Bio
Charlie Bowman, M.S., LCSW, LMFT, LCAC is an accomplished psychotherapist, writer, educator, and business consultant with extensive mental health, substance abuse and human resources experience. He has provided clinical services and supervision, corporate education and training and business consulting for 35 years. He is a loyal practitioner and trainer of gestalt therapy with over 30 years training experience. He also has completed 11 consecutive years of training in Integrative Psychotherapy, 150 hours of psychodrama training and more than 200 training development hours in human resources management development.
Charlie has a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor (LCAC). He began his career as a mental health and substance abuse counselor while also teaching at Indiana University and serving on the Purdue University School of Science Curriculum Advisory Board. He retired from Verizon Communications as Acting Director – WorkLife Services after a 21-year career with progressive responsibilities including Employee Assistance Programs, Work and Family Services, and Fitness and Health Management. The Employee Assistance Program developed by Charlie and his team during his tenure at Verizon won numerous quality and innovative practice awards and received honors from the State of New York for their assistance after the 9/11 tragedy.
He maintained a small gestalt therapy practice during his time at Verizon and was a very active student and teacher of gestalt therapy. Today he enjoys his psychotherapy practice in Indianapolis as well as training and consulting in gestalt therapy in the United States and abroad. Charlie has made multiple contributions to professional, business and lay publications on such topics such as psychotherapy history, theory and practice, business consulting and HR management, trauma, and addictions counseling. He has presented to businesses, universities and gestalt institutes worldwide.
He was the third President of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy and has served in practically every capacity on the AAGT Board and Executive Committee. He is currently President and a Senior Faculty member at the Indianapolis Gestalt Institute. He has been a guest trainer, lecturer or presenter at many gestalt centers, including the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy, the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles and the Illawara Gestalt Centre. He has over 30 gestalt therapy related publications and is a past Editor of the online journal Gestalt! and past Editor for the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy’s Newsletter.
Current interests include writing a book on the fundamental principles of gestalt therapy theory and co-editing a volume centering around an unpublished manuscript of Fritz Perls’ work. He is also expanding his group and supervision practice to include innovative technological possibilities.
Charlie lives with his wife, chief collaborator and gestalt trainer, Ann Bowman, on a small farm in a quiet town in mid-America where he enjoys time with his five children, eight grandchildren, Rudy the dog and 15 chickens.