Gestalt International Study Center

Gestalt International Study Center Transforming the way you live and work in the world

Awareness of yourself and how you work with others is the path to greater influence, personal and professional growth, and ultimate success. At the Gestalt International Study Center (GISC) our powerful and practical learning experiences help you develop the ability to act with awareness and intention, to respond to challenges with greater confidence and ease, and to create profound and positive change.

GISC’s free Conversations with Clinicians series is back this September! 🎉After a summer break, we’re excited to return ...
08/31/2026

GISC’s free Conversations with Clinicians series is back this September! 🎉

After a summer break, we’re excited to return with more live-online sessions designed to help clinicians explore Gestalt concepts and their practical application through the lens of the Cape Cod Model.

Our first session back will focus on the Paradoxical Theory of Change, a foundational Gestalt concept that invites an important question:
How does change happen?

Led by Renya Larson, MA, LMSW, this session will introduce the Paradoxical Theory of Change and explore how clinicians can apply it both personally and in their work with clients. Participants will reflect on how growth becomes possible when we begin by more fully understanding and accepting what is already present.

Paradoxical Theory of Change
📅Friday, September 4 l ⏰12:00–1:00 PM ET
👤Faculty: Renya Larson, MA, LMSW

Open to all | Free to attend | Advance registration required: https://www.tfaforms.com/5152954

Join us as the series returns, and share this free learning opportunity with a colleague.

Gestalt is often described as a “here and now” - or a phenomenological - approach.Gestalt invites us to notice "what is,...
08/20/2026

Gestalt is often described as a “here and now” - or a phenomenological - approach.

Gestalt invites us to notice "what is," what the client is bringing into the room - even when it's the future or past, hopes or fears, unfinished business, or patterns of behavior that are showing up in the present moment.

The “now” is where we can observe what is happening. What is the client aware of? What's in their body language or tone of voice? How are they making contact with themselves, with the practitioner, and with the world around them?

For practitioners, working in the here and now brings immediacy and depth to their work, removes the need to "fix" anything, and offers the opportunity to observe and explore in partnership with their clients.

In Gestalt practice, the present moment becomes a doorway to deeper awareness and new possibilities.

When you hear “here and now,” what does it bring up for you?

How do you move from understanding team dynamics to actually intervening with impact?GISC’s Coaching Teams program gives...
08/14/2026

How do you move from understanding team dynamics to actually intervening with impact?

GISC’s Coaching Teams program gives practitioners the opportunity to practice team coaching in a focused, supportive learning environment.

Over three live-online modules, participants will work with real-life visiting client teams, receive individualized feedback, and strengthen their ability to notice group competence, identify development opportunities, and provide bold, direct feedback.
This program is designed for coaches and practitioners who currently work with teams or want to expand into team coaching.

Participants will learn to:
🔹Assess and intervene in hierarchical and non-hierarchical teams
🔹Coach teams from different types of organizations
🔹Receive feedback from faculty, peers, and organizational clients
🔹Develop new insight into their current work situations

Learn more and register at: https://www.gisc.org/coaching-teams

08/13/2026

The Cape Cod Training Program offers far more than theory and lecture. It’s designed for practice, reflection, and active engagement.

CCTP graduate Karen Kirchner’s reflection highlights one of the things that makes the program so distinctive: the variety of ways participants learn. From role play and pair work to journaling, processing, and small-group practice, the program invites participants to engage with the Cape Cod Model© through multiple modes of learning.

That variety helps participants stay present, process what is being stirred up, and apply the model in ways that feel practical and meaningful.
Curious to experience the Cape Cod Model for yourself?

Join GISC’s free Cape Cod Model Mini-Session on August 12 for a live-online introduction to the approach.

🔹Free Cape Cod Model Mini-Session l 📅 August 12 l ⏰ 11:00 AM–1:00 PM ET l Earn 2 social work CE hours: https://www.tfaforms.com/5102062

🔹Cape Cod Training Program | Live-Online l 📅 Full cohort begins October 28, 2026: https://www.gisc.org/cape-cod-training-program

Get a taste of the model in August, then explore whether the full Cape Cod Training Program is the right next step in your learning!

Before leading others, we must first understand ourselves.GISC’s Leading Self: Blended Learning program is designed to h...
08/12/2026

Before leading others, we must first understand ourselves.

GISC’s Leading Self: Blended Learning program is designed to help participants learn about themselves in profound new ways, increase awareness of their leadership strengths, and gain new insights into their impact on others.

As part of the program, participants will explore the 5Dynamics energy model for work, learning, and collaboration, while developing clarity around how to manage their natural energy at work and make more intentional, effective choices.

This program is strongly recommended as the starting point for GISC’s Leadership Development series because it builds the foundational skills and awareness that support continued growth.

Upcoming cohorts include:
📅September/October: Sept. 9–Oct. 7
📅November/December: Nov. 10–Dec. 8

Learn more and take the next step in your leadership journey: https://www.gisc.org/leading-self-blended-learning

08/03/2026

Stepping into a team coaching engagement can feel overwhelming. A whole system is in the room, with its own patterns, dynamics, strengths, and challenges.

GISC’s Coaching Teams: Applying the Cape Cod Model© in Organizations is designed to help practitioners cut through that overwhelm, see more clearly, and make clean, impactful interventions that stick.

This live-online intensive program gives coaches and practitioners room to experiment, try new approaches, receive feedback, and build confidence in their ability to coach teams in organizational settings. Participants also work with real-life visiting client teams, receiving feedback from faculty, peers, and the client teams themselves.

The program also creates a supportive learning community, where participants and faculty learn alongside one another in a space that encourages practice, vulnerability, and growth.

Coaching Teams | Live-Online
🔹Module 1: September 30–October 2, 2026
🔹Module 2: October 21–23, 2026
🔹Module 3: November 11–13, 2026
🔹Wednesday–Friday | 10:00 AM–4:00 PM ET

Early bird discount extended: Save 10% through August 15 with code GISC10.: https://www.gisc.org/coaching-teams

07/31/2026

A powerful learning environment is not just about what is taught. It is also about the space created for people to learn together.

In this clip, Karen reflects on one of the most meaningful parts of the Cape Cod Training Program: a non-judgmental environment where participants can explore, practice, and grow alongside one another, regardless of how much experience they have with Gestalt concepts.

That kind of support is central to CCTP. Through structured, highly interactive sessions, participants learn how to become more effective agents for change using the Cape Cod Model©, with theory presentations followed by intensive small-group practice and daily feedback from seasoned faculty.

Whether you work with individuals, dyads, families, groups, or work-teams, CCTP is designed to help you expand your capacity to intervene with impact, recognize the competence of the client system, and use yourself as a powerful instrument of influence.

📅 Cape Cod Training Program | Live-Online l Begins October 28, 2026
👤 Faculty: Carol Brockmon, MSW and Gaynor Sharp, BSc Hons

Learn more and register today: https://www.gisc.org/cape-cod-training-program

What if coaching teams didn’t have to feel so hard?In GISC faculty member Heather Berthoud’s new blog, “Ease Matters: Fo...
07/30/2026

What if coaching teams didn’t have to feel so hard?

In GISC faculty member Heather Berthoud’s new blog, “Ease Matters: Four Principles for Coaching Teams,” she reminds coaches and facilitators that we are not there to fix, save, or force a breakthrough.

Instead, Heather explores four principles that can support more effective team coaching:
🔹Seeing systems
🔹Stating what is so
🔹Appreciation
🔹The paradoxical theory of change

These principles invite us to see teams as whole systems, notice what is already happening, appreciate existing competence, and create space for meaningful change.

Thank you to Heather for sharing such a thoughtful and practical reflection.

Read the full blog to explore how ease can become part of your coaching practice: https://www.gisc.org/ease-matters-four-principles-for-coaching-teams

Looking ahead to your year-end professional development goals?GISC’s Leading Self: Blended Learning program offers an op...
07/29/2026

Looking ahead to your year-end professional development goals?

GISC’s Leading Self: Blended Learning program offers an opportunity to deepen self-awareness, better understand your impact on others, and strengthen the skills that support leadership effectiveness and resilience in complex organizations.

Participants will engage with practical tools, self-assessments, and practices designed to build core leadership capabilities, including presence, collaboration, stress management, intentional choice, and connection with others.

November/December Cohort:
Kick-Off: Tuesday, Nov. 10
Wrap-Up: Tuesday, Dec. 8

⏰ Live sessions meet 12:30–2:00 PM ET
👤 Faculty: Roderick Allen, MSOD, GPHR, PCC and Anita Frisch, MA

The balance of the program is self-paced online, with an individual coaching session scheduled with your faculty coach.

Register for the November/December cohort and invest in your leadership growth: https://www.gisc.org/leading-self-blended-learning

“This is not an easy or comfortable topic to explore, but it is absolutely critical.”A past participant shared this refl...
07/28/2026

“This is not an easy or comfortable topic to explore, but it is absolutely critical.”

A past participant shared this reflection after completing The Humility Project, and it captures something essential about the experience.

Exploring racism and white privilege asks us to step outside our comfort zones — to listen more closely, question assumptions, and notice our reactions when discomfort arises. It’s not always easy work, but it is necessary work for anyone who wants to live, lead, and work with greater awareness and integrity in our diverse, multicultural world.

The Humility Project offers a structured, facilitated space where participants don’t have to do this alone. With guided learning, shared reflection, and thoughtful discussion, the program supports people in staying engaged — even when the material is challenging.

If you believe education, reflection, and responsibility are part of meaningful change, this program invites you to lean into that commitment.

🗓 October 9, 2026 – March 12, 2027
💻 Live Online

Learn more and sign up today: https://www.gisc.org/the-humility-project
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89 South Street, Suite 400
Boston, MA
02111

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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