I just wanted to add to this as I too have had bad experiences with gestalt. I've done quite a bit of research into its roots and I would agree that it is the psychotherapeutic arm of the encounter movements of the 60s. The founder of gestalt therapy, Fritz Perls, was a strange individual. His 'Gloria' counselling sessions are still used as examples of therapy in training instituti
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Thank you corboy and hellocat for your responses. Some of the stuff that Perls was involved in at Esalen sounds quite extreme and I know that there were several suicides there following some of Perls' experiential group work during which he harangued vulnerable 'clients'. He does come over as a very manipulative man who had not worked through his own issues. He was very much a 
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

The other aspect of the training which I found worrying was that they tied you into paying up front, well before the start of the course. It is also made very clear that the minute you set foot on the premises at the start of the course, you are tied in financially for the whole year. I found the organisation very heavy-handed about getting its hands on the students' money. This for me was a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I paid for the course out of my own pocket although I think some of the students were being sponsored by employers/charities. Maybe some even had some funding from their educational body. But in the main people were paying out of their own pockets - and it's not cheap! A lot of people would end up quite heavily in debt because it's not just the training costs which are high, but als
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you very much for the link to 'dysfunction in training organisations'. I was a student in such an institution. It was very cult-like with the course leaders instilling loyalty through quite subtle manipulation. By playing on the students' vulnerabilites, the leaders managed to create an atmosphere in which guilt and shame were pervasive. There was scapegoating of some student
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I wasn't sure whether to post this in the therapy section or in the large group training section as it could apply to both. I am interested in anyone's experience of Gestalt therapy and/or Gestalt therapy training whether in large groups or otherwise. I had some sessions with a gestalt therapist and did some gestalt therapy training, which included some large group work, and I have to s
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse