Key details
Date | Thursday 5 November, 2026
Time | 6.00pm - 8:00pm
Where | Online
Cost | $45 VAGP members. $55 non-members
Facilitator | Alee Lee
About this event
Gestalt therapy has long recognised the unique potential of groups as places of healing, awareness and growth. Yet group work also brings complexity. Experiences of shame, difference and vulnerability can threaten relational contact, particularly for people who have survived domestic and sexual violence.
Drawing on more than 30 years of clinical practice, this workshop explores how gestalt principles can support embodied dialogue, dignity and respect within groups. Through reflections from the facilitator's work with survivors of domestic and sexual violence, alongside experience leading improvisational play-based groups and training clinicians, participants will consider how safety, awareness and creativity can be fostered in both group and individual practice.
Together we'll explore what enables people to remain in relationship with themselves and others, even when shame, fear or difference arise, and how practitioners can create conditions that support curiosity, risk, play and meaningful contact.
What will you gain from this workshop?
Participants will:
- Explore how gestalt principles can inform therapeutic group work.
- Deepen their understanding of shame, safety and relational contact in groups.
- Consider ways to support embodied dialogue with dignity and respect.
- Reflect on how creativity, curiosity and play can foster healing and growth.
- Apply insights from group work to both group and individual clinical practice.
About your facilitator
Alison (Alee) Lee - HeartWork (she/her/they)
Psychotherapist, Supervisor, Group Facilitator and Trainer
Alee has worked with survivors of domestic and sexual violence for more than 30 years, providing therapy, supervision and training for clinicians working in this field. Gestalt therapy has been the foundation of her practice throughout this time, informing an integrative approach that weaves together creativity, embodiment and relational awareness.
She currently co-facilitates training in therapeutic group work for survivors of sexual violence and has extensive experience leading improvisational play-based groups. She is also a qualified yoga teacher, InterPlay leader and holds a degree in Fine Art.
Identifying as a queer, neurodivergent grandmother with English, Scottish and Irish heritage, she lives and works on the unceded lands of the Kabi Kabi people on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Her ongoing practice includes movement, art, play, meditation and participation in international gestalt supervision and writing groups.
You can learn more about Alee at heartworklife.com.au.
About the Gestalt Centre
The Gestalt Centre is the heart of Melbourne’s Gestalt community. We offer a four-year psychotherapy training program through Gestalt Therapy Australia, staying true to the experiential roots of Gestalt while embracing cutting-edge developments in contemporary Gestalt thinking and practice worldwide.
We also operate ConnectGround, a community-based counselling and psychotherapy clinic. ConnectGround serves as both a training facility for psychotherapists and a provider of low-cost individual and group therapy for clients. The clinic emphasises the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist as a key support for building awareness and adaptability. Psychotherapy interns and volunteers gain valuable hands-on experience, enhancing their skills and professionalism through client work.
Refund policy
Refunds are available up to 7 days before the event.
Please note:
In the unlikely event that this workshop is cancelled or postponed, registration fees will be fully refunded. Please note that the organisers are not responsible for any travel, accommodation, or other costs incurred by participants.
