GISC Blog

The GISC Ripple Effect

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 20:00:33 GMT

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your ongoing support of GISC and for being an essential part of our global learning community. Each year, I’m reminded that GISC thrives because of the people who believe in our mission and commit themselves to creating a better world. Those who know GISC know what powerful catalysts self-awareness, personal growth, and embodying a Gestalt approach can be for creating positive change.

This past year, we settled into our downtown Boston offices at the Nonprofit Center—a building dedicated to nonprofit advancement and social change. It is a fitting home for GISC, reflecting the values, vibrancy, and connection essential to our own mission:

GISC brings diverse individuals together over time for deep, transformative learning, enabling them to multiply their impact for larger systems change.

This year, our mission came alive in powerful ways. We welcomed participants from 47 countries —continuing to expand our global presence. This kind of international reach reaffirms that our approach is resonating widely, across cultures and continents—enriching the learning for all.

In 2025, we completed the first full year of Conversations with Clinicians: Life and Practice through a Gestalt Lens, a free monthly offering that drew hundreds of participants , nurturing our therapeutic roots and community.

Other exciting initiatives included the launch of the GISC Leadership Series for mid-level leaders, focusing on presence, use of self, and the keys to authentic leadership—an offering grounded in Gestalt tradition yet tailored to the pace and complexity of modern organizational life.

Our commitment to accessible learning continues to deepen, as we offer our programs in formats and locations that expand our accessibility. We aim to ensure that our powerful learning is available to more people, regardless of location or economic circumstance. We plan to offer our Coach Certification Program in both live-online and in-person formats for the first time next year , and also plan new program offerings in places such as Norway, the UK, and beyond in the months ahead.

Our scholarship program provides financial support to dozens of participants each year—including nonprofit leaders, students, solo practitioners, and members of marginalized communities. Our participants’ growth, in turn, expands the impact of Gestalt practice into organizations and communities that benefit deeply from it.

In November, our faculty, board, and staff gathered for GISC’s third annual faculty development retreat in Boston . We explored who we are—as a faculty community and as an organization—learning from one another and developing a shared understanding of GISC’s vision and goals. Our programming, initiatives, and strategy all align toward evolving the important legacy and vision of our founders for the future.

We invite you to join us in advancing this work by giving generously to GISC this year.

A gift of $1,000 or more places you in our Founders Circle.
All unrestricted gifts of $200 or more include a GISC membership, with program discounts, a Gestalt Review subscription, and other special perks.
Directed gifts—supporting the Nevis Scholarship Fund, Clinical Initiative, Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging Work, Faculty Development , or an area you personally value—are deeply appreciated and essential to our continued growth.

On behalf of the GISC Faculty, Staff, and Board of Directors, thank you for helping us transform the way we live and work in the world . With your support, GISC continues to be a place of learning, insight, and possibility—a place where people come together to create a ripple effect of change for a better world.

With warm regards and deep gratitude,

Laurie Fitzpatrick

President & CEO, GISC

 Please note, our mailing address has changed: We are now at 89 South Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02111. Or please give online at www.gisc.org/donate . Thank you!

Introducing an exciting new series for leaders: Presence, Use of Self, and the Keys to Authentic Leadership

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 19:24:53 GMT

An Interview with GISC's Co-Directors of Leadership Development

We’re excited to announce the launch this fall of a new GISC Leadership Series for mid-level leaders on Presence, Use of Self, and the Keys to Authentic Leadership. Today, we’re sharing an interview with GISC’s Co-Directors of Leadership Development, Deb Chaloux and Adriana Bellerose, who led the creation of this series.

Can you say a bit about the programs that are part of this new series?

Adriana: The GISC Leadership Series is a collection of programs designed for mid-level leaders, focusing on Presence, Use of Self, and the Keys to Authentic Leadership. These half-day sessions, led by two GISC faculty members, include:

· Courage and Change – Supporting leaders to inspire growth and adaptability in a changing workplace.

· Relational Intelligence – Strengthening leaders’ ability to connect intentionally with others.

· Inclusive Leadership – Encouraging engagement with diverse perspectives and fostering respect and inclusion.

· Cultivating Resilience – Building capacity for personal and team resilience and wellbeing.

While anyone can enroll, we recommend beginning with our blended-learning program, Leading Self , which introduces foundational Gestalt concepts and leadership principles.

Deb: This series invites professionals from small and midsize non-profit and for-profit organizations to engage in micro-learning modules on the key competencies required for leadership success in today’s dynamic workplace. The synchronous online learning approach creates flexibility and allows participants to join from around the world. Each module is four hours long and provides a blended approach of content delivery, interactive group discussion, experiential activities and small group breakouts.

Collectively, the series will focus on raising self-awareness as a leader, engaging constructively with an ever-changing workplace, expanding choices in how one leads and connects with others, applying a new lens to the work of inclusive leadership, and taking action to promote resilience and wellbeing in self and others.

What inspired the development of this series and how did you choose the topics?

Deb: We knew it was time to shift our approach to offering leadership development programs. Among other influences, the pandemic radically altered the culture and expectations of how professionals engage in leadership development. Leaders still want to grow, but organizations can no longer commit the same level of time and resources to lengthy programs. Our research showed that organizations are willing to invest when the learning is perceived as high-value and relevant. It must be tied to leaders’ current challenges, personalized to their needs, and have direct application.

We set out to figure out how to best meet this need. We scoured the internet for literature and research to learn more about what leaders need to be successful – now and in the future. We invited members of our community to weigh in. And we focused on the topics that most closely align with GISC’s distinctive strengths and expertise.

Adriana: GISC’s mission to transform the way individuals live and work in the world inspired the creation of this series. We recognized the need for continuous development, and we drew upon focus groups and research to identify the skills leaders need in today’s dynamic environment. We also listened to organizational needs, finding that cookie-cutter programs were losing relevance. Our approach—learning that’s designed to be practical, personalized, and experiential —helps leaders build self-awareness and positively impact those they lead.

Who is this series best suited for?

Adriana : This series is ideal for mid-level leaders who lead teams and are motivated to understand their leadership style, skills, and impact. It is also suitable for newer leaders eager to develop their leadership potential.

Deb: We’re looking for people with some leadership experience who want to increase their influence, lead others while leading themselves, and keep current with leadership trends. “Early in career” leaders who are ambitious or considered high potential will grow tremendously if they engage in this series. We also believe the series will be extremely beneficial to motivated leaders who are challenged or struggling in their current role.

In a nutshell, we hope to attract participants who have experienced some type of leadership responsibility and aim to become more aware of self, their impact on others, and how they can be most effective in their role.

Why is it important for leaders at this level to develop their presence and use of self and to explore these more advanced concepts?

Deb: Today’s leaders work in highly demanding environments that are constantly changing. They are expected to stay connected, manage accelerated deadlines and respond to increased expectations. Workplaces are challenging! We must, therefore, learn not only how to manage effectively but thrive. Thriving—not just surviving—requires us to bring our most authentic selves to our roles. That means being aware of our values, strengths, personality, and beliefs, and developing facility in using this awareness – our “use of self” – in our interactions with others. A well-honed presence enables us to productively interact with others, improve our mutual experience, and generate the energy to learn and lead.

In the end, we are left with ourselves as the most important tool or instrument to effectively navigate the complexities of leading. At GISC, we want to help people take full advantage of it!

Adriana: Research shows that presence is one of the most valued traits in effective leadership. At GISC, we emphasize the use of self —understanding who you are, the impact you have, and acting with intention—as a cornerstone of authentic leadership. Leaders grounded in these principles are better equipped to lead with clarity and purpose – and to achieve real results for their organizations.

Is there anything more you’d like to say about the series or the first two programs being offered this fall?

Deb: Just that we’re thrilled to have two of our most accomplished faculty members, Anita Frisch and Allison Iantosca, leading Courage and Change and Relational Intelligence this fall. Their experience as leaders, coaches and learning designers will make this a fabulous experience people don’t want to miss.

Adriana: These sessions have been in development for over a year and are rich in content and experiential learning. Participants can expect a dynamic and engaging experience which we’re confident they’ll find both valuable and enjoyable.

Learn more about the GISC Leadership Series, including program dates, here .

An Interview with Cape Cod Training Program Faculty

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 20:36:42 GMT

This fall, GISC’s renowned Cape Cod Training Program (CCTP) returns to Europe, bringing its powerful learning model to London. Here, faculty members Joe Melnick and Lucy Ball reflect on what makes the Cape Cod Model so impactful and the program so enduring after more than four decades of practice.

What are you most excited about in bringing CCTP to London this fall?

Joe: I am excited to be returning to London to teach the Cape Cod Training Program with my colleagues Lucy Ball and Gaynor Sharp. Prior to Covid, we taught the program in Europe for many years: not only in England, but in Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and numerous other countries. I particularly enjoy the mixture of participants...not just their different countries of origin, but their different personalities, interests and professions...therapists, coaches, consultants, as physicians, lawyers, academicians and others wishing to learn a new way of "seeing" and interacting with others.

Lucy: No airports for me! I’m based in the UK, so it’s a train ride away this time. I’m excited to meet the cohort; I always learn so much from our participants. Our classes tend to become supportive learning communities and I’m constantly touched by what gets co-created. The Cape Cod Model has a long history and I feel like I’m handling precious material that has been honed by dedicated practitioners. It also keeps evolving. We are constantly learning and developing how we teach. I’m looking forward to teaching with Joe Melnick and Gaynor Sharp who are steeped in Gestalt theory and practice and who mean a lot to me.

What makes the Cape Cod Training Program - which is now over 40 years old, so relevant in today’s world?

Joe: In this world of increased polarization, the Model goes beyond the content of learning how to "see" differently, beyond the individual. It values some of the Gestalt approach's fundamental principles such as: Growth and change come from the meeting of differences; Optimism is necessary to manage uncertainty and create resilience, and; Awareness leads to growth and change – timeless concepts for living in today’s world.

Lucy: I will answer this from a personal point of view. I find the Cape Cod model a deeply supportive, multi-layered resource for living and working as a consultant, coach, therapist, parent, partner, friend and human being. Our notions of Co-creation, Contact and the Cycle of Experience help me manage connection to myself and to others. Our ideas about Resistance help me stay curious and grateful. Our concept of Optimism helps me find agency in the face of overwhelm or despair. Our holistic approach, emphasising awareness, helps me access emotional and somatic wisdom as well as cognitive. The way we think about systems gives me a way to work with what is co-created, complex, mysterious or unknowable. There is a lot in the world that is hard to be aware of and I feel supported by the model and the GISC community to turn towards life and handle the range of human experience.

Why is the Cape Cod Model so important for practitioners working today?

Lucy: I think practitioners working today need tools to support brave and humble intervening in complex social dynamics. The Cape Cod Model provides maps and approaches for tricky territory. We help practitioners to grow their presence so that they can build the trust needed to do difficult work. The program is experiential. We learn in our bodies by practicing the model live. This takes some courage and vulnerability on behalf of faculty and students alike, so we provide plenty of the support, structure, care and humour that makes practicing something new possible. When I first attended the program I knew that I was learning in my bones not just ‘learning about’ but ‘learning by doing.’ I felt expanded and more capable of supporting my clients.

Joe: Among the many things I love about the program, is our joint commitment and ability to create connections and a learning community in which trust is developed, making it safe to take risks and explore different aspects of oneself and relationships with others. Our teaching is highly experiential and is blended with lively lectures. We understand that participants pay as much attention to how we are with each other and with each of them, as to the content of the course.

Some people say that the Cape Cod Training Program is "life changing." Do you agree and, if so, why?

Lucy: I don’t like to be told what an experience will be like. If you say “Lucy, come on this program, it’ll be life changing!”, I will fold my arms and think to myself “I’ll be the judge of that!” What I can say is that the Cape Cod Model and the community at the Gestalt International Study Center have had a profoundly positive impact on my work and on my development as a person. I’m friendlier with more aspects of myself than I was and I am a far more effective intervenor particularly with couples, dyads and groups. Unlike other training I have taken in my career, the Cape Cod Training program taught me to see and work systemically.

Joe: I have been teaching this program throughout the world for more than 40 years. One reason I continue to teach it is that I learn so much about myself and others each time. My adult children, one a lawyer, the other a therapist, coach and organizational consultant have benefited from this program as have numerous friends and clients. For the majority of participants I have found that the learning is not just of a new model, it is life changing.

A Message from GISC's Board Chair

Fri, 30 May 2025 19:03:08 GMT

Dear GISC Faculty, Staff, and Members,

I am deeply honored to have been asked to lead the GISC Board as the new Chair. GISC is an organization that has profoundly shaped my personal and professional growth, and I know it has done the same for many of you.

I am filled with energy and optimism about the future of GISC. We have an incredible opportunity ahead of us to evolve our programs, broaden our reach, and foster a more diverse and inclusive environment for both faculty and participants.

As we move forward, we must also recognize the unique position GISC holds in today’s world. At a time when humanity and community face unprecedented challenges, we have the opportunity to stand as a beacon of hope and resilience. Our values of connection, empathy, and seeking common ground are more important than ever. By bringing our unique approach to communities and organizations dedicated to social justice and leadership, we can make a significant impact.

The board has the responsibility of supporting CEO Laurie Fitzpatrick in achieving ambitious goals aligned with GISC’s mission. We must also work to enhance GISC’s presence, attract partners and resources to ensure sustainability and growth, and uphold the highest standards of legal, ethical, and financial integrity.

I am excited to embark on this journey alongside the board, Laurie, staff, and faculty and look forward to what we will accomplish together.

Warm regards,

Rod

Roderick Allen

Chair, GISC Board of Directors

Principal, Cipher Consultants

(917)455-8994

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/roderick-allen/

Building a Brighter Future Together: Highlights and Hopes for GISC

lfitzpatrick@gisc.org — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 20:48:27 GMT

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your ongoing support of GISC and for being such a vital part of our global learning community. Together, we’ve continued to build on the transformative work that has defined GISC for decades. I’m excited to share some highlights of the past year and invite you to join us in shaping our next chapter.

After more than 20 years in Wellfleet, we’ve embraced a new home in downtown Boston. Our new offices are located in a vibrant building dedicated to nonprofit advancement and social change, a perfect reflection of GISC’s mission to foster meaningful growth in the individuals and organizations we serve. While we will always cherish our Cape Cod roots, this move enhances our ability to connect with a broader community and expand our impact in new and exciting ways.

GISC remains the place that brings diverse individuals together, in community, over time, for deep transformative learning. These shared experiences enable participants to multiply their impact for larger systems change. This year, our mission came to life with participants from 25 countries across all continents joining our online and in-person programs—an increase from prior years and a powerful testament to the global relevance of our work.

In November, our faculty gathered for a three-day retreat, which deepened our sense of connection and reaffirmed GISC’s dedication to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. This retreat will allow us to better foster a sense of belonging in our programs, continue to develop our theory, and align our Gestalt approach with the principles of inclusivity and shared growth.

We’ve expanded our program offerings to include new open-enrollment and customized trainings for organizations, addressing critical topics such as psychological safety and inclusive leadership. And we continue to develop new programs to meet the needs of today’s leaders and professionals. In 2024, we launched a free monthly series for psychotherapists, Conversations with Clinicians: Life and Practice through a Gestalt Lens, enriching our commitment to the therapeutic community.

Board member Shanaaz Majiet from Cape Town, South Africa, captured the heart of GISC’s work when she shared, “I believe our GISC mission has new relevance in an era of relationships for a better world.” Indeed, the relationships we cultivate and the communities we build are at the heart of everything we do—and it is your passion, support, and dedication that make it all possible.

We invite you to join us in advancing this vision by giving generously to GISC this year. Your gift of $1,000 places you in our Founders Circle, while contributions of $200 or more include a GISC membership with program discounts and special perks. Gifts directed toward our Nevis Scholarship Fund, Clinical Initiatives, DEIB work, Faculty and Program Development, or other areas of interest are so appreciated and vital to our continued growth.

On behalf of the entire GISC Faculty, Staff, and Board of Directors, thank you for helping us transform the way we live and work in the world . With your support, we look forward to building an even brighter future for GISC and those we serve.

Warm regards,

Laurie Fitzpatrick

President & CEO, GISC

Coaching Inclusively with a Focus on Race: What does it take?

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 21:05:50 GMT

When most coaches and clients think about coaching work, they see it as void of racism, sexism, sexual orientation, ableism, bias and intersectionality to name only a few experiences. They may also ignore the presence of these lifelong experiences in a coachee or themselves. As John Leary-Joyce the author of The Fertile Void: Gestalt Coaching at Work, states,

“Individuals exist through their relationship with others and with their environment. Everything affects, and is affected by, everything else in the coachee’s world. Body, mind, emotions and the environment - all have an impact on the individual.”

Many coaches understand that it is more impactful for the client to bring their total self to a session: this makes it easier to support them in reaching their desired state of self-awareness. How can we as coaches start to spark awareness in our clients unless we are aware ourselves? Let’s tackle two challenging conditions, intersectionality and racism, to expand our curiosity about our clients and ourselves. We'll explore how both intersectionality and race can and do show up in our practice as well as build tools and knowledge along the way that will help ourselves and our clients live full and self-aware lives. Being informed about how intersectionality and race impacts us all, is a great place to start.

The term intersectionality is new to many of us. This theory was first brought forward in 1989 by Kimberle Crenshaw in her paper, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Intersectionality as, "the complex, cumulative manner in which the effects of different forms of discrimination combine, overlap, or intersect.” Intersectionality references the multidimensional ways discrimination impacts marginalized groups. To marginalize means, “to relegate (banish) to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group.” I have heard the negative impact of intersectionality best described as a “boot on the neck”. This is the way I picture it: imagine there is a marginalized person on the ground and every possible source of discrimination brings on to them its own kind of boot of oppression. As a black female, I would feel the boot of racism and

the boot of sexism, to name a few, on my neck, making it very difficult for me to get off the ground or to breathe - but not impossible. There are some people who are able to escape the outcomes of intersectionality but that is the exception to the rule not the norm. If you are a woman of color, your experience with discrimination will be different than that of a white woman because there will be different boots on your neck.

Your awareness as a coach of these potential sources of discrimination and oppression is crucial. How would the effects of intersectionality – e.g. having a boot on my neck – change how I ask for help as a coachee and how would your knowledge of intersectionality as a coach support your ability to help me as the coachee realize my original goal? Recognizing that an individual’s total set of identities and how their intersectionality have played a role in their lives can assist us as coaches to clarify, highlight and move our clients towards self-awareness. A key problem we may face is that we have been socialized to believe that to question intersectionality, bias or racism can be impolite or even racist. These factors can play a role in your client’s request or goals, and yet we have very little experience recognizing or talking about how we all are influenced by their effects. It makes many of us uncomfortable, guilty, ashamed, or even angry to talk about these dynamics. But we need to be able to push through those feelings of discomfort, and make them discussable in our coaching work. This is where growth happens!

In Gail Greenstein, EdD’s article, “Power, Privilege and Oppression, An Effective Lens for Executive Coaching,” she recounts,

“Consider this real situation I encountered in executive coaching at a financial institution. An African American male executive was uncomfortable navigating office relationships and was feeling like an outsider at work events. He was assigned a white, Euro-American coach who was not aware of the experience of people of color in the corporate workplace. Her coaching strategy was to help the client construct a development plan to support him to attend more work events and feel comfortable in these social settings. The questions and challenges the coach offered misused power by dismissing the cultural context of the client as well her own. This development plan took the executive further down the same path of disappointment, as the coach gave no acknowledgement of the structural barriers that exist. She focused more on developing his strength and endurance and the racial issue remained hidden in their coaching process.”

This example is not unusual for many marginalized groups in their experiences with coaching. It’s a great example to highlight the impact of not recognizing the role that intersectionality plays and not calling out those uncomfortable facts even if, as a coach, it feels awkward to do so. The coach’s process was not a bad one and it is what many coaches would have done. But it was incomplete and unfortunately resulted in the coachee being directed only to his own efforts to becoming more resilient and working harder – without acknowledging the patterns of bias that would need to be addressed by other players in the system. Imagine how a conversation around intersectionality and racism with that executive may have helped him accomplish his goal and it may have given him a safe space to feel supported in the challenges he faced. It could have even brought about a greater realization for the coach around how she navigated in the world and increased her skill at having those uncomfortable conversations.

In this coaching scenario, I do not believe that the coach was racist in the context that most people use the word. However, there may have been several factors that prevented the coach from being curious about how racism was showing up in this employee's intersectional world. One of the factors that may have been involved for the coach is bias. For all of us, the way in which we have been socialized may shape our first responses when faced with varying scenarios. In his book Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explores the “two systems” of our mind and how they serve us. “System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control.” For example, if someone sneezes you may say “bless you” without thinking. It is the much-needed foundation that keeps us safe much of the time and allows us to make quick decisions. “System 2 allocates attention to the effort filled mental activities that demand it, including complex computations.” (21). While in system 2 we think a bit more deeply. If you wanted to buy a car you would think about many factors before doing so.

Much of our unconscious bias comes from system 1 processing. This is how we may react to deeply embedded social cues or out of protective measures. Becoming aware of what can shape our thinking is important work for us as coaches. Your reactions depend on many factors including how you grew up, how you were socialized, what you watched on tv, read in the newspaper or books, the kinds of people that you grew up with, live around currently, who you saw as the shopkeeper or beggar, the things that made people around you successful and the things that did not, who played sports, what names people had and the types experiences to which you were exposed. These among many more factors - big, little and in between - make up the parts that inform our decision-making process in Systems 1 and 2.

In our coaching work it’s important to be able to recognize the impact of being a member of a dominant or subordinate group in our culture. A dominant culture is defined in the Oxford dictionary as, “… one whose values, language, and ways of behaving are imposed on a subordinate culture or cultures through economic or political power. This may be achieved through legal or political suppression.” As a dominant group member you may tend to see your culture as correct and not consider how biased you may be by immersion in this culture. We cannot get away from being biased because that is the way we all are. What we can do is to recognize and call out our own biases, spotlighting those biases to move them from being unconscious to conscious. From this kind of increased awareness, we can make a decision of action or inaction.

Bias can lead to all types of discrimination. Racism is deeply rooted and one of the most ingrained forms of discrimination, it can play a major role in all aspects of society and its view and treatment of your coachee. The Racial Equity Institute defines racism as, “Social and institutional power combined with race prejudice. It is a system of advantage for those considered white, and of oppression for those who are not considered white.” In many circles conversations about racism go like this: “Why talk about racism? I am not racist. Things have gotten so much better now.” The fact is that race and racism is in every aspect of our lives, it either has impacted you in a positive way if you are white or a negative way if you are a person of color. Here are a number of ways race may have impacted your coachee of color:

Health disparities: “It is no surprise that black people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, given historical and current experiences in this country, rooted in oppression and structural racism,” said Ayana Jordan, M.D., Ph.D., APA Early Career Psychiatrist at Large
Education: “Black girls represent 20 percent of female preschool enrollment, but 54 percent of female preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions.” Washingtonpost.com
Criminal Justice: “One in three young African American men are now under jurisdiction controlled by the criminal justice system (jail, prison, parole, probation).” The New Jim Crow, (2011) by Michelle Alexander.
Employment: “Although a credential from an elite university results in more employer responses for all candidates, black candidates from elite universities only do as well as white candidates from less selective universities.” http://ns.umich.edu/Releases/2015/Mar15/Discrimination-College-Selectivity2015.pdf
Income: “Hispanic women's median weekly earnings in 2018 were $617 per week of full-time work, only 61.6 percent of White men’s median weekly earnings, but 85.7 percent of the median weekly earnings of Hispanic men (because Hispanic men also have low earnings). The median weekly earnings of Black women were $654, only 65.3 percent of White men’s earnings, but 89.0 percent of Black men’s median weekly earnings.” “The Gender Wage Gap: 2018”
Wealth and Homeownership: Between 2005 and 2009 black household median net worth fell 53% from $12, 124 to $5, 677 while white household median net worth fell 16% from $134, 992 to $113, 149. The Racial Equity Institute

The information above is a list of some the dismal ways in which minorities are affected daily, by racism in every aspect of their lives.

Most people of color have learned to adjust and navigate though these challenges with dignity and may not want to bring up racism or take on the burden for educating white people. Your duty as a coach is to not ignore what you observe happening and to create a safe space for that reality to be explored. Author Ijeoma Oluo wrote:

“As a black woman, race has always been a prominent part of my life. I have never been able to escape the fact that I am a black woman in a white supremacist country. My blackness is woven into how I dress each morning, what bars I feel comfortable going to, what music I enjoy, what neighborhoods I hang out in. The realities of race have not always been welcome in my life, but they have always been there.”

This statement is not the way all black people see the world, parts of it may or may not be true depending on individuals’ experiences and perspectives. This, however, is more likely than not the reality for many black people who view themselves as not being a part of dominant culture and understand that for many of them success requires their assimilation into dominant culture.

As a coach it is important to have an understanding of the dynamics of dominant and subordinate identities and their impact on coaching work. As an illustration of this, we can incorporate race-related questions to build on John Leary- Joyce’s “5 Gestalt Coaching guiding principles” (from his book The Fertile Void: Gestalt Coaching at Work, 2014) in the following ways:

“It is about awareness” - Are you aware of how racism could be impacting your coachee or yourself?
“It is concerned with the way we do, say, experience and think about things” - How is racism preventing or causing you to, say, experience or think about your coachee, their experience or yourself?
“It is concerned with what is, in the here and now - not what may be, should be, might be or has been.” - Are you addressing with what is present for your coachee if recognized racism or intersectionality is also present?
“It is relationship centered, contextual and inclusive” - Is the relationship only comfortable, contextual or inclusive for you as a coach? How is it being experienced by the coachee?
“It is based on the principle that change is constant and only happens in the present.” - Are you able to stay in the present with awareness of racism?

The concepts of figure and ground are another tool that can be utilized in the coaching session to recognize, understand and identify intersectionality and racism. If we took a picture of moments in time depending on the day, the instant or the energy in our lives there would be a ground, which is the backdrop in the picture. At the same time depending on the day, moment or energy, a figure, which can be looked at as a focal point, may appear in that ground. Gestalt coaches are trained to recognize the possibility of the ground and figure as they come up in their coaching sessions and draw the coachee’s attention to what we noticed, once the coachee is willing to hear our observations. Without an understanding of the ground of intersectionality and racism as an automatic piece in the background, ever present and woven into all areas of everyone's life, even when not clearly defined, your lack of recognition can do harm to your coachee. Do not ignore when that emerges in the figure as well. As the figures and grounds ebb and flow in a coaching session, continue to understand that there is an interwoven pattern that is ever present, especially when coaching a member of a marginalized group even if this leads to uncomfortable discussions.

Intersectionality and racism do not only affect minorities, they affect all of us. And we as coaches are now positioned to better assist all of our clients and make the world a better place simply by educating ourselves and being curious about the human condition. Here are few questions to explore for yourself as you engage your coachees:

How is racism affecting my curiosity?
How is my fear of being labeled racist or liberal preventing me from asking questions?
How is my world view and bias preventing me from seeking clarification?
How can intersectionality be playing a role in my client’s goals?
How can my action or inaction continue to include or exclude my client from the world they live in?
How am I pushing through the discomfort of asking those questions that relate to intersectionality and racism’s impact?

Remember, these are all different and difficult kinds of issues for many to explore. And the coach may feel intimidated, underprepared, unworthy, and uneducated even to ask any of these questions. You may be worried that you may not be able to help your coachee or that you may ask the wrong thing. This is all very normal and natural. But I would encourage you to try anyhow, and remember it is not about you and your comfort level, it is about supporting your coachee and their desired goals. Educate yourself and be ready to ask yourself this question, “How is what I am doing helping or hindering my coachee in reaching their desired outcomes?”

A new vision for our future

lfitzpatrick@gisc.org — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 20:21:30 GMT

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your ongoing support of GISC and for being such a vital part of who we are as a global learning community.

This year, I have some important and exciting news to share. For many months, the GISC Board of Directors and I have worked together to develop a strategic vision to take GISC into the future.

Our aim is for GISC to be the place that brings diverse individuals together, in community, online and in accessible in-person environments, for meaningful, transformative learning, so they can multiply their impact for larger systems change.

We know this is achieved through relevant programming, experiences that are deep and build mastery over time, a focus on diversity, inclusion, and belonging – and by continuing to evolve as an organization. To this end, last month, the board made the strategic decision to put the Nevis Meetinghouse in Wellfleet up for sale and move our center of operations to Boston, Massachusetts. After the trials of Covid and the societal shifts we’ve seen since, it’s become clear that our greatest opportunities lie off-Cape, online, and in new places in the US and abroad.

Making this decision is the best way we know to honor the legacy of our founders, Edwin and Sonia Nevis, and expand our important mission. While the building in Wellfleet has been a cherished physical home to many of us, it’s been the profound insights and lifelong relationships created there and elsewhere that are the most valuable treasure we share. Together, over many years, we’ve formed and re-formed community to hold our greatest hopes and aspirations as humans and professionals.

“The Center” is indeed a community – it is you, our participants, members, supporters, faculty, and friends – not a physical space.

This change will allow for greater accessibility and open up new opportunities for collaboration and partnerships in education, healthcare, and the helping professions. It will better enable thought leadership and our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, expanding our impact in the world.

While we understand that this news may bring sadness to some, we hope you will also join in our excitement for new ways of becoming all we can be – with all the creativity and liveliness that change can bring – while holding onto the essence of who we are and what makes GISC special.

Please be a part of making this new vision a reality with your continued support and give generously to GISC this year. Your gift of $1,000 will place you in our Founders Circle, and every unrestricted gift of $125 or more includes a GISC membership. Our members are entitled to special perks and program discounts and will receive an invitation to our Virtual Town Hall to learn more and share thoughts on our vision for GISC. We also welcome gifts directed to our Scholarship Fund, Clinical Initiatives, DEIB work, Faculty Development – or your own area of interest.

On behalf of the GISC Board of Directors, thank you for bringing your optimism, energy, and support to transforming the way we live and work in the world.

Warm regards,

Laurie Fitzpatrick

President & CEO, GISC

The Old Lady and the Young Lady

Fri, 12 May 2023 14:47:39 GMT

Lately, as I sit with clients, I have found myself exploring the experience of not knowing. It's notable because I have spent so much of my professional life wanting to learn and grow ...which necessarily involves knowing things. I assume we all do that. But as I said, I have been exploring "not knowing". I find I am enjoying "not knowing". Perhaps it's really the experience of not having to know. I think this is making me a better practitioner...therapist, coach, consultant. It provides me a lot of freedom. However, the road to "not knowing" has not been comfortable for me. It's too close to the experience of feeling "stupid". Perhaps turning 66 has helped.

It brought to mind picture of the Old Lady and the Young Lady:

I've noted when people see it for the first time, how hard it is for some to see the young lady if they first see the old lady, and vice versa. For those who don't see both ladies very quickly, it can be a frustrating and confusing experience. And the reason it can be so difficult is that seeing the unseen in the picture isn't reliant on an additive process. In order to see the other configuration, we have to de-construct the one we originally see. We have to genuinely "let it go" in order to allow the new image to emerge. We have to "un-know" and "un-see" something in order to see something new. And as I have said, un-knowing or not knowing isn't so easy.

I suspect you don't need me to see the implications for our present political climate. How rare it is for any of us to be having genuine conversations these days in which we suspend what we "know", and work to see what the other "knows".

But the implications for our professional practice are just as relevant. It is one thing to understand that in any one moment I may not know th e client's experience or may not know how to be helpful. It's another thing altogether to actually allow myself to embody the uncomfortable sensations of "not knowing" . Yet it offers the opportunity for genuine curiosity, and paradoxically, it can allow us to join in a rich, authentic and empathic manner. It can allow us and to see what "emerges"…for us and for our clients.

Bringing the best of Gestalt into the world

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 15:09:26 GMT

Dear Friends,

We at GISC are grateful for you, our donors, members, and participants, for playing such a vital role in bringing GISC’s powerful Gestalt approach to so many, “transforming the way we live and work in the world.” Our community is the heart and soul of this organization, and we thank you.

GISC is better poised than ever to reach more people and to make the kind of impact so needed in the world today. We’re taking our Gestalt Leadership Development training into more organizations and creating a clinical initiative to develop and promote new offerings for psychotherapists. We’re working to become more accessible, experimenting with delivery at central in-city locations and by optimizing our online presence. And we’re actively educating ourselves as a community on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, to grow as an organization and be a place where everyone called to this work feels they belong.

The brilliance and legacy of GISC founders Sonia March Nevis and Edwin Nevis equipped us well to bring our own solutions to the problems individuals and organizations face today, and still, we must continue to develop ourselves and prepare new generations of coaches, leaders, and practitioners. As luminaries in the Gestalt world age, retire, or, sadly, pass away, we’re reminded of the imperative to carry this legacy forward, person to person.

As 2022 draws to a close, we’d like to ask for your continued help in bringing GISC’s important work into the world. Your gift will support these and other initiatives:

Faculty Development – to support our faculty community and offer advanced training.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging – to move GISC and those we train to a place of awareness, equity, and competence for living in a diverse and multicultural world.
Scholarship Fund – so we can continue to provide scholarship assistance to those who need it.
Clinical Initiative – to develop new offerings for mental health professionals.
Virtual Delivery – to bring our rich GISC experiences to wider audiences online.

Please give today to support our work and expand our global community. You can donate online by clicking the button below or by check via mail, directing your gift to your favorite initiative or to the general fund. Again, this year, we invite you to join our Founders’ Circle with your gift of $1,000 or more. All contributions of $125 or more will entitle you to a free GISC membership for 2023.

Thank you again for being an important part of the community and for your support in helping us bring the best of Gestalt to the world.

With warm wishes this holiday season and in the new year,

Laurie Fitzpatrick

President & CEO, GISC

I'm so small and this problem is so big

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 19:41:53 GMT

Hello to all you CCTP Graduates! I’m writing from the UK in a lush green June. The dragonfly larvae are crawling from my garden pond to make their transformation and I’m full of joy.

But despair is also something I am familiar with. Around 4 years ago, I had a particularly bad dose of despair precipitated by a scientific report on the steep demise of global insect populations. This report was swiftly followed by further reports on the march of climate change and biodiversity collapse.

Healthy ecosystems bring me joy, degraded ones make me sad. But what can I do about the systemic issue of climate change and biodiversity collapse? The problem is so big and I’m so small! Despair in the face of my impotence was my response. With hindsight the despair was better than cutting off the tough feelings that I’d had for years as I watched my donations to environmental charities and my efforts to recycle make seemingly no dent.

Then, one day in our GISC supervision group, we started playing with the polarity of grandiosity and insignificance. Our group had a well-developed capacity to express our impotence in the face of big systemic problems. So we tried something less-developed. Joe Melnick and Carol Brockmon had us all experiment with acting as grandiose as we could in front of the group. When it was my turn, I assumed a superhero pose and declared with some gusto and some embarrassment ‘ONLY I CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY COLLAPSE!’ My body tingled with energy right down to my fingertips just before I collapsed into giggles.

Something shifted in me in the days after that. The despair that I could do nothing became a tolerable sadness that I could not do everything. And there, between the polarities of insignificance and grandiosity, I found agency to do something. I started by gathering some folk to dig a pond.

Warmly,

Lucy Ball

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UPCOMING CAPE COD MODEL OPPORTUNITIES

Please click here to find out what’s coming up. In particular you might like to know about the following:

Applying the Cape Cod Model to Coaching (live online) Sep 28-Oct 1 2022
The Cape Cod Training Program Week Two (in person at GISC) Oct 13-20 2022*
Coaching and Consulting with Teams - Applying the Cape Cod Model in Organizations (live online), 3 Sessions starting October 19 2022
The Cape Cod Training Program “Third Week” (in person at GISC) Nov 29-Dec

*Please note that we are looking for a couple of folk to join the Cape Cod Training Program Week Two in person. This would be a perfect opportunity for existing CCTP graduates – perhaps those who took an online program – to refresh your learning. Please contact the office at office@gisc.org for details.

Film Makers Who Balance Tragedy and Optimism: Waititi and Kore-eda

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 15:32:53 GMT

A Message To Our Cape Cod Training Program (CCTP) Graduates

Dear CCTP Graduate:

Not too long ago I was introduced to the film work of Taika Waititi. An indigenous New Zealander, he is director of some obscure but utterly moving films such as Boy, Search for the Wilder People and Eagle vs. Shark . Recently he directed a more highly produced and popular movie, Jo Jo Rabbit , a movie that has received universal acclaim. Though I am by no means a movie maven, his films reminded me of another of my favorites, Japanese director, Horekazu Kore-eda: Our Little Sister, Shop Lifters, Nobody Knows.

These two directors come to mind because each of them in their own way creates movies that I find remarkable for one particular reason: Each seems committed to presenting views of life’s unvarnished horrors and tragedies that leave the viewer deeply moved but not depleted, grieving but not despairing, even at times horrified but not immobilized. Themes and content such as child abandonment, the untimely death of parents or spouses, chaotic family life, utter aloneness, and even the Holocaust, cross the screen with breathtaking impact. Here I am using the word breathtaking as in a punch to the gut…that takes one’s breath away. And yet stunningly, each movie has left me with a deep and profound sense of optimism.

“How do they do it?” you might ask. Here is the best I have discerned. Unflinching in their presentation of tragedy, they are equally committed to offering the viewer a genuine elixir: that it is through deep, authentic, meaningful, and perhaps most importantly, joyful relationship and connection that we can face nearly anything….and find the courage to move forward with optimism.

We at GISC work hard to communicate what we mean by an optimistic stance in approaching life, work, relationships. Sometimes we are more successful than others. Waititi and Kore-eda seem to do it beautifully, artistically, effortlessly.

Please note some upcoming programs:

Introduction to the Cape Cod Model : June 2-4, Live-Online
The Humility Project: Racism and White Privilege – A Facilitated Study Group : Live-Online, monthly starting September 16th
CCTP: The Third Week : November 29-December 2, presently scheduled for in-person on Cape Cod

Warmly,

Stuart

Reimagining the future together

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 14:50:46 GMT

If the past year has demanded anything of us, it has been to draw on our inner resources – and one another – to reimagine the ways we live and work in the world. To achieve things we don’t yet know are possible. “This might not work,” one of my favorite lines by creativity expert Seth Godin, speaks to the way every important undertaking is a leap of faith, as we will only discover what works by trying new things.

I am so proud of GISC’s faculty, board, staff, and participants, as we have worked to create something incredibly important and worthwhile this year – reaching outside of comfort zones to offer programs in new ways, bringing our experiential programs online, beginning to explore biases we didn’t know we held, and so much more – all while contending personally and professionally with a global pandemic.

Many of us – leaders, therapists, coaches, consultants – have moved through our own fears and resistances and blind-spots to look at what is, what else might be possible, and to help bring others along their own paths of learning.

It has been a joy to see program participants join strangers from around the world on two-dimensional screens, yet somehow forge intimacies and embody learning none of us were sure was possible. They have walked away from signature programs we thought could only be delivered in person saying things like:

“It's been life changing”
“What stands out for me in this program is the good-heartedness.”
“I experience the organisation as one that lives and promotes its values, which seems rare these days!”
“…Each program I attend attracts people willing to engage in the material, share in a meaningful and intimate way, and show up from around the world. It makes my world a better place.”

GISC, like the individuals in our community, is doing some reimagining of its own. How might we stand on the fertile ground our founders laid and best equip today’s generation of learners to bring more meaning and competence to their own lives and the lives of those they touch? How can we be more inclusive and just? And, we have developed some new initiatives to address these questions.

Please support GISC with your gift this year and be a part of reimagining our future, expanding upon all that we’ve learned to become something more. Your gift will support:

New Programming to enhance skills and ways of being that are relevant to today’s leaders and practitioners
Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging – so that GISC is a place where everyone feels they belong and are supported to live, work, and promote change in our multicultural society
Virtual Initiative – expanding accessibility and our ability to bring GISC’s brand of powerful, safe, highly experiential programming online
Scholarship Fund – supporting nonprofit leaders, clinical practitioners, and participants from underrepresented communities
Faculty Development – To foster thought-leadership and equip our next generation of faculty to bring the best of Gestalt theory and practice into the future

Your gift of $1,000 or more will place you in our “Founders Circle” and, like all donations, can be directed to help support your favorite initiative.

We want you to be a part of bringing the best of GISC and Gestalt into the future. Please know that a gift of any size is so appreciated and needed. Your unrestricted gift of $125 or more will include a 2022 membership. This year, we will be inviting donors to a special Reimagining the Future online event where we can thank you personally and hear your ideas about what’s meaningful to you at GISC.

I know I speak for the entire GISC board, faculty, and staff when I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the ways you support this community.

With warmth and gratitude for who you are and for all we can be together,

Laurie Fitzpatrick

President & CEO, GISC

PS: Your gift today will help us reach our 2022 goals. Give online at www.gisc.org/donate .

Meet the Faculty

ktessier@gisc.org — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 20:46:19 GMT

Meet The Next Phase faculty member, Dave Bushy

Learn more about The Next Phase faculty member, Dave Bushy, with this quick Q&A:

What is your favorite Gestalt principle or concept? Why?

I think the idea that we are neither “good” or “bad” or “strong” or “weak,” in our attributes and skills. At GISC, we celebrate what is “well developed” in each of us and then invite curiosity in how it serves us. We work with clients and students on building curiosity about how much we use those well-developed sides and explore how they can hold onto those aspects of themselves while also expanding their range to “less developed” sides. It is a remarkable journey!

What would you most like to share about your upcoming class, The Next Phase?

Each time I join with another faculty member at GISC, it is a joy. That is multiplied exponentially when we co-create an experience with a class. The Next Phase is a class that serves everyone regardless of their life experience or what they do and where they live. Approaching change is something each of us does and having the support of a community – that is the beautiful thing that occurs within the course. I so look forward to the experience, the energy and the sheer joy of learning with others!

What is a quote that speaks to you?

“Assume the capability of others, not their intentions.”

What appeals to you about Gestalt theory and practice?

The very idea that we are always working on the “whole” of us, making meaning of our lives and the world around us.

What was your first class at GISC?

The coaching program in 2013-14.

If you could get a coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Eleanor of Aquitaine, as she lived through such a remarkably transformative time in world history. The ruler of Aquitaine, and then the wife of the King of France, followed by divorce and then marriage to the King of England. Then she gave birth to two kings of England – Richard the Lionheart and John. She even accompanied Richard on his Crusade!

What is one fun fact about you?

People laugh when I tell them this: I was in the U.S. Army and was an Airborne Ranger!

Dave also serves as a member of the Boston Executive Coaches leadership team . Learn more about the Boston Executive Coaches by clicking here .

Sharona’s CCTP Log: 2020-2021

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 18:28:08 GMT

CCTP Summer 2021 Newsletter

Hello CCTP graduates:

June 2020. Nancy, Joe, Carol, Stuart, Laurie and I consider offering CCTP remotely. Resistance!! This virus will be gone by the Fall, and we will host CCTP in Wellfleet.

July 2020. It is clear that we will not be offering CCTP live this Fall. We have requests for remote training. Stuart and I agree, with the help of the CCTP faculty, to move CCTP 2020-21 online. Twelve courageous, smart, motivated, interesting participants from around the world sign up.

October 2020. Remote CCTP 2020-21 begins. For some participants, the day begins before the sun comes up (Alaska) and for others (South Africa, Ireland) our “day” begins in the late afternoon or evening, after a full day of work. Morning coffee coincides with afternoon tea!

Almost everywhere, the pandemic is raging. Worldwide deaths surpass one million. Many participants are living in some level of lockdown, some with children learning, or struggling to learn remotely. We are living at work, working from home, and dealing with fears and anxieties about the unknown. Worldwide inequities are exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. In the US, we are in a high stress election season. And still, we find our way to connect and learn. We pair off by bringing a kitchen item to the screen and matching up with someone with a similar item, rather than finding a partner at the other end of a string. Partners work with their intervening pair, mostly by texting one another, “Are you ready to interrupt?” Partnership/pairs develop real cultures and personalities! The group develops a personality. One group member recommends a book on Thursday, and by Saturday, another group member flashes the book on their screen. “I ordered the book you recommended, and it came today.” We share resources, laughs, worries, and recipes. We meet one another’s pets. We create a learning community.

February 2021. Pandemic deaths continue to rise. Some of us are fortunate enough to get vaccinated. Many of us are still in shock from the Capitol riots in January and the tense days leading up to the US Presidential inauguration. Lockdowns in many parts of the world are chiseling away at our lives and spirits. Some of us have friends or relatives who have gotten sick. The mood in our February check in is heavy. The state of the world is weighing on many in the group, in one way or another. We complete the check in, and we take a short break. Stuart and I meet in our kitchen and agree to ask the group if they want to process the feelings that are present, or to continue with the agenda of the weekend. The response is a resounding- “Let’s move into the learning. That’s what we came here for.” I take a deep breath, and shift into a “lecturette” on working with families/teams.

Mid-February 2021. This need to move on, to do the best we can with the circumstances we are living in, comes up again and again. It is winter in New England. Most days, the weather is freezing, or below freezing. We can no longer socialize outdoors with friends and family. One Saturday, Stuart and I prepare to head out for a hike. We put on every item of winter clothing we own. (For me, that means two big down coats, two hats and a pair of mittens on top of my down gloves.) We head over to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. The ground is covered with snow, and some of the trails are covered in ice. To my surprise, and glee, the parking lot is full. The trails are dotted with other super-bundled up hikers! So many like us, determined not to let the frigid weather keep us cooped up indoors. This lifts my spirits.

April 2021. Our last of six weekend sessions of CCTP. Participants display their high-class intervention skills, “boot camp style,” with a real guest team. As part of our closing, they create poems, songs, and commercials about CCTP and there is creativity and laughter. Members of the first remote CCTP graduate each other, share their appreciation, and join the ranks of CCTP graduates.

September 2021. Remote CCTP 2021-22 begins on September 30 . Stuart and I meet with the faculty for that class. We share the creative adjustments we made to the program in order to move it online. The hour passes too quickly. As we wrap up, I ask, “Was this helpful?” Lucy holds up two full pages of notes and says, “You really brought remote CCTP to life!”

I do look forward to looking around the “big room” and seeing your faces, sharing a glass of wine and standing around at break times, munching on cheese and crackers as we process our learning. And, I am pleased that we have found new ways to connect with you and with new participants who might be unable to travel to Wellfleet to train at GISC. It reminds me of the Albert Einstein quote, hanging on my refrigerator “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

I am thinking of you in your many corners of the world as we all experience this time. I hope you are finding your ways to keep moving and creating, in spite of the halts and pauses of the last 18 months. I would love to hear about what inspires you to keep going.

Warmly,

Sharona (on behalf of Nancy, Joe, Lucy, Carol and Stuart)

Meet the Faculty

ktessier@gisc.org — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 20:18:21 GMT

Meet Melanie Nevis, GISC faculty for Highly Sensitive

Some reflections from Melanie Nevis on her upcoming GISC program:

“About 25 years ago I arrived in Cuba to study percussion without knowing a word of Spanish. I spent 15 years traveling, studying Cuban drumming and researching, developing, and teaching percussion-based music therapy. I now see how this brought together my highly sensitive strengths of artistic creativity and therapeutic skills.

“I am excited and passionate about teaching our new program offering ‘Highly Sensitive: Embracing the Gifts and Challenges for Yourself, Your Clients, or Your Children.’

“As a highly sensitive person myself it was profoundly healing when I first learned about high sensitivity and could see and understand myself in a whole new light.

“As a therapist and coach, so many of the highly sensitive clients I work with have spent their whole lives feeling ‘different’ or being told there’s something wrong with them. While there are very real challenges to being highly sensitive . . . it’s so wonderful to watch people experience the excitement of awakening to the amazing gifts that high sensitivity brings to them and to the world.”

If you are interested in learning more about Highly Sensitive , or for signing up for Melanie’s program, please click here .

Meet the Faculty

ktessier@gisc.org — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 13:53:16 GMT

Meet Competency Development Program for Coach Certification faculty member, Jackie Sherman

What would you most like to share about your upcoming program?

I love teaching CDPCC – supporting people to become competent coaches – it’s an incredible personal growth opportunity for each student and then they are able to support others to grow through their coaching. Witnessing the growth over 6 months is amazing! And I hone my coaching and teaching skills with each cohort.

What is your favorite Gestalt principle or concept? Why?

The Optimistic Stance because by acknowledging that people are doing the best they can AND that growth is possible I feel both my heart and my mind open. And for many it is the first, or a rare experience to be held that way. I know how much I appreciate it when someone holds me with an optimistic stance.

In what ways does Gestalt inform your life?

After being a Gestalt Practitioner for more than 20 years, I can really say “in what ways does Gestalt not inform my life?” It is like having a different set of eyes, ears, and nervous system. I engage in most conversations from a Gestalt perspective … going slow to go fast, looking for a shared figure and noticing when we don’t have one, waiting for enough energy to move, and trying to remember that people are doing the best they can. Last but not least, looking for what capacities are well developed, what does someone do well (even if it’s something that I might not like), there is something important in their ability to do it well.

What in your professional or personal life led you to what you are teaching now?

So many things… In 1999 when I enrolled in my first Gestalt training program I started on a journey. I have always been a teacher – from the time I was a child, through High School, college, and graduate school. Doing organization development work is about teaching adults. After taking “Becoming a Better Intervener,” I took “Working with the Individual in the Organizational Context” with Ed Nevis and Claire Stafford on the Cape – it was a pre-cursor to the GISC coaching programming. Deciding to get coach training, getting ICF certified, and then encouraging GISC to develop the CDPCC Coach Training Program [all led me to teaching CDPCC].

What are some career highlights you would like to share?

I am a PhD development economist who changed careers to do business consulting after finishing my PhD. Development Economics for me was about making the world a better place. That’s what my work has always been about – whether working in a village in West Africa, consulting with an organization, or coaching individuals. After 13 years working in two large corporations, I started my own consulting firm , to which I then added coaching. It was a “for now decision,” that has lasted 20+ years. I love what I do, and the people with whom I get to work.

What is a quote that speaks to you?

“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Gandhi

“Learn to disappoint and to be disappointed” – Sonia Nevis

What is one piece of advice you would offer to others who would like to follow your path?

Go slow to go fast … it will be your journey and you will take it one step at a time. Savor every step. I did not plan my journey AND I was intentional about every step, but I didn’t know what the next one would be until I got there.

What appeals to you about Gestalt theory and practice?

When I decided to learn Gestalt it was because all the best OD practitioners I knew were Gestalt trained. I think this still holds true – for coaches and consultants. It was not a natural for me, I had to work to really absorb and become it. It is a theory that applies everywhere … this is not just about work situations … it’s about how we are in the world.

What was your first program at GISC?
Working with the Individual in the Organizational Context then the Cape Cod Training Program .

If you could get a coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Michelle Obama – there is something about her presence that has always appealed to me, as well of course as everything she has done and continues to do. In spite of her world stature, I think she is really down to earth.

What is a fun fact about you?

I taught economics at the University of Ouagadougou
I started the women’s tennis team in my High School – before Title Nine

Jackie is the proprietor of the Jackie Sherman Group , where she works as an Organization Effectiveness Consultant and Executive Coach. The Jackie Sherman Group is a coaching and consulting firm that serves CEOs and senior leaders of businesses and non-profits, entrepreneurs, and human resource and organizational change professionals. To learn more about the Jackie Sherman Group follow this link: http://jackieshermangroup.com/ .

Meet the Faculty

ktessier@gisc.org — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 19:48:31 GMT

Meet GISC Faculty Nancy Rutkowski

What would you most like to share about your upcoming class?

The Cape Cod Training Program is a course I've both taken and taught multiple times. I liken my experience to climbing a spiral staircase around a core cylinder that represents the model. Every turn gives me a new vantage point, an expansion of my awareness and perspective, and no matter how many rounds I go, I am always standing in a new place, often profoundly altered by my unfolding experience. It’s this unending opportunity for experiential growth that I find so exciting and that I hope to share with participants in the upcoming program.

What is your favorite Gestalt principle or concept? Why?

The truth is, it’s whichever one I’m thinking about, using, or teaching at the time, though if I have to name one, it would be the paradoxical theory of change. When I think about why it so appeals to me, I think it’s because of the compassion inherent in the concept. To say that we grow and develop, not by trying to be her or him, or this or that, but by being more me, is to implicitly value all parts of a person, even those parts a person might wish would go away. We support those parts because we understand they serve or have served the person. We know that the part we wish would go away has value in the person’s life. The paradoxical theory of change as we use it in the Cape Cod Mode l asks that we embrace or immerse ourselves in the thing we want to change. Rather than banish that part and its attendant behavior, the PTC asks us to befriend it, get to know it, and to discover its value. As we learn what that part does for us (or did for us), the help it gave us, we come to appreciate it. Once we’ve befriended it and appreciate it, we are no longer organized around killing it, no longer in a tense war with a part of ourselves, using up energy, focus and creativity to destroy something that actually has an important place in a person. That means we have that energy, focus, and creativity to bring to bear in other places, to develop new ways of being in the world. It means we have room to move so to speak and when we have room to move, we expand the available possibilities for how to be in the world.

What is a quote that speaks to you?

Heraclitus: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, because it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” I think I’m drawn to this quote so much because for me it succinctly and vividly describes our capacity for unending experiential growth in a forever changing world while all the while flying in the face of fixed Gestalts.

What is one piece of advice you would offer to others who would like to follow your path?

Don’t. Discover and follow your own. The Cape Cod Training Program will encourage and support you in that journey of self-discovery.

Meet the Faculty

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 20:24:28 GMT

Meet Cape Cod Training Program faculty member, Lucy Ball

What would you most like to share about your upcoming class?

When I first took the Cape Cod Training Program it had a significant impact on the way I live and work. I saw things differently and felt part of something special. I also became bolder and more impactful in my work with clients. I hope we can co-create something similar with this next class.

What is your favorite Gestalt principle or concept? Why?

I am in love with so many Gestalt concepts. Right now, I’m particularly excited about the concept and practice of “Experiment”, or as we sometimes call it at GISC, “Let’s Try.” There’s magic in trying something that’s a little bit scary but in a supportive setting.

In what ways does Gestalt inform your life?

Gestalt has helped me be friendlier with all aspects of myself. Gestalt has helped me be bolder. Gestalt has increased my ability to be present with others and to enjoy rich relationships. Gestalt has provided me with a supportive community of learners and teachers and friends. Gestalt has opened my eyes to how each of our acts in relationship with others, creates ripples that have a wider impact.

What is a quote that speaks to you?

“Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

It’s a line from one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver from her poem “Wild Geese”. It reminds me that we are all embedded in nature and it liberates me to notice and follow my instinct and to be curious about the unique experience of others.

What is one fun fact about you?

Last year, I got hooked on swimming in cold water so you will regularly find me in the sea and in rivers – even in mid-winter. I’m so proud of myself and so invigorated by my new hobby that I never tire of talking about it to anyone who will listen!

Lucy is the proprietor of Lucy Ball Consulting , which you can learn more about here: www.lucyballconsulting.com .

Jane Weiss Discusses Her Experience With GISC

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 17:02:37 GMT

GISC Certified Coach Describes Participation in the Competency Development Program for Coach Certification and Impacts on Personal and Professional Life

In this video, Jane Weiss, a graduate of GISC's Competency Development Program for Coach Certification (CDPCC), describes her experience with the program and how the training and certification affected both her professional career and personal outlook.

CDPCC is GISC's ICF Accredited Coach Training Program. We are now accepting registrations for the live-online program that begins in October 2021.

Take advantage of early application discounts through June 30, 2021 and make plans now to advance your career with certification from GISC!

Click here to learn more.

Lorna Jane Norris Discusses Her Experience With GISC

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 15:14:03 GMT

GISC Certified Coach Describes Participation in the Competency Development Program for Coach Certification and Impacts on Personal and Professional Life

In this video, Lorna Jane Norris, a graduate of GISC's Competency Development Program for Coach Certification (CDPCC), describes her experience with the program and how the training and certification affected both her professional career and personal outlook.

CDPCC is GISC's ICF Accredited Coach Training Program. We are now accepting registrations for the live-online program that begins in October 2021.

Take advantage of early application discounts through June 30, 2021 and make plans now to advance your career with certification from GISC!

Click here to learn more.

Can I Overuse My Leadership “Strengths?”

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 20:08:30 GMT

In executive coaching, we spend considerable time helping clients build awareness about their range and capabilities as leaders.

A foundational element of that work is helping clients make meaning of their long-held understanding of the ideas around “Strengths” and “Weaknesses.”

The lens we use instead focuses on the idea of “well-developed,” and “less-developed” capabilities and attributes. A recent blog by my colleague Lisa McNeill so eloquently described those concepts .

Each of us has many well-developed sides. One example may be an ability by some leaders to speak and make their voices heard. For others it may well seem to be almost the opposite, with attributes of listening and appreciative inquiry.

So, too, do each of us have less-developed sides that we can explore in coaching to help expand our range. The person who commonly uses the well-developed ability to speak can use choice, for instance, to include pausing and listening. The well-developed listener can expand their range to include expressing themselves more. It takes awareness and practice to expand their range as leaders. And it also takes an appreciation that they need not give up the “well-developed” attributes – just know when they are using – or overusing – them and choose to move towards their less-developed capabilities.

It is often a revelation for individuals to realize that the appreciation of where they are “well-developed” are attributes like muscles that serve them and that adding other muscles – the “less-developed” capabilities – expand their range.

Consider this: I once worked with a client who described himself as “stubborn.” He characterized it for me as a weakness. Through a series of questions I asked if being stubborn had served him in any way. He admitted that he was not the type to give up on a project or in working to develop a subordinate.

“And how would you call that a weakness?” I asked.

“Well, I guess it isn’t always that way,” he said.

We explored more together and it emerged for the client that being stubborn had served him throughout his career. He was the person who saw things through to their completion. He had devoted countless hours towards the success of his company. His well-developed “stubbornness” was the grit and determination of a leader.

In our sessions he realized, too, that at times his stubbornness had come at some personal expense.

“When did that happen?” I questioned.

“Well, sometimes I just don’t give up, even when I know the project is a dead end.”

“Anything else? I asked.

“Sometimes it is hard on my family as I work all night long to complete an assignment.”

Then he admitted: “And there are times I don’t accept an idea that differs from my own.”

Such moments can serve as breakthroughs for a client, as they realize that their well-developed sides serve them, but, if overused or if they become habitual, can stop serving them or even cost them.

As Gestalt coaches, we often use the concept of “polarities.” Using the example of the “stubborn” client, I invited him to think of a polarity related to that attribute. His answer: “flexibility,” along with “receptivity,” and “openness.” I asked him how he would “glide” between his stubborn side and his flexible one. Neither side was good or bad, strong or weak – they were both attributes that could assist him in his leadership style and personal interactions with those around him.

Throughout the next few sessions the client spoke about how he wanted to “try” using both his well-developed and less-developed sides. His practice with a new capability grew through his own intentions and choices he would make working with others. He became skilled at reading a situation and knowing when to use his already-developed “stubborn” side, along with his developing “flexible” one. He became more adept the more he practiced and reflected on his success in our sessions together.

Working with clients as a coach teaches me more than I can relate, and it serves me in helping leaders throughout the world. Expanding our range is a worthy goal for all of us – and appreciating our own “well-developed” sides is such a great first step!

Dave Bushy of Boston Executive Coaches – https://bostonexecutivecoaches.com – is a former U.S. Army officer and senior airline executive who works with leaders throughout American industry. Dave is a member of the GISC faculty and a GISC Certified Coach.

PublicDomainPhotos from Pixabay

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification 2021-2022

Mon, 31 May 2021 15:43:30 GMT

GISC's ICF Accredited Coach Training Program Is Now Accepting Applications

In this video, Jamie Morin, a GISC faculty member, offers an overview of GISC's Competency Development Program for Coach Certification (CDPCC). CDPCC is GISC's ICF Accredited Coach Training Program. We are now accepting registrations for the live-online program that begins in October 2021.

Take advantage of early application discounts through June 30, 2021 and make plans now to advance your career with certification from GISC!

Click here to learn more.

Operating as a Gestalt Practitioner in a Virtual World

rob@teplansky.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:19:59 GMT

“Early in 2020, organizations across the world were forced to have a most, if not all, virtual workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders and staff in all organizational roles have had to learn to adapt to this virtual work environment. Gestalt practitioners have been no exception, whether functioning as internal organizational development consultants or as external consultants; most have been forced to rely exclusively on virtual venues for working with organizations, groups, and individuals.”

James J. Kearney MBA, PCC, Director of Organizational Development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. explores the shared experiences of Gestalt practitioners in this new virtual world with research completed for his GISC Advanced Practice Organizational Development (OD) Certification .

In his paper, Kearney analyzed his own experience adjusting to the virtual work environment of 2020 through a Gestalt lens to more thoroughly comprehend the struggles that fellow practitioners experienced. Has working virtually impacted how we as practitioners use, or not use, our somatic experience while working with clients? In his own experience, Kearney found “a lack of connection, and a decreased quality of contact when working virtually.” Kearney shares recommendations for virtual practitioners working through the pandemic and post-COVID transition. Read more about Kearney’s research. Click the link to download the paper.

Gestalt, Community, and Social Justice

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 16:00:48 GMT

The Magic

What is happening in the world right now is entirely relevant to what is happening in Gestalt. What’s in our field affects us and we affect the field. Gestalt Therapy, though part of Humanistic Psychology, is also a set of values; a philosophy of community, and a set of arrows pointing toward an authentic way to live in the world, and with one another.

I have been thinking a lot recently about how our notions about individuals so easily get caught in the medical model, our notions about organizations get lost in the business model, our education gets lost in the academic model, and our politics get lost in the bureaucratic model. How do we live optimally in the world in pairs, families, groups, tribes, communities, schools, nations, and how does Gestalt inform us?

In the “Humans of Gestalt” project on YouTube , I have watched Gestalt Practitioners from Ghana, Poland, India, Europe, the US, white, black, Asian describe their values, practices, passions and lives, from Erv Polster at age 98, to new graduates, to many of my other teachers. Thanks to IAAGT for pursuing this project. I heard one dialogue on Gestalt and Racism, between a colleague pair, one white, one black. I encourage everyone to take a look at the “Humans of Gestalt” website , and maybe connect with them and participate.

Marcy Crary and I have been working at the Center with a study group of white practitioners exploring structural racism and white privilege, “The Humility Project,” and looking at the problems of limited class and race access for our work that we may have been both blind to and participating in, without awareness. It has been inspirational and moving as well as humbling. We are learning how it is impossible to exist in our cultures without soaking up racism. Joe Melnick and Edwin Nevis published their collected book about Gestalt and social change, Mending the World a few years back. That view has always been part of us. Read it, by the way. It is terrific.

Erv Polster spoke of the space early Gestaltists created in Cleveland as “Holiday Space” or “Church Space” in his recent interview. In early days of the Center, board members called our version of that space “the Magic.” Now we tend to speak of this sacred space as the ineffable delight of participation in a learning community. Something is very wrong if it requires great degrees of privilege and resources to participate. How can we survive and still be more accessible and available?

This has been working me over, in the last year particularly. Laurie’s brilliance in bringing us virtual has helped point a way. Erv Polster talked about offering Gestalt workshops in coffee houses. We need to get creative in that way. How can we carry it on and outward?

Paul Goodman, one of the founders, as a radical, anarchistic (in the best sense} and socially awakened advocate of authenticity, saw the connection between psychological authenticity and social and community responsibility. We all need to study him again, or for the first time if he’s new to us.

I love what we do! I don’t want to do it on a privileged island! I want to notice how white and entitled we have become, and how we can let go of that. Here and now, in this world, even while we worry about surviving the pandemic, getting our vaccinations, learning more about where Black Lives Matter is happening, where we need a community of all of us, and where Gestalt can offer so much healing. Sonia used to look out the window at the changing season to start her newsletters here and now. I want to look out over the social landscape and build the vision with a wider mission! How can we balance our survival with accessibility and welcome? How can we look more like the world we live in? Faculty and participants? We have such talent and heart among us.

- Carol Brockmon

What We're Creating Together

lfitzpatrick@gisc.org — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 12:08:57 GMT

Laurie Fitzpatrick, President & CEO

If anything stands out at the Center this year, it's that we don't need to be in the same space to be connected, to learn and support one another. Whether it's been in our weekly free "Supporting Our Community" sessions led by volunteers on an array of topics, in faculty bringing our Coach Certification, CCTP, and leadership programs online, in the scholarships offered to those who couldn’t afford full tuition, or the many people who supported GISC by responding to our member drive – we’ve found a way to be here for each other.

And we've discovered a few things about ourselves in the process.

We've discovered that we are resilient, caring, and creative. Perhaps it is our Gestalt training that equips us to “pivot,” to be agile, and greet whatever comes our way with the optimism that we’ll have what we need at our disposal. To connect with one another, to meet, express our vulnerabilities and be stronger together. Yes, we all await the day that we can meet again in person, but this year our community has become stronger, and our friends living farther from Cape Cod, closer.

We’ve also discovered that we are still learning. 2020 has challenged us to make some long overdue changes, calling us to commit to action for racial equity, diversity and belonging at GISC and beyond. We’re excited to now offer an in-depth program and ongoing study groups on racism where board members and faculty are joining participants in this learning.

2020 has also challenged us to bring our state-of-the-art training to the online environment. We initiated a virtual collaboration to explore what it means to bring Gestalt online in the best way possible. What’s more, we aim to be the leader in creating connection and engagement in online learning – to preserve and elevate that “special something” that is GISC – where participants feel seen and heard and learn at a deep level – no matter the learning environment.

Those who study at GISC are uniquely positioned to help heal the world and its divisions, to lead, to help others grow. And GISC is here to support that growth, to promote our theory and its application, and develop our faculty and the tools they need to bring Gestalt into the future.

We hope you will be part of this community for years to come and consider making GISC a part of your annual giving. A gift of any size is indeed meaningful; please give generously if it is in your power to do so this year. We will continue to offer scholarships, to seek social justice and racial equity, to develop our faculty, and to expand the reach of our powerful Gestalt approach and connected community farther into the virtual world, even once we can gather again at our Wellfleet home.

I’m thankful for you and your support, for our GISC community and for what we are creating together.

Please make your gift to GISC today online at www.gisc.org/donate . Thank you!

A Reckoning

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 17:08:11 GMT

A Message To Our Cape Cod Training Program (CCTP) Graduates

Hello CCTP graduates,

The world has changed so much since we last connected with you via this seasonal newsletter. I hope this letter finds you managing whatever challenges this time has presented for you, as best you can.

While CCTP class of 2018 was steeped in its first week in Wellfleet, the NY Attorney General and long-time champion of women’s rights, Eric Schneiderman, was accused of sexual abuse. The occurrence of this event during our time together stimulated painful, but ultimately productive conversations in the group, about what it is like to be a woman in a male dominated world. Women talked about our vulnerability as women, physically and emotionally, and insisted on being asked, not told, about our experiences. I was aware that since the #MeToo movement began in 2017, the women in my life were talking, talking, talking (we women tend to do that!) sharing our “me too” experiences. Every woman had a story to tell. However, when I asked the men in my life if they were talking to each other or asking the women in their lives questions about “me too,” I found that men were not talking or asking. I felt despair. How will things change for women if there is no reckoning from men? They did not endure sleepless nights at age 14, wondering how to manage the terror of getting on the subway the next day, in a skirt, (required school attire) after being groped in a crowded rush hour train the day before. #Me Too might raise men’s awareness in the moment, but then it can fade into the background. That is a privilege. And, so it is with racial violence and inequity for me, as a white woman. My white privilege means that when I found myself driving through a stop sign yesterday, late at night, only to see a State Police car parked on the corner, my worst worry was getting pulled over and getting a ticket. The killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, just to name a few of the victims of racial violence from these past few months, have stimulated a deeper personal and professional reckoning for me - I have not taken responsibility for maintaining my attention and commitment to racial inequities. I must be intentional and commit to ongoing action steps, personally and professionally.

After CCTP 2018, the faculty acknowledged amongst ourselves, that we weren’t doing an essential part of our job, that is, creating opportunities for participants to explore and address gender, cultural and racial biases. In teaching practitioners to use the Cape Cod Model, we must engage them in learning about their own cultural, gender and racial biases, as well as accounting for the differences in our clients, and their cultural/social and gender contexts. The Cape Cod Model is built on “seeing what is,” and using “the data” when we give feedback. It is also true that what I see and what you see will be different, depending on where we come from, our own gender, cultural and racial biases. Faculty has now made changes to the CCTP 2020/2021 design, to include attention to gender, social and racial sensitivity. It is our responsibility to act.

Jewish tradition teaches:

“You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

I am excited to share that as an organization, GISC has moved into action in this area as well. This Fall, GISC is offering two new forums for confronting our own biases and racism from a Gestalt perspective. The Humility Project co-led by Carol Brockmon and Marcy Crary, and Eyes Wide Open co-led by Ann Carr and Roderick Allen. Please check the website and join us.

I would love to hear from you about how the increased attention to racial inequities has impacted or inspired you.

Warmly,

Sharona (on behalf of Carol, Nancy, Joe and Stuart)

Strengthen Your Community: An invitation...

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:12:22 GMT

By all accounts, 2020 has been a difficult year.

Today, we are asking you to join our member-drive

in support of the Center.

Can we count on your participation?

Our aim is to gain 100 new or renewing 2-year members and to raise $25,000 during the month of August. We are a strong community and with your support, can only grow stronger.

In return, we have some special benefits for you:

First chance to sign up for our popular and always-fully-subscribed free “Supporting our Community” groups each month
Subscription to the Gestalt Review – including the print edition and access to the complete digital archive
Tuition discount on programs and workshops and discount in our bookstore
Use of the GISC Member logo for your business, practice, CV, or other publication
Members-only access to our GISC LinkedIn member group where you can ask questions, share ideas, and support one another
Special extended membership when you join or renew by August 31st:

$250: Become a member through 2022

$125: Become a member through 2021

If you have an existing membership, thank you!

Your renewal today will extend your membership.

Increasing your impact: The GISC Board of Directors has pledged to donate $58 to our Scholarship Fund for every new member-year enrolled as part of our August drive.

200 memberships could generate over $11,000 in scholarship funds to help those for whom this is a difficult time financially.

Thank you in advance for helping us reach our goal. We look forward to being a small bright light in the world for many years to come.

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification Graduates Tell Their Stories - Part 3

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:59:46 GMT

Nancy Jacoby

Nancy Jacoby, Graduate of GISC's Competency Development Program for Coach Certification, describes her experience with GISC and how that has influenced her career.

Nancy Jacoby Coaching & Consulting may be found here: www.njacoby.com.

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification Graduates Tell Their Stories - Part 2

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 14:12:37 GMT

Barbara Wrigley

Barbara Wrigley, Graduate of GISC's Competency Development Program for Coach Certification, describes her experience with GISC and how that has influenced her career.

Barbara's business, Hearts Harvest, may be found here: www.heartsharvest.com.

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification Graduates Tell Their Stories - Part 1

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 13:41:28 GMT

Les Schwab, MD

Les Schwab, MD, Graduate of GISC's Competency Development Program for Coach Certification, describes his experience with GISC and how that has influenced his career.

Learn more about his business here: http://www.lschwabcoaching.com/

Imagine GISC

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 15:37:40 GMT

The community is strong.

Rikke Koks Andreassen, a participant in the Cape Cod Training Program, shared a letter that she sent to her classmates from the program recently. One section, in particular, painted a very vivid image of how we see GISC and the strong community we work so hard to foster here. We share it here, with Rikke's permission.

Catastrophising

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 13:17:52 GMT

The "what if?" part of our brain in overdrive.

I really know how to catastrophise. And, at the moment, I think many of you might know it too. Catastrophising or Catastrophic thinking is when our thoughts seem to run away with us, taking us to worse and worse future scenarios in our imaginations. Catastrophic thinking is the ‘what if?’ part of our brain in overdrive. What if this happens? Then that will happen! Oh, and then this! Usually the end of the chain of future scenarios is loss and pain, possibly violence and death.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge that a lot of what we are facing at the moment is real and scary. Loss and pain is real for many people and will continue to be real in the future. I am not about to deny suffering and I’m not about to be unrealistically optimistic about the future. Well-informed, evidence-based predictions don’t always make the future look rosy. And neither should they, just to save us from discomfort. But Catastrophic thinking is not the same as a well-informed, evidence-based prediction. It has a whole different vibe.

Catastrophic Thinking, in my experience, has some recognizable characteristics:

It thrives when we are alone. It rages on the sofa when the kids have gone to bed and we’re swiping through social media. It has a field day at 3am.
It isolates us from others. When we are caught up in catastrophic thoughts, it’s hard to hear a loved one tell us that ‘everything will be OK’. Or even worse, we can feel like everyone around us is insane for not seeing things as bleakly as they should.
It can create a physical and emotional state of hopelessness and despair.
Studies* have associated catastrophic thinking with increased fatigue, poor attention span and greater pain responses. It is also part of the common experience of those who suffer from anxiety and depression.

I’m not going to tell you to cheer up or that everything will be alright. It is not silly to feel this way. In fact, in many ways, it makes lots of sense. The situation we are in is creating huge uncertainty on many fronts – health, food, work, money, education, family and housing. The very basics of our normal lives are being turned upside down. It’s completely natural for our brains to want to respond by doing something. And catastrophising is one of the things it can do. The ‘what if?’ part of our brain is trying very hard to be useful.

It has helped me to understand my catastrophising as my brain’s response to uncertainty. If I don’t know what could happen, then my brain would rather come up with the worst case scenario than sit with the discomfort of not knowing. It’s a form of control. If I jump to the ‘bad ending’, it’s somehow better than not knowing how the story will end. But if I can practice sitting with the discomfort of uncertainty in the present – even for a few moments, I have less need to jump forward to future scenarios. I can say to myself. ‘ Yes, things might get really bad. And the truth is I really just don’t know. ’

When I catastrophise, my thoughts are taking me away from ‘now’. There is usually no immediate danger in the ‘now’. And if there were, I’d probably cope somehow. I like Ekhart Tolle’s encouragement that ‘You can always cope with the present moment, but you cannot cope with something that is only a mind projection’.

It has also helped me to think of catastrophic thinking as just one place my attention can go. It’s a hard place to get my attention away from, but it is possible. The way I can sometimes do it, is to remember that, when I’m catastrophising, all of my attention is with my thoughts. But with practice, I can exercise choice about where my attention goes. I can switch my attention from inside my head to things outside me – to my cat, my child, the garden. Or can switch my attention from inside my head to my body – the feeling of my back against the chair or my hand stroking the fabric of the sofa. I can switch from being still (I’m usually not moving when I’m catastrophising) to moving – walking, stretching, exercise.

It has also helped me to notice how my catastrophising cuts me off from others. Catastrophic thinking creates distance between me and other people. And in that void it can take even greater hold. Community and contact is a huge antidote if we can find a way to let it support us. We can try to let someone in when they want to reassure us, rather than shutting them out. We can try to keep in touch with others, even when we feel doomy and gloomy. Maybe we can be doomy and gloomy together? Pick up the phone to someone you care about and declare yourself racked with terror. Let’s not do this alone.

*for example Lukkahatai and Saligan 2012

Lucy Ball is a GISC professional associate and member of the faculty. She will co-lead Enhancing your Intervention Skills, fall 2020 in Denmark. Copyright Lucy Ball 2020; published with permission.

From the Archives - "It's Summer Again"

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 13:32:14 GMT

Thoughts from the summer of 2002 are particularly relevant today.

It seems appropriate to revisit this original post by GISC co-founder, Sonia Nevis, from the summer of 2002 in light of current events.

How can I feel so good when there is so much trouble in the world?

The United States has fires raging in the West. The pictures and stories are frightening. Experts say it will take at least one hundred years before the land recovers. That is, once the fires are put out and nobody knows when that will be.

I come face to face with my powerlessness, once again, as I strive to make sense of the many factors which contribute in such a disaster. I experience my powerlessness with nature’s fury, with the neglect and abuse of so many of the world’s children, with unexplained illness and sudden deaths, and with the elusiveness of peace on our planet, in our times. Every one of us can add to the long, long list. We are steeped in it so much of the time.

So what sustains me since I choose to be aware of much that is out of my control? How is it that I can feel joy in such a world? First, not all things that are beyond my power are full of dread. The beauty in the world, the small daily miracles, the unexpected call from a friend, finding a long-lost loved object, a hearty laugh. All the things that just come to us without our having done anything that could have made them happen. All joyful.

Second is that I work to make strong connections with people that matter to me, strong enough to sustain me through everything I fear. We can do more together than I can do alone, and even if we can do nothing, we can at least hold onto each other.

And third, I work to be competent. If there is no one there to stand beside me, I need to be able to do something to help myself. All this musing leads me to what is important for me. My passion to be connected and to work so that we are all competent to live in this world and to be able to leave it knowing we did the best we could.

Sonia March Nevis, PhD, was the co-founder of the Gestalt International Study Center. She practiced and taught Gestalt and family therapy concepts worldwide for many years. She was a founder of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland where she created the Center for Intimate Systems, devoted to the training of couples and family therapists.

5 Tips For Doing Deep Work Via Video

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 13:49:21 GMT

Get smarter at being more human online

When I say ‘deep’ I mean work that requires a level of human connection that is typically achieved face to face. I mean leadership work like coaching, appraisals, interviews, leadership development modules and team development sessions. The desired outcomes of these interventions are things like ‘insight’, ‘behavior change’, ‘learning’ and ‘relationship transformation’. These are things we tend to assume are not possible to achieve online.

I think there’s so much more potential to do this kind of work well online. Which is lucky, because it looks like it will be the only way it gets done for many organizations in the coming virus-y weeks. We don’t need to cancel important interventions just because there’s a lockdown or a travel ban. We can get smarter at being more human online.

I’m not that tech savvy. I’m a Gen Xer. I can get flustered by machines and I’ve had my fair share of crap online experiences. But I embrace video as a viable way to get ‘deep’ work done.

In my experience of coaching and facilitating via video conference I have a few insights to offer. I hope they might be helpful to leaders, coaches, consultants as they find ways to do good, relational work with people from their laptops.

1 Don’t underestimate aesthetics

When you meet face to face, the room makes a difference. Natural light and good layout matter. Aesthetics matter. When you meet online the aesthetics also matter. Good lighting, reliable broadband, an effective microphone and a smiley holding photo make for a conducive online setting. Zoom has a feature that enables you to put a virtual backdrop behind you to hide your messy kitchen or your guest room bed! Whereby.com has a pleasant uncluttered green screen that is much more personal than the more corporate feel of other providers. If you are the leader of the meeting, check your aesthetics and encourage others to have high standards too.

2 Human connection is still the magic ingredient

When you meet face to face there is usually some settling in: small talk, hand shakes, chatting about your morning, working out how to pronounce peoples names properly, welcoming latecomers. And then throughout the meeting the task work gets lubricated by human connection, appreciation, humor and play. Many times on a video conference, these essentials are dropped or undervalued. But drop them at your peril. Make sure you plan in plenty of time just for connecting. With a large group, you can send people off into virtual breakout rooms just to say hello and learn a bit about each other before you start. And you can take breaks for fun stuff – on or off the topic. This might sound like it will all take too long. In a recent meeting we spent a total of 20mins (in small bites) connecting. Then around 40mins was spent on task (in small bites interwoven with connecting). I know that the 40mins we spent on task achieved far more than we could have achieved in a badly run hour. We didn’t miss out the ‘magic’.

3 Pay attention to purpose and agreements

This goes for all meetings, but online, it’s often even more important to check people’s expectations of the meeting, to share the purpose, the agenda and the roles. The old facilitation shorthand “OARR” stands for Objectives, Agenda, Rules and Roles and is just as important online. Sharing and agreeing your OARR at the beginning is a useful bit of protocol. Ground rules are also really important to agree early. These should include agreements such as what happens if someone loses connection or how to use the mute function.

4 Pay attention to process

The process of a meeting is often paid less attention online. There are so many different ways that group processes can be constructed online for example round robins, voting with thumbs-ups or emojis, live editing of documents, brainstorming in the chat function and using breakout rooms for paired or small group conversation. Just as you would in a real room, don’t scrimp on time for breakout conversations. People need a bit longer to get used to the tech as well as the human connecting required before work can get going. What’s great is that some things that are hard to take care of face-to-face are easier online. For example, breakout rooms with a countdown clock ensure breakout conversations don’t overrun and brainstorming via chat ensures all contributions are seen.

5 Pay attention to presence

Presence is about a quality of listening and attention. It’s about being in the here and now. It’s about allowing ourselves to really hear each other and be influenced by each other. Presence is hard enough to do face to face – just notice in your next face to face meeting how often your mind wanders. Then notice how often your mind wanders on a video conference where there’s less chance anyone will notice! Presence online is a discipline that coaches, facilitators and leaders must role-model. It means paying full attention to people without distraction. It means responding attentively to body language and unspoken cues. It means imagining how other people might be experiencing the meeting. It means checking assumptions and exploring disagreements. It means being able to alter the plan as the meeting emerges. If you are the leader of the video meeting, your presence sets the atmosphere and tone of the meeting. If your presence is good, you’re more likely to enable the presence of others. And of course all this can be made explicit. One great online facilitator I know always gets attendees breathing and stretching and allows time for closing comments and thanks at the end.

Let’s not assume that working via video has to be shallow, distracting and ineffective. Moments of insight, touching moments, breakthroughs in understanding and creativity – all of these are possible via video. If we pay attention to some essentials, we can do good, deep, human, necessary, work online.

Thank you to my friends AJ, WS and JS for the conversations that sparked this post.

Lucy Ball is a GISC professional associate and member of the faculty. She will co-lead Enhancing your Intervention Skills, fall 2020 in Denmark. Copyright Lucy Ball 2020; published with permission.

The Power of the Present Moment

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 18:02:32 GMT

Creating change in the here-and-now

Greetings! This is Nancy, reporting here from the heartland (Bloomington, Indiana) on behalf of the CCTP faculty. I’m writing to you shortly after our first snowfall. A couple of Sundays ago, I watched kids jump and play in piles of raked leaves and on Monday I watched the same kids in hats and mittens build a snowman. I muse over the ease and quickness with which these children embrace the change in front of them while I and other adults gripe about the suddenness of winter’s early arrival.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a little tug inviting me out of my therapist and coaching chair. Most clients in my practice first seek help at times of sudden change—unexpected illness, dissolution of a relationship, death of a loved one, a new boss or a work place reorganization. But lately, I’ve been met with a different sort of dis-ease: Many of my regular clients are showing up with the weight of an existential sorrow about the state of the world and in particular, the future world.

When clients come in after a divorce, I easily turn to the optimism in me, an optimism that I developed both as a student and teacher of the Cape Cod Model. I believe in my bones that our knowledge of the future is inherently incomplete, and I’m aware that in the darkest moments possibilities exist. I can sit with my clients through the sorrow of a loss or change that doesn’t fit with the life script they imagined for themselves, pacing their readiness to turn toward the light of possibility.

Last week, a client caught up in the global divisiveness that’s reared its head in our small college community sobbed as she described how old friends have become new enemies. She shuddered in anger, fear, and sorrow at the future she imagines. She’s desperate to make them see what she sees.

Certainly I share my client’s heightened concern for the future as I imagine many of you do. I, too, feel a pressing concern about the world my grandchildren will inherit--which means for me, I need to be on the alert these days for my own personal beliefs and biases—my own countertransference. What keeps me in check in those moments is perhaps the most fundamental and elementary tenet of gestalt theory and practice: That all we have and know is here-and-now and the only place where change is possible.

Eventually, my client was able to engage with me in the present, to return to the relationship in the room, to experience the calm, as well as the joy and sorrow of the moment. She caught a glimpse of how in fighting with others about the future she was missing them in the moment. She wanted to be understood and seen, but her attention was on the dire future, not on the person—me in the office and others outside the office—in front of her. What she was missing in her focus on the future was connection in the present.

In our last two newletters, Carol wrote about how bearing the unbearable is done best in community, and Sharona wrote about responding to conflict by creating the conditions for empathy . Both ways of being are ways of being with the person in front of you. Both value and depend upon attending to the present, upon the belief that the possibility for growth, learning, and development happens in the here-and-now. And that connection in the moment is how we begin.

In the end, there is no difference between how I stay in my seat—how I attend to my countertransference—with a new client who comes in after a divorce or a longstanding client who comes in paralyzed by her fear of the future. The difference is in me—in the extent to which I’m activated or aroused by what shows up in my office. While consultation with colleagues is an ongoing way I address countertransference outside of my office, my grounding in the here-and-now is how I address it in my office as it’s happening.

That’s when I have to remind myself that the change we create in the present, by connecting with the person in front of us, is our best shot at having a better future.

Changing Things for the Better

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 17:46:55 GMT

Transforming the way we live and work in the world

If you’re like me, you wish you could change things for the better. You wonder where we’re going in a world that seems ever more polarized, where news stories are dominated by tragedies, bitter divides, and partisan politics. Where everyday problems – no matter how real and important – seem dwarfed by tales of hardship and suffering almost too deep to fathom. It might seem that bringing positive change to the world is too great a challenge.

But you know GISC and you know we also inhabit a world of hope and optimism. You know that we believe people are capable of growth and that learning comes from the meeting of differences. You know firsthand that learning best happens in an environment of safety and trust, and that when we move toward resistance in ourselves and others, something unexpected and even magical can happen. And you probably know that for each individual GISC touches – whether a leader, coach, consultant, psychotherapist or member of a family or couple – there is a positive impact on many other people who are connected to that individual.

GISC has been transforming the way people live and work in the world ever since the Nevises and a small cadre of colleagues founded GISC over forty years ago with a shared ideal of helping others learn, grow and thrive.

Your gift this year can continue that legacy and shared ideal.

>> DONATE TODAY <<

Like many who attend GISC, when I first discovered the Center, I had no idea what it would mean to me now, eleven years later. I, like many who come through our doors, have grown over time – learning in trainings and the months that followed about my own idiosyncrasies, preferences, strengths – and, yes, developmental edges. Like many who sit in our meeting room and struggle with nerves or new ways of seeing, or tentatively yet courageously test new skills in practicum groups, I gained confidence and made small shifts in how I spoke up, or asked questions, or dared to try new ways of being. Looking back, I know now I am different than when I arrived in 2008, even if, like watching our own children grow day by day, I couldn’t see it happening along the way.

Now, for the past three years, the board has entrusted the Center to my leadership. Perhaps more than that, I’ve entrusted the Center to my leadership. It did not come easily or quickly, and it is still a daunting challenge to live up to the ideals of our founders. But like many leaders, I am learning every day and rely on so many skillful, caring people around me for their own leadership, action and expertise in making this organization thrive. People like…

The talented organizational experts, Gestalt faculty and instructional designers who created a world-class leadership development curriculum this past year. This series of programs takes the best of GISC theory and practice to provides maximum impact for leaders at every level from individual contributor to senior executive.
The volunteers and diverse community members who planned and gathered for the second annual Learning Camp last June to explore the idea that “Gestalt” is a way of life and not just an approach to therapy, leadership, or effecting change. This was explored in a number of creative workshops on art, cultural competency, sexuality, African dance and drumming, laughter therapy and more – all accompanied by food, fun, and friends.
The participants from throughout the region and around the world – from New Zealand, to the UK, Sweden, Mexico, Canada and beyond who earnestly undertake the brave job of becoming better coaches, consultants, leaders – and humans – in the Cape Cod Training Program, combining deep personal exploration with professional skill development.
The many volunteers, faculty, board members, donors and friends who so generously make it possible for our small nonprofit to achieve more than it could on program income alone and to reach those who could not otherwise participate in our offerings.
To you and to all these people, thank you. I am both humbled and proud to lead this organization and to be a part of this remarkable worldwide community.

Please know that GISC needs you in order to grow and thrive. We rely on you for your unique gifts and insights. And we rely on you so that we can share the precious gifts of connection, learning, and transformative growth with others.

This year, we invite you to:

Attend one of our trainings or annual learning camp
Refer your friends and colleagues to our life-changing programs
Volunteer, and share our emails and social media postings
Donate generously and maintain an annual membership

Please give what you can to allow us to promote our programs, fund scholarships and continue to develop programs to meet the changing needs of our community. With any donation of $125 or more you are entitled to an annual membership and subscription to the Gestalt Review.

You’re a member of the GISC community for a reason. I hope you will continue, with me, to pursue a life of connection and meaning – of helping others – and of generating the awareness, courage and skills to bring about the kind of change that’s important to us all.

With warm wishes and deep gratitude,

Laurie Fitzpatrick, Managing Director

New GISC Programs and Certifications Support Your Goals & Aspirations

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 17:46:55 GMT

two certification programs for professional coaches

Today’s business environment is marked by rapidly increasing complexity, relentless change and competitive pressure to do more with less. Professionals across all industries and markets must continuously adapt to their changing environment and prove their value while maintaining their personal values and a strong sense of their own identity.

As leaders, coaches, consultants and professionals who guide individuals through this complex maze, we are challenged with helping our clients or team members, but also with understanding that these same pressures apply to our own lives. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a time when our services and expertise were more in need than right now.

Gestalt International Study Center

The Gestalt International Study Center (GISC) is a community of professionals who are leaders in corporations, entrepreneurs, executive and life coaches, organizational and human resource consultants, educators and therapists. The members of our community are participants in our programs, faculty who lead our programs, authors and contributors, colleagues and friends.

GISC administers two certification programs for professional coaches:

Our ICF-accredited Competency Development Program for Coach Certification
GISC Advanced Coaching Certification
GISC Advanced Coaching Certification

We also maintain a robust schedule of training programs and development paths for the wide range of individuals who make up our community. Two upcoming programs of note include:

Essentials of Leadership, November 21-23, 2019 (part of our Leadership track)
Executive Coaching & Personality Dynamics, February 6 – 9, 2020 (part of our Coaching track and approved for the new GISC Advanced Coaching Certification)
Join us for a FREE, 1-hour online Info Session

Click here to learn more about our free Info Session.

At noon ET on November 7, 2019, we will conduct our first-ever one-hour online Executive Coaching & Personality Dynamics Info Session.
If you’ve thought about participating in a GISC program in the past but weren’t sure if it was for you
If you appreciate the opportunity to interact directly with the faculty and ask questions prior to committing to register for a program
If you want to learn how Gestalt Core Concepts differentiate GISC training from other leadership and coaching training that is available today
Then click here to register for this free Info Session.

And even if you are not a professional coach, I hope you will take this opportunity to participate in our community and gain a better sense of what we’re about and what we can offer in support of your goals and aspirations.

Tags: certification, coaching, continuing education, Gestalt, GISC, leadership

Creating the conditions for empathy

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 20:28:43 GMT

By Sharona (on behalf of Joe, Carol, Stuart and Nancy)

In New England, we are in our final days of summer. Every day of blue skies and summer breezes feels like a gift. I am happy that my windows are still wide open most of the time.

A few years ago, a group from GISC spent a day with Laura Chasin, a family therapist, and a colleague and friend of the Nevis’. She introduced us to the Public Conversations Project, a program she founded in 1989, which applies tools from family therapy to facilitating dialogue between groups who have opposing political perspectives and views. The methodology is simple and user friendly. It requires a facilitator to hold the space and structure, establish agreements among the participants that support uninterrupted expression of ideas, one at a time, and sets an underlying rule that no one tries to persuade or convince the other party. (If you want to know more, look up Public Conversations Project)

In my work, I am often asked to intervene in conflict situations. This summer, a couple I had been seeing for awhile arrived for their session stuck in a contentious conflict. They had a big decision to make that impacted them both, and that they were experiencing from opposing viewpoints. They reported that at home they had debated the issue, and found themselves feeling angry and misunderstood. I thought about the Public Conversations Project, and suggested an experiment. I set the expectations: The outcome of the decision would be set aside. No persuasion or challenge to the other point of view was allowed. Each person would have a chance to speak. After they spoke, we would pause. The listener could then ask questions that were exclusively meant to clarify or deepen their understanding of the other’s point of view and feelings. They did the experiment. When we debriefed it, they talked about feeling noticeably softer toward the other. They were surprised, since they came in feeling so defensive, stuck and hopeless. In our next session, I was not surprised to learn that they had made a decision, and that they were living pretty well with it, despite the fact that someone had to be disappointed.

Lately, I have been thinking that much of my work with couples, and with teams experiencing conflict, is about creating the conditions for empathy. I think most of us believe that empathy is the entry point to the solution to our personal and political conflicts. However, empathy gets lost when we are scared, disappointed or angry. Most of us know what having empathy feels like, and we know what it feels like when we lose it, when we are in conflict. We fight to be understood but don’t often fight as hard to be understanding. The assumption that the other wants to understand us as much as we want to be understood, requires a great deal of support and trust. In our work, we can provide that support and framework, helping people move through conflict toward empathy. I find this part of my work important and satisfying.

—

A few words about what is coming up at GISC, and in particular in CCTP. We are excited to be offering a Fourth Week (for the first time!) in London, November 8-12. If you have taken CCTP and taken the Third Week, please consider joining us, to deepen your learning and practice of the Cape Cod Model. If you have not taken the Third Week, please contact us, as the Third Week is not necessarily required to participate in the Fourth. We are also planning the next Third Week for Spring 2020. Let us know soon if you are interested, as The Third Week has consistently sold out. Talk to someone who has participated to find out more, and of course, write or call any of the faculty for more information. We are always glad to hear from you.

Warmly,

Sharona (on behalf of Joe, Carol, Stuart and Nancy)

Transitions – expected and otherwise

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 21:32:00 GMT

Change, Optimism + Transition

Recently, after a 12-day trip in Europe I arrived home in Portland, Maine, to unexpectedly find a substantial amount of snow on the ground. A voice inside me screamed, “oh, no, I’m not ready. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.” This was not only a knee-jerk emotional response but a practical one, too. You see, my garden hoses were still out, now inaccessible, buried beneath the snow. This unexpected climatological transition was going to demand more work than usual.

Many transitions, be they emotional or physical, are expected and give us time to prepare, adjust and manage, but some don’t. And even when expected, the adjustment may differ dependent on various conditions or circumstances. For example, research shows that our bodies adjust in time to colder temperatures. However, the same cold temperature experienced at the beginning of winter or at the end feels different. By the end of winter, we have adjusted and so we actually don’t feel as cold.

When transitions are expected, like going off to college or getting married, we are able to prepare and elicit the necessary support. However, the unexpected ones obviously present greater challenges. It is as if we are left flat footed and thus ill prepared. Some transitions require management and swift action–your plane gets cancelled and you have to find accommodations for the night. Some require not just swift action but a more complex readjustment and response as when your work place unexpectedly closes and you must find alternative employment. And then there are those that have a more profound emotional impact such as when a loved one suddenly and unexpectedly dies. Managing this last transition may take a long time and requires faith that the emotional wound will heal and life can get back to “normal.” Action, in this case, requires acceptance and an ability to elicit and receive support.

Many individuals who come to our programs are in the midst of transitions. Some are changing careers, some are undergoing lifestyle or relationship changes, some are seeking more meaning in their lives and in their level of self-awareness. Some just want things (whatever that might be) to be more fulfilling.

Having an optimistic stance supports us to look at what is good or valuable in any situation or relationship. It allows us to cope with the expected and unexpected changes that are the essence of our lives. And, even when transitions elicit disappointment and grief, optimism supports us to persevere and move forward in a positive direction. All our lives are full of transitions–small, insignificant ones and large, life-changing ones. Although we can never guarantee that we will not at times be caught flat footed, we can develop skills and emotional resiliency that provide the ability to face those challenges and learn from them.

Now to find those garden hoses!

Joseph Melnick, PhD

Moving Toward Difference

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 20:41:41 GMT

letting yourself be vulnerable to another point of view

I have been thinking a lot lately, about how my participation in the Cape Cod Training Program might contribute to making the world a better place.

I was born 13 years after the Nazi concentration camps were liberated. Many of the adults in my life as a child were survivors of those camps, or had survived the war by hiding or escaping under life threatening conditions. I grew up in an insulated Jewish community, where I was taught to be courteous to non-Jews, neighbors, bank tellers, the mail carrier, but to limit my interactions with them to everyday politeness. A German family lived across the street, and we never said more to them than “good morning” or “have a nice day.” My parents said, “We don’t know where they were during the war.”

When my mother came to visit my college dormitory, she commented to me when we stepped off the elevator, “You seem friendly with that girl. I was friendly with my non-Jewish school friends AT school,” she said, “but we never invited them into our house.” The only non-Jews who entered our house when I was growing up were the plumber or the electrician.

I was taught that difference was dangerous. Difference had taken the lives of my parents’ cousins, my great grandparents, and many other relatives and friends. Difference robbed my two beloved great aunts of their fertility, as they had been used as human experiments by Nazi doctors in the concentration camps.

There is no way to participate in CCTP and not encounter difference. As a faculty we create opportunities for building trust, to support faculty and participants to learn from our differences, rather than avoid them or simply tolerate them. I am sure some years we succeed more than others. A couple of years ago, CCTP participants came from seven different countries. And, as you know, participants also come from a variety of professions–we have chefs, ministers, pediatricians, surgeons, mountain climbing instructors and psychotherapists, just to name a few. During our time together, we take risks, and we support each other to be vulnerable and curious. We build trust and intimacy with people who are different than ourselves. (And, as I write this, I am aware of our continued intention at GISC, to become a place of even greater diversity in our community, diversity of race, culture and class.)

So many of the troubles of the world stem from our fear of difference, and from our lack of close contact with people who are different from ourselves. When we gather outside on the last day of CCTP, planting bulbs that will blossom into daffodils in the spring, we are marking our connection as a group, the learning community we create in spite of, and as a result of, our differences. Let’s take this experience back to our lives, and remember to stay curious and to move toward difference rather than moving away from it.

“To let yourself be vulnerable to another point of view–that’s what takes true courage. To open yourself to another’s convictions, and risk being convinced, a little, or a lot, of the validity of their perspective. Now that’s scary.” –Justin Trudeau, Commencement Speech at New York University, 2018

Some of you have asked what your next step should be after taking CCTP. For those of you who have not taken the Third Week, talk to someone who has and sign up. The Third Week is an opportunity to build on and expand what you learned in the first two weeks of the program. The next Third Week is scheduled in England this November. Sign up soon as the class is almost full. If you want to take it in the US, let us know and we will start to put the next class together. We are also offering three days of Supervision in Wellfleet in March 2019. That is the best way to continue to develop yourself and your skills–by being a member of a group, presenting practice dilemmas, asking questions and watching the faculty work.

We always enjoy hearing from you and we would love to see you again. Please stay in touch.

Sharona

Tags: #difference #CapeCodModel

Slowing Down

Fri, 30 Mar 2018 13:58:01 GMT

...

As winter gives way to spring, I find I’m learning to slow down and breathe again. It seems like such a simple act but hard to maintain, and one I easily forget.

So I’ve taken to getting up most mornings and watching the sunrise. I’m lucky to have a second-story room that faces east. Three large windows look onto four magnificent white pines, nearly twice as tall as my home. I’m watching this morning as I write to you.

There’s something about the sunrise that makes the relearning easy, especially with the many sunny days we’ve had here lately. Maybe it’s because the sun compels me to surrender to its beauty, to give up thinking and doing and to simply be.

No matter how many sunrises I watch, each one is different. Even now I find myself putting down my writing tablet. I don’t want to miss any part of this experience. I want to see each shift in color, each increase in intensity, each new pattern that emerges.

This isn’t unlike how we are with our clients. Slowing down and attending to “what is” gives us a window onto the nuances of our clients’ experiences, the shifts in expression, color, tone, or breath. Slowing down helps us to see and be with them in the many difficulties they must bear.

And it helps us to bear ours as well.

I remember as a child lying on the couch with my back to the world, tracing my finger over vines of ivy in the fabric’s raised surface. I can see now how, even then, I was learning to slow down and bear the weight of a chaotic world. I was learning to regulate myself.

The winter has been a difficult one for many of us, challenging our capacity to simply be. The world seems increasingly more chaotic and unpredictable, existential threats increasingly real. Maybe you, too, got caught up in chasing the news and forgetting to breathe.

I’m reminded of a quote from Moshe Feldenkrais, “You can’t do what you want until you know what you’re doing.” I would add to that, and we can’t know what we’re doing unless we slow down long enough to notice.

To those of you who do not know me, let me briefly introduce myself. I’ve been involved with GISC since the Center opened its doors in 2002, and for over a decade before that I participated in a supervision group led by GISC senior faculty. I have a coaching and psychotherapy practice in Bloomington, Indiana, a daughter and a grandson in Myanmar, and a cottage on Lake Superior where, during the summer, I watch the sun rise over the lake every day. I’ve watched the Cape Cod Model develop over the decades, and I’m thrilled to be a part of a program I wholeheartedly believe has the power to change lives. I look forward to meeting and greeting you in person as time goes by.

Nancy Rutkowski

GISC Blog

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Introducing an exciting new series for leaders: ﻿Presence, Use of Self, and the Keys to Authentic Leadership

An Interview with GISC's Co-Directors of Leadership Development

An Interview with Cape Cod Training Program Faculty

A Message from GISC's Board Chair

Building a Brighter Future Together: Highlights and Hopes for GISC

Coaching Inclusively with a Focus on Race: What does it take?

A new vision for our future

The Old Lady and the Young Lady

Bringing the best of Gestalt into the world

I'm so small and this problem is so big

Film Makers Who Balance Tragedy and Optimism: Waititi and Kore-eda

A Message To Our Cape Cod Training Program (CCTP) Graduates

Reimagining the future together

Meet the Faculty

Meet The Next Phase faculty member, Dave Bushy

Sharona’s CCTP Log: 2020-2021

Meet the Faculty

Meet Melanie Nevis, GISC faculty for Highly Sensitive

Meet the Faculty

Meet Competency Development Program for Coach Certification faculty member, Jackie Sherman

Meet the Faculty

Meet ﻿ GISC Faculty Nancy Rutkowski

Meet the Faculty

Meet Cape Cod Training Program faculty member, Lucy Ball

Jane Weiss Discusses Her Experience With GISC

GISC Certified Coach Describes Participation in the Competency Development Program for Coach Certification and Impacts on Personal and Professional Life

Lorna Jane Norris Discusses Her Experience With GISC

GISC Certified Coach Describes Participation in the Competency Development Program for Coach Certification and Impacts on Personal and Professional Life

Can I Overuse My Leadership “Strengths?”

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification 2021-2022

GISC's ICF Accredited Coach Training Program Is Now Accepting Applications

Operating as a Gestalt Practitioner in a Virtual World

Gestalt, Community, and Social Justice

The Magic

What We're Creating Together

Laurie Fitzpatrick, President & CEO

A Reckoning

A Message To Our Cape Cod Training Program (CCTP) Graduates

Strengthen Your Community: An invitation...

By all accounts, 2020 has been a difficult year.

Today, we are asking you to join our member-drive

in support of the Center.

﻿

Can we count on your participation?

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification Graduates Tell Their Stories - Part 3

Nancy Jacoby

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification Graduates Tell Their Stories - Part 2

Barbara Wrigley

Competency Development Program for Coach Certification Graduates Tell Their Stories - Part 1

Les Schwab, MD

Imagine GISC

The community is strong.

Catastrophising

The "what if?" part of our brain in overdrive.

From the Archives - "It's Summer Again"

Thoughts from the summer of 2002 are particularly relevant today.

5 Tips For Doing Deep Work Via Video

Get smarter at being more human online

The Power of the Present Moment

Creating change in the here-and-now

Changing Things for the Better

Transforming the way we live and work in the world

New GISC Programs and Certifications Support Your Goals & Aspirations

two certification programs for professional coaches

Creating the conditions for empathy

By Sharona (on behalf of Joe, Carol, Stuart and Nancy)

Transitions – expected and otherwise

Change, Optimism + Transition

Moving Toward Difference

letting yourself be vulnerable to another point of view

Slowing Down

...

Introducing an exciting new series for leaders: Presence, Use of Self, and the Keys to Authentic Leadership

Meet GISC Faculty Nancy Rutkowski