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Transatlantic Dialogue:
New York-Italy Issues of Theory:
Field, Contact, Self, Evaluation, Group Therapy Theory
Held Friday Evening through Sunday, November 7,8,9,
1997.
The Marriott East Side Hotel
Lexington Avenue and E. 49th Street
New York City
"Exciting," "Stimulating," "Disappointing," "Rewarding," "Engaging,"
"Frustrating," "Infuriating," "Warm," "Friendly," were some of the
comments following the ground breaking conference, Issues
of Theory: Field, Contact, Self, Evaluation, Group Therapy Theory,
held in the large attractive ballroom at the Marriot East Side Hotel.
 Beginning
with Friday night, after Richard Kitzler's warm and informative
welcome and orientation, Lee Zevy, who was the conference emcee
and timekeeper, immediately directed the group-as-a-whole to reform
into their ongoing process groups where they would engage and support
and be engaged and supported by the same people throughout the conference.
In keeping with Gestalt therapy theory, the process groups were
meant to provide a ground for the conference experience.
The
first exciting presentation, Carl Hodges on Field and Lee
Zevy on Contacting, moved us immediately into the theory,
followed by the first long meeting of the process groups for introductions
and discussion. Afterward, the participants within their groups
reconfigured to continue the discussion in the group-as-a-whole.
Friday night ended with a cocktail party which became a continuation
of the large group.
Saturday
began with a slightly different note. Some of the groups had forceful
and important members, around whose personality and issues the groups
had coalesced on Friday night, who did not come back on Saturday.
These groups had to work through their disappointment and resentment
in order to regroup so that they could proceed with the work. Breakfast
within the process group allowed for some of this reconciliation
to take place so that Dan Bloom's presentation of Self, Structuring/Functioning
and Ken Meyer's on Self and Egotism provided for exciting
discussion afterward within the process groups. This continuity
of the process groups allowed participants to work toward an integration
of their experience of self, the group, and the whole conference
within the context of hearing and reading the presentations ( the
papers were included in the registration folders) .
Before
Saturday morning ended Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb and Giovanni Salonia
of the Instituto di Gestalt Venezia, Sicilia e Roma presented their
work on Diagnosis and Evaluation. This was a critical, very
interesting and what proved to be difficult part of the conference
for a number of reasons. Although Margherita's English is quite
proficient, Giovanni's was not, and the translator was unfamiliar
with Gestalt therapy theory language so that Giovanni's work was
very difficult to understand. Finally Margherita took over the translation,
and understanding became easier; however, the material we had been
given by them did not conform to their presentations, so that they
had to become creative and used a slide and handout (copied on the
spot) of the diagram of their theory to aid in presenting their
material.
Basically,
the flyer indicated that they had devised a child development map
according to gestalt therapy, which indicated certain stages of
development where interruptions of contact occur. Because this was
entirely new material presented in a foreign language, we all struggled
to understand what they were presenting.
At
lunch on Saturday the process group leaders and conference organizers
as well as Margherita and Giovanni met to check in, support and
confer on the way the conference was proceeding. This gave much
needed help and guidance to process group leaders who gave a brief
synopsis of the way their groups were proceeding and this meeting
was an important segue into the afternoon's work.
Margherita
began the afternoon with a group demonstration of Diagnosis and
Evaluation, which centered around her work with Borderline Personality
Disorder. She and Giovanni seem to work with severely disturbed
individuals, and it is this population they are using for their
child development map. It was never made clear if they work privately
at all or if this is work done in hospitals, and because their institute
is attached to a University degree, the requirements for completion
of training are totally different from the N.Y. Institute.
As
a result of this dense and confusing material, the New York Institute
response presented by Joe Lay and Ruth Wolfert began with presentations
and ended in an exciting and heated dialogue between Margherita
and Giovanni and the entire conference. Giovanni kept making the
point that he was trying to fit 3 years of training into one discussion
and it was bound to be confusing. This dialogue was followed by
excitement, confusion and struggle within the process groups, whose
members tried to make sense of the exchange and integrate this new
information. What helped some of the groups is that Margherita and
Giovanni were participants who could struggle with them toward understanding.
By
the time the process groups reconfigured into the group-as-a-whole,
a blending had occurred so that some of the boundaries between individual,
group and conference were indistinct, and for most of the participants
a sense of warmth and camaraderie born of shared struggle prevailed.
A
dinner dance Saturday night in honor of the 45 anniversary of the
New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Richard Kitzler's 70th
birthday continued to promote a feeling of connection as the wine,
food, phenomenal band and testimonials brought laughter and tears
to the group.
On
Sunday breakfast, the process groups gradually took form. As is
expected in any conference, for some the bonding was strong and
the groups remained intact and other groups seemed to have a loose
collection of participants and one member decided to leave her group
altogether and find another. First Carl Hodges and then Richard
Kitzler discussed and organized Group therapy experiments to demonstrate
their differing views on Group therapy theory. It was a lot to take
in, to try to compare the Group demonstrations of Margherita, Carl
and Richard from an experiential and theoretical perspective but
the process groups came together once again to continue the work.
When
it was time to come together for the final group-as-a-whole meeting
and summation, some of the groups did not want to refocus and leave
the successful work of their groups. When we finally all came together
and the microphone was passed around, participants had a difficult
time summarizing their conference experience in the final sharing
because their was so much to process. All felt that the work needed
to continue. Thanks were extended to those who had given so much
to make this a reality: Burt Lazarin,
conference organizer and his team of helpers were warmly thanked.
Margherita
and Giovanni were congratulated over and over for their mighty efforts
in a difficult climate. Process group leaders were given a rousing
applause for their work not only at the conference but for the hours
of preparation spent within the facilitators group as were the presenters
and emcee.
The
consensus was that the greatest difficulty all participants had
was to find the means for integrating experience with theory, feeling
and thought and that the search for understanding the material of
the conference would continue for a very long time. It was felt
by all that this was a momentous event which has moved Gestalt therapy
into an international realm and that will provide new dimensions
in the future.
In
closing, Giovanni and Margherita invited everyone to come to Santa
Flavia (Palermo, Italy) October 1-4 1998 for the 6th European Conference
of Gestalt Therapy for their conference Gestalt Therapy: Hermeneutic
and Clinical. Information can be obtained by writing Dr. Margherita
Spagnuolo Lobb at:
The Istituto di Gestalt-H.C.C.
Via Alaimo da Lentini
2-96100 Siracusa, ITALIA
or calling (0931) 35207- Fax (O931)442734
or E-mail: gestalt@ibmsnet.it
http://www.madeinsicily.it/GestaltTherapy.htm.
Information
can also be obtained by coming to New York
Institute meetings, where we continue to explore our own theoretical
beliefs so that we can bring them to the larger community.
For further information call (212) 864-8277
You can also contact Susan
Gregory by email
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