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Presenters: Susan Gregory, Iona Burnell Reilly, Joëlle Gartner
Description:
Among the many DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) particularities, social class is rarely mentioned, yet it is an essential aspect of who we are in every interaction, including as therapists, and who each client is when they come to therapy seeking relief from their suffering. Class is always in the field yet rarely referred to. In this didactic and experiential workshop, we will bring the experiences of class to the foreground together.
Biographies:
Susan Gregory
Susan Gregory, a senior member of the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy, is in private practice in New York City and New Paltz, NY. She is one of the past presidents of the Institute and has taught at conferences and as guest faculty worldwide. Among her 25 published papers and book chapters is “Encouragement and Perseverance: Lives of Some Working-Class Artists” (Clio’s Psyche, 2011). In addition to practicing Gestalt therapy, Susan teaches singing and the Gindler approach to breath and body work.
www.GestaltSing.org
Iona Burnell Reilly
Iona Burnell Reilly is an academic at the University of East London in the UK. Her lecturing and research focuses on social class inequalities. She is also a Gestalt therapist in private practice in London, registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She has several publications on the topic of social class inequalities in higher education, including “Tales of the unexpected: The lives and experiences of working-class academics” (Higher Education Quarterly, 2024, Vol. 78, Issue 3, 1190–1201).
Joëlle Gartner
A Gestalt practitioner since 1998, and a psychotherapist, trainer, and clinical supervisor in private practice, Joëlle Gartner has a lifelong background as a teacher, trade unionist, and political and community activist. Born and educated in France, she has lived and worked since 1975 in a working-class area of Belfast, then under British military occupation – hence her long experience in working with the legacy of colonization and conflict in her practice. She is also the co-director of the Gestalt Centre Belfast, which delivers high-quality, low-cost Gestalt training to people who work in the helping professions in a low-wage economy and in the middle of a peace process. Joëlle convenes the IAAGT Social Class interest group. Her relevant publications include “Social class and Gestalt therapy: are we blind?” (British Gestalt Journal, 2023, Vol. 32, Issue 1, 21–31).
