Private Gestalt sessions

• Do you want to find your way through a challenging situation?
• Do you need some support to do this?
• Are you looking for a therapy with practical outcomes?
• Do you want to fulfil more of your potential?

We offer a service which is professional, confidential and personalised. We work with individuals, couples and families.

A 3 minute introduction to working with me in therapy:

The principles we work with are simple

• change results from finding out who you are, and living that to the full.
• change is assisted by genuine dialogue
• change is often difficult; with support it can also be fun and creative

What you can expect

• The first session we check each other out – are we going to be able to work together?
• We ask you about the bigger picture, and then about the issues you bring.
• After that, we generally set up another five sessions to continue in more depth.

Therapy involves this:

• the issue you want to work with
• your feelings
• the bigger picture and wider influences - past, future, family, culture
• the places you get stuck
• your organising beliefs
• your core needs
• who you are - the way you move through life - your personal style
• questions of meaning and purpose
• unfinished business
• experimenting with new ways of being
• dialogue between the two of us
• the exploration of relationship, blind spots, and the need for support

To book a session phone

Australia:

02 8064 7431

USA:

323 381 9810

Where?

We are available for sessions via Skype, or may be available for a face to face session, depending on our teaching schedule. You can view the calendar for Steve Vinay Gunther here.

In the USA I am available to see clients in Los Angeles.

217 E. Alameda Ave #301, Burbank 91502

How many sessions?

It depends...

Sometimes its only possible to do one session. For a very specific issue, and with a willingness to have a strong focus, this can be very productive.

Generally though, to have a serious look at an issue requires at least 6 sessions.

If this issue is entrenched, complex, or has been around a long time, its more likely to need 6 months of therapy.

For deeper work which is oriented towards a profound restructuring of ways of being in the world, dealing with significant trauma, or turning a marriage around, its more likely to require a year of consistent therapy.

Information for first time clients

Informed consent documents:

For Steve Vinay Gunther

For Sutara Ling

For new adolescent clients

For supervision clients

For Career Decision Coaching clients

For executive coaching clients

For couples

Fee schedule

Fee scales are adjusted by country. Please contact us for the relevant rate scale.   

What is Gestalt?

Gestalt therapy is an action approach to authentic living that emphasizes dynamic, present centred awareness rather than abstract analysis.   

It is a psychotherapy of growth, not one of illness and pathology. As such, the focus is on creative adjustment and the facilitation of ongoing maturation throughout one’s life. 

Picture a jigsaw with only one piece missing: we have an inherent desire to fit that piece, and an innate sense of satisfaction when the picture is complete. This drive to completion, wholeness, or Gestalt, is what propels us to deal with unfinished issues in our lives and to experience a nagging sense of discomfort until that is done.

The Gestalt Approach

Is grounded in the here and now

When feelings are not fully experienced in the past, they carry over into the present and interfere with experiencing in the present moment. This ‘unfinished business’ is addressed by facing what has been avoided, and bringing it gently into full awareness, in the now.

Emphasises that each person is responsible for his or her own destiny 

People are supported to find their own way in life. The acceptance of personal responsibility is seen as key to achieving maturity.

Respects each person as the best expert on themselves

Rather than starting with the therapist’s insight and answers, value is placed on the client’s perception of reality. Awareness is heightened and explored, people are supported to find their own truths.

Supports genuine encounter

 Talking about experiences can be interesting, informative, but is once-removed from life. It is not an effective way of working through difficulties. 

The vividness and immediacy of direct contact is utilised in Gestalt as a potent force for change. Whatever problems exist outside of the therapy relationship can be examined in the present moment. New and fresh experiments are designed to bring novel perspectives to old problems.

Facilitates the unification (‘re-owning’)  process 

Accepting all aspects of self without judgement, a person becomes strong enough to carry on with their own personal growth. The more unified a person is, the more authentic and vital their existence will be. 

Utilises the paradox of change

Change results not from striving to be different, but from accepting fully what is. Change then becomes inevitable; in harmony with the dynamism of life, rather than effortful work.

Is sensitive to vulnerability

Contemporary Gestalt pays attention to a person’s need for support, both internal and external. ‘As much as is necessary, and as little as possible’ is the suggestion of Laura Perls. This modern approach to Gestalt takes into account the effects of shame and over exposure in life and in therapy, and works to create a solid ground of relationship which underpins the natural momentum of change.

A Note on Multiple Relationships

Dialogue

The current orthodoxy in the world of psychotherapy either strongly discourages, or outright bans having any kind of relationship in addition to the formal therapeutic one.

And then, theres the real world, where one does not always have such absolute control, or even the option of such 'pure' relationships.

In any relationship - therapeutic or otherwise, what is required is authenticity, awareness, and dialogue. These are the values we promote, and try to live by.

If a multiple (otherwise known as 'dual') relationship is a part of our interaction, we invite you to review the following questions, and we can discuss them.

Dual roles discussion (via Cedar Barstow)