The Heart of Buddhist Psychology informed Gestalt Therapy (BPGT)

The BPGT Integrative model rests on the premise that our human engagement as therapists is essential for meaningful contact with those we work with. Therapist presence and capacity to attend to present moment experience, elemental in Gestalt therapy, is enhanced by Buddhist psychology meditation practices and view.  We are excited to offer this overview into the ways that therapy work and therapist personal development can be deepened within this combined framework.  

This six-hour online introductory training explores the convergences of and differences between Buddhist psychology and Gestalt therapy, emphasizing their primary overlap: powerful healing comes from “being with what is” and being available to our present-moment experience. We will highlight several theoretical and practical applications of this integrated model, using experiential, lecture, and demonstration-based styles of teaching. 

“Buddhist psychology and Gestalt therapy both recognize the human potential for growth and actualization that is available to us as we free ourselves from restrictive patterns, beliefs, and self-concepts. In both systems, focused attention leads to increased awareness illuminating a path toward more freedom from these limitations.”

From Buddhist Psychology & Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century, by Eva Gold and Stephen Zahm, Metta Press, 2018.