2026 Residential Training Program

February 26 –  March 6, 2026

Casa de Descanso Tetela,  Cuernavaca, Mexico

Thursday evening, February 26th at 6:00, through Friday noon, March 6th, 2026. Monday is a “rest day” during which one can enjoy the pool and grounds, explore the sights of Cuernavaca…

To be notified when registration begins, join our mailing list.

Transportation:

There are plush, comfortable buses that run from Mexico City Airport to Cuernavaca.

For information on Visa requirements, click here.

Cost: The cost includes the housing, training and meals.

Cost to be announced shortly.

Learning Goals

Join our faculty and other participants to explore clinical applications of the evolving relational perspective in Gestalt Therapy, an approach that we have been developing over many years. Each of our faculty members have integrated other therapeutic influences into our relational/dialogic model, thereby contributing to its expansiveness and inclusiveness. Share our week of exploration and learning and living together. We have opportunities for learning for all levels of experience with gestalt therapy, from folks who serve on gestalt therapy faculties, to folks who are relatively early in their gestalt therapy learning journey (our minimum requirement is generally at least one year of prior training in gestalt therapy).

We begin our workshop with introductions in our first meeting, which begins after a 5pm dinner. We follow with 3 days of a full program, one day of rest and relaxation, and then another three full days. On the final day, we have a morning program, which ends at noon.

On the full days, you will have theory talk, a chance to practice what you are learning in small clusters, and two meetings in your “home group.” In each day of the home group, the morning segment provides a chance to observe, participate in, and discuss “pieces of work” that your trainers will offer to group members. The afternoon segment your trainers will support you to engage in group process explorations.

Disclosure regarding required texts: Generally, reading materials will be provided at no cost, but in some cases students may be required to obtain books, some of which are written by presenters or faculty who may benefit from the sale of these books.

Program Highlights

A strong sense of community, coupled with an inclusiveness towards all participants, has allowed the faculty and community to experiment with program design. For instance, we have an optional evening program run by participants who wish to contribute ideas and experiences. Some examples have been:

• Improvisation and presence
• Embodied shame
• Aesthetics of creativity and therapy
• Yoga and the relation with “self.”
• Moving meditation
• Free writing

From beginning therapists to faculty members of gestalt therapy training programs, we have an extremely high rate of returning participants. Defining qualities of the program have become: the support for taking risks, mutual respect, and honest (even when difficult) dialogue.

Our Expectations Regarding Your Participation

In our week of intensive living and learning together, you may have your own emotions stirred. We are there to help you learn from these experiences. Our dialogical approach serves the development of skill with your own emotional process (and thus, with your patient’s emotional process). In our training groups there may be moments of mis-meeting between you and another that challenge you. At the same time, a group like this can be exciting and deeply enriching! We bring our vulnerability to this work. It is sometimes hard, yet that is also how we grow. Please make use of the faculty and your fellow participants who are there to support your learning and growth, as you strive to stay in dialogue, even if the going gets tough. This commitment to dialogue, in the context of a group training process, lies at the heart of our relational approach.

Prerequisites For Signing Up

This program is geared toward people who have had some prior experience and training in gestalt therapy, as well as some experience in group process. On occasion, we accept people who have not had prior gestalt therapy training. It is best that if you have no gestalt training experience, you contact Lynne Jacobs directly, at [email protected]

Our Guest Faculty

Friedemann Schulz, MA, MFT

Friedemann was the faculty chair of the Pacific Gestalt Institute (PGI) for many years and he is past-president of the Gestalt Institute of Los Angeles (GTILA). He has taught at Antioch University, is a long-time supervisor for mental health professionals and is also a senior instructor of Shintaido, a Japanese body discipline. Friedemann has conducted workshops in the US, Germany, Peru and Mexico that draw from eastern philosophies and gestalt therapy principles. He has given talks and written several articles on contemporary relational gestalt therapy.

Guy-Pierre Tur Valverde

Guy-Pierre is a widely respected and loved, creative teacher, trainer and supervisor at gestalt and humanistic institutes in France and Mexico for many years. He has been a guest trainer at institutes in Europe, in Mexico, and at the Pacific Gestalt Institute. He is also an accomplished painter, and has been exhibited in major galleries in Mexico, as well as presenting in exhibitions in France, Argentina, England, Canada and the US. His art has also been used as cover art in various gestalt therapy magazines and books.

Registration

To register, email us.

Continuing Education for Psychologists, MFTs and LCSWs: 36 CE hours

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co-sponsor.