There is a detailed description of the comprehensive program. We offer pre-workshops to get to know each other and to help you decide on your training. Next pre-workshop: June 26, 2026

There is a detailed description of the comprehensive program. Next Start in 2027

Pre-Workshop: 19.09.2026, 10.00 – 17.00 

In September 2026, we will offer a pre-workshop that provides an introductory experience of Gestalt work. This workshop is designed as a first encounter with the approach and as an opportunity to explore whether a longer-term training might be a good fit.

Through guided self-experience, participants deepen their contact with themselves and others and develop greater awareness of their self-regulation and self-management processes. Building on this self-awareness, we explore individual life situations and contact patterns. When contact processes become rigid or dysfunctional, energy is often lost and creative responses to challenges are limited. Experiencing flow, by contrast, means being in lively and ongoing contact with oneself, others, and the surrounding field.

Contact is a central practical and theoretical concept in Gestalt work and forms a key reference point in our teaching, alongside perspectives such as field theory. Our work is dialogical and experiential, integrating creative methods and body-oriented approaches into both practice and theory.

The training program itself offers a diverse and innovative framework, guided by experienced and skilled trainers. It is designed to provide an inspiring learning environment and to meaningfully enrich and complement participants’ specific professional and personal work contexts.

Led by: Gabriele Blankertz

Costs: 90 €

Start of our next International Gestalt Training from 12 – 14 February 2027

Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

Location: InKontakt Gestaltinstitut Berlin, Gleimstraße 37, 10437 Berlin

In this group, we come into contact with our body, our sense of self, and our inner experience through dance and movement explorations, somatic practices, the Moving Circle, and Authentic Movement. In doing so, we deepen our awareness and strengthen our capacity for relationship, communication, and empathy.
Authentic Movement is based on the Jung’s method of Active Imagination in connection with dance therapy. The practice fosters a deepened bodily awareness as well as contact with the “inner witness,” who observes and receives what is experienced without judgment. At the same time, it opens the possibility of experiencing oneself as part of a larger whole.
The approach is grounded in the interaction between the Mover (the person moving) and the Witness (the companion): seeing and being seen, allowing oneself to be moved by inner images or perceptions, and experiencing connection with the “collective body.”
Drawing or writing reflections, as well as shared verbal reflection within the group, are essential elements of the process and support the integration of what has been experienced. The work is complemented by impulses from the somatic approach of Butoh dance.

The group is designed for self-exploration and personal development and is not a form of therapy.

Facilitator:
Annalisa Maggiani – performer and dancer (focus on Butoh and improvisation), dance movement therapist (member of A.P.I.D. – Italian Association for Dance Therapy, Art Therapy Italiana), MA in Art Psychotherapy, graduate philosopher, psychologist, Master in Authentic Movement (A.T.I.), lecturer.

Dates 2026/2027
Oct 19 · Nov 16 · Jan 18 · Feb 22 · March 22
The series comprises a total of 5 sessions. 

Total fee: €290
Time: 5:30–8:30 pm
Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

This continuing education program consists of 4 modules and a total of 12 workshops focusing on gestalt counseling.

The continuing education program will be conducted in Arabic.

Introductory meeting: April 11, 2026

This group supports women who, after losing their familiar life in Syria, are looking for a way into a self-determined life here in Berlin. Women find a safe place here where they can

find peace and understanding conversation partners
get support for coping with everyday problems
Experience strength and encouragement in exchange with other women
Learn coping strategies for dealing with the consequences of trauma.
Support for own goals and plans.
Body work, yoga, etc. contribute to mental stabilization.
The group sessions are supplemented by individual discussions as needed.

Time: Monday from 18:00 – 20:30.

Costs: The offer is free of charge for the women! 

Direction: Rawaa Alsamman, counselor, Gestalt therapist and take place in person or online.

Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

The Space Between – Bridging Differences Through Encounter

Friday, June 20, 2025

From 2:00 p.m., admission begins: a calm and warm arrival before the opening.

2:30 p.m., Welcome and Opening of the Conference – Gabriele Blankertz opens the conference with a personal speech on Gestalt training as a laboratory for peace-building processes – then and now.

3:30 p.m ., Lecture: My Journey as a Psychotherapist Under Dictatorial Rule – Syrian psychotherapist Dr. Mouta Barakat speaks about what it means to practice therapy under authoritarian rule – and how fear and repression shape healing processes and social life. (In English)

6:00 p.m., Exhibition Opening – Featuring works by Syrian artists currently participating in the Gestalt training program – a moving testament to inner processes and creative expression.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

From 10:00 a.m., Admission

11:00 a.m., Lecture: Why War? – A Gestalt Perspective – Dr. Stefan Blankertz discusses the Gestalt theory of aggression as a key to understanding war, conflict, and change. A timely perspective on a frequently misunderstood force. (in German)

11:00 a.m., Lecture: Resilience and Healing – Dr. Lidia Chylewska-Barakat shares insights from ten years of trauma work in Syria – and how hope, empathy, and connection became powerful companions on the path to resilience and healing. (In English)

2:00 p.m., Workshop 1: Transcultural Dialogue Group – A workshop that embodies and connects across diversity. It will take place in three languages (English, Arabic, and German) and will be led by institute director Gabriele Blankertz and Rawaa Alsamman.

2:00 p.m., Workshop 2: Encountering ourselves and others from within – When we arrive in our center, true encounter becomes possible. In this workshop, we explore how genuine presence emerges from inner connectedness – both with ourselves and in contact with others. Facilitated by: Birgit Schönberger. (in German)

4:00 p.m., Workshop 3: Topdog/Underdog – Dynamic – We explore inner tensions between control and resistance – and the longing for freedom hidden within them. Facilitated by: Ben Graham (in English)

4:00 p.m., Workshop 4: Resonance Space– What Is Alive in Me in the Here & Now – In this workshop, we open a space for what moves us and enter into resonance with what emerges between us. Facilitated by: Gabriele Blankertz

From 7:00 p.m.: Festive Evening – with live music, swing and Latin rhythms, and space for dancing, connection, and celebration.

Sunday: June 22, 2025

10:00 a.m., Workshop 5: Practical Introduction to Art Therapy – From the Periphery to the Core – Connecting the In-Between Between inner and outer worlds unfolds a play of movement, perception, and image. In this workshop, we follow searching impulses – physical, emotional, mental – and explore the in-between spaces where the visible begins to emerge. Facilitated by: Nicole F. Brémond.

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.: Finissage – The artists will be present, offering the opportunity to engage in conversation in a relaxed atmosphere and to purchase artworks.

3:00 p.m.: Closing Gathering

Lectures are held in German and English and are available as texts in the other language.