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

The workshop is an introduction to working with Gestalt for counseling, coaching, and therapy. Exercises for self-awareness, group discussion, and space for sensing and perceiving what is currently coming into focus are well balanced. The ‘experience-based work’ in the here and now provides an initial insight into some of the basics of Gestalt therapy/counseling:

Phenomenology and how (and why) it is effectively applied in practice with clients. The important role of perception, awareness, and interpretation of our own experiences (awareness). The underlying assumptions about how change and perhaps even healing can occur through working in the here and now.

There will be brief theoretical inputs and ideas/resources on how to deepen this knowledge if interested, but the focus of this workshop is on experience and practice.

Date: 10.00 – 16.30 Uhr

Led by: Alex Neumann

Costs: 90 €

Venue: INKONTAKT Gestaltinstitut Berlin

Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

Within all of us there is an implicit capacity for intersubjectivity — the ability to attune to others and sense their emotions and intentions. In this workshop, we explore the resonances of encounter through movement and other expressive forms. We will experiment with practices of mirroring and attunement, opening up ways of communication and contact and making empathy experientially accessible. In doing so, we draw on perspectives from Polyvagal Theory and attend to aspects of the ventral vagal system.

Through mirroring practices and attunement in dance and movement therapy, somatic experiential work, the Moving Circle, and Authentic Movement, we follow bodily impulses, deepen perception, enter into contact, and explore relational experience. In this way, we expand our capacity for communication and empathy through embodied experience.

This workshop is open to professionals in helping professions, psychotherapists, teachers, artists, dancers, and performers, as well as to all interested participants of any age.
This workshop is offered as a self-experiential learning format and does not replace psychotherapy or medical treatment.

Leader: Annalisa Maggiani, Psychologist, Dr.Phil. (University of Pisa), Dance and Movement Therapist (Art Therapy Italiana- A.P.I.D) MA in Art Psychotherapy (Goldsmiths-University of London) Advanced Master’s Degree in Authentic Group Movement (Art Therapy Italiana), Butoh

Date: February 14 – 15, 2026, Sa 10.00 – 17.00 + Su 10 .00 – 13.00

Costs: 150 €

Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

Venue: Inkontakt Gestalt Institute Berlin, Gleimstr. 37, 10437 Berlin

Getting to know Gestalt

Friday, June 26 2026, 10am – 4.30pm

Date: 10.00 – 16.30 Uhr

Led by: Alex Neumann

Costs: 90 €

Venue: INKONTAKT Gestaltinstitut Berlin

Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

Within a contemplative, body- and tango-oriented gestalt-informed approach—referred to as Relationship That Can Be Danced (Bdmtk)—eight phases of archetypal encounters are explored and shaped through individual and collective presence and through the tango-specific way of walking known as El Caminar. These phases are described as noticing, positioning, arriving, giving impulse, responding, accompanying, and gathering. Within the contact cycle, they correspond to pre-contact, initiation of contact, full contact, and post-contact.

The work with these phases supports an exploration of presence, awareness, and the quality of contact within a self-experiential and reflective setting. The accompanying deceleration can contribute to a more differentiated experience of self as well as to a heightened perception of the relational field. What emerges is reflected upon within the format of partner contemplation. In this ritual, two people meet beyond opinion, dispute, and judgment. Experiences that are experienced as meaningful in self-exploration may then be reflected upon in relation to one’s own personal or professional practice. Experiences from the practice of Bdmtk indicate that participants often describe this form of self-experience as supportive for questions of individuation, surrender, and relationship dynamics. Reflections from practice suggest that some participants experience a shift toward greater clarity, connection, and satisfaction in their relationships over time.

Participants may attend with or without a partner. No dance experience is required.

Contents and Processes

• • The eight phases of an archetypal encounter

  • Body-oriented self-experience

  • Axis and autonomy: differentiation as a competence

  • Synchronicity and confluence: touch and flow as a gift

  • Partner contemplations: brief, structured, and connecting reflective formats

Facilitator: Johannes Feuerbach, he developed Relationship That Can Be Danced as a self-experience method for couples, drawing on Lomi bodywork, Gestalt therapy, contemplation, and tango. He began his therapeutic practice in 1980, initially working with Lomi bodywork. His therapeutic focus lies in couple and group therapy. He is a teaching therapist and trainer in Gestalt couple therapy. His most recent publication on Bdmtk appeared in GESTALTTHERAPIE 2022/2. He holds a degree in education and is a Gestalt therapist accredited by DVG and EAGT, a DVG-certified supervisor, and a psychotherapist (EAP/HP).

Dates: June 27–28
Schedule:
Saturday: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Fee: €150
Location: INKONTAKT Gestalt Institute Berlin
Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

20. – 31.07.2026 each from 10.00 – 16.00 Uhr

The first week will be in German, the second week in English.

20.07.: Kunst als Zugang zu inneren Bewegungen. Intuitives Zeichnen als non-verbale Methode mit sich in Fühlung zu kommen. Leitung: Nicole F. Brémond

21.07.: Die Stille als Möglichkeit die Ohren nach Innen zu öffnen und mit sich selbst in Beziehung zu treten. Leitung: Birgit Schönberger

22.07.: Resonanzen werden in Bewegung und Tanz zum Ausdruck gebracht und durch Malen und Schreiben vertieft. Leitung: Annalisa Maggiani

23.07.: Körperverbundenheit wird durch Wahrnehmungsübungen, Bewegung, Dialog und Resonanz in der Gruppe gestärkt. Leitung: Carola Knüppel

24.07.: Kreativ arbeiten im Hier-und-Jetzt — für Fortgeschrittene. Leitung: Alex Neumann

25.07.: Essbiografie – was mich geprägt hat – was mich nährt. Mit Gabriela Milchis

26.07.: Exploration in the Here and Now – A Day of Perception, Stillness and Movement. Led by Vera Mysak

27.07.: Inner tensions, conflicts, and unresolved issues are brought to light and dealt with creatively. Led by: Gabriele Blankertz

28.07.: Silence as an opportunity to open your ears inwards and enter into a relationship with yourself. Led by Birgit Schönberger

29.07.:

30.07.:

31.07.:

Costs: 80 € per day

Registration: inkontakt@gestalt-institut.com

Location: InKontakt Gestaltinstitut Berlin, Gleimstraße 37, 10437 Berlin

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

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.