION
Ethics at the edge: exploring the embodied, systemic and relational ground – Michelle Sier, Tegan Mumford
Listening and learning together: a cross-cultural yarning circle – Nicole van Os, Grady Walsh
Perspectives on leadership: Community, participation, and action – Tony Jackson, Ash Power, Tine Mueller
Why reading Perls, Hefferline and Goodman (1951) still matters: A didactic and experiential workshop – Perry Klepner (via ZOOM)
1:00 pm - LUNCH: With music by Louise Terra
2:00 pm - CONCURRENT SESSION
Clinical hospitality in a contemporary world – Claire Taubert
Earth as co-therapist: Gestalt pathways to ecological and social change – Ash Power
I'm all here: Gestalt in practice through wholeness in organisations – Kirsten Brumby
Reimagining gestalt therapy in an age of AI chatbots: An experiential workshop – Rhys Price-Robertson, Lina Patel
3:30 pm - AFTERNOON TEA
4:00 pm - KEYNOTE: : Memories and musings: Yesterday, today and tomorrow! – Gina Denholm in conversation with the founders of GTA, Claire Taubert and Gabe Phillips.
5:15 pm - FINISH
Saturday evening: GTA birthday party! - Tickets sold separately here.
Day 2 - Sunday 16 November
9:00am - INTRODUCTION: Henry Fowkes, Gina Denholm
9:30 am - KEYNOTE: Courage, humility, humour and the importance of an inner chorus: Honouring Donna Orange and her legacy to the gestalt world – Claire Taubert in conversation with Lynne Jacobs (via ZOOM)
10:30 am - MORNING TEA
11:00 am - CONCURRENT SESSION
Mind in the moment: The opportunities and challenges of psychedelic assisted therapy - Joe Starke
Absolutely cooked: Treatment of people experiencing burnout – Marcel Koper
Drawing as relational support for ecological connectedness: Attuning to the living field – Craig Burgess
Dreaming together: Awakening the wisdom of dreams through embodied group process – Deb Broderick, Fiona Bell
1:00 pm - LUNCH: With music by Genevieve Fry
2:00 pm - KEYNOTE: The Call of Next: Radical engagement in a fractured world – Leanne O’Shea
3:00 pm - PANEL: Gestalt futures panel - Leanne O’Shea, Tine Mueller, Michelle Sier, Tegan Mumford, Evan Yang in conversation with Rhys Price-Robertson
4:00 pm - CLOSING SESSION: Henry Fowkes, Gina Denholm
4:30 pm - FINISH