50 years ago, when Fritz Perls demonstrated Gestalt therapy for the first time on television, many people were gripped and inspired by the immediacy, vibrancy and powerful impact of working in the ‘here & now’. The idea of attending to the ‘phenomenology of the present moment’ – rather than focusing on the past, the history of the biography, the roots of adult experience in childhood development – profoundly changed the way we thought about what was possible in therapy, and how long it had to take.

But now, 50 years later, for many people interested in self-development and therapy, ‘being here and now’ has become an ‘old’ idea, no longer fashionable – apparently over the last few decades the idea has lost its revolutionary and revelatory appeal. Of course, to the eternal now, our silly fashions and disenchantments are of no concern – the present moment just continues, undisturbed by our lack of appreciation of it. Of course it’s an ‘old’ idea, thousands of years old. But apparently, humanity still hasn’t got the point, after all this time – how much continuous present has to pass before we wake up and get the message?

Humanity – and much of the therapeutic field – seems to be as busy as ever repeating and regurgitating the past, or hankering after a future that is supposed to be more fulfilling than the present. All the while, the potential of the present moment is being aborted by our frantic and misguided efforts and our refusal or incapacity to let go into the ‘here and now’.
Our busy minds are lost and forgetful, clinging onto the past and grasping towards the future, missing the only moment in which life can be found. With virtual reality and artificial intelligence threatening to take over, connecting with the vitality of flesh-and-blood bodymind intelligence in the ‘here and now’ seems more important than ever, doesn’t it?

So maybe we have to revisit and re-appreciate the old idea of ‘being here and now’?

For the purpose of self-development, the ‘here and now’ is the alpha and omega. No change has ever happened in the past, and no transformation will ever occur in the future, however desperately we are seeking. But how can our awareness milk the present moment for its sweet nectar, how can we fully surrender and extract from it everything it offers and has always offered? How can we attend to the full potential of the emergent process in the ‘here and now’?

Outside of Buddhist teaching and mindfulness where attention to the present moment is one of the foundational pillars of practice, in the field of psychotherapy the significance of working in the ‘here and now’ has been declared and demonstrated most strongly and explicitly by Gestalt therapy. But as a therapeutic approach that is now more than 70 years old, Gestalt has its limitations. The more we understand what these limitations are, and by complementing these with models, ideas and techniques drawn from other therapeutic approaches, the more we are able to reinvigorate the practice of Gestalt therapy with its original promise. Many people saw that promise manifested in Fritz Perls’ famous TV presentations, where he demonstrated his work in the ‘here and now’ with volunteers from the audience. Many modern Gestalt therapists are very critical of Perls, arguing that he set a bad example for what they consider the essence of Gestalt.

The paradoxical principle of change

Like few other therapeutic approaches, Gestalt is known for its focus on vibrancy, immediacy and experiential engagement. This is what many people are looking for in effective therapy – a method they can experience as having immediate, ‘here and now’ impact, that can be verified tangibly, subjectively. It does not require speculation or discipline or belief. As the client, you do not have to sign up to anything, you are not required to believe or take on board anything that’s not immediately obvious from your own experience. That doesn’t mean it’s easy – on the contrary: the more that Gestalt invites us into the ‘here and now’, the more we discover a fundamental – and to some extent disturbing and frustrating – paradox, discovered and formulated by Gestalt therapists 50 years ago: change happens when we accept what is. This apparently simple and innocuous phrase is a rabbit hole, or maybe a wormhole, into the mysteries of the ‘here and now’.

This online weekend workshop is an attempt to approach some of these existential mysteries through active, experiential exploration, by drawing on the wisdom and creativity of Gestalt as demonstrated by Fritz Perls, whilst maintaining also an awareness of the criticisms and dangers that have been brought against it. It is an opportunity for you to access the best that Gestalt has to offer in terms of making your ‘here and now’ experience the centrepoint of everything, and entering its transformative paradoxes. Will it make a profound difference to your life and change you? Yes, if you can accept what is, in the here and now!