Meet Our Team

  Having worked for several decades as a Science/Maths teacher, Ann qualified as an SPHE facilitator. Her interest in personal development grew as she continued with further training in a number of parenting programmes, including the Family Communications and Self-Esteem programme and the Parents Plus Programme. She has extensive experience in delivering both programmes to groups of parents in their community setting. She took on the role of Home School Liaison Coordinator where she was instrumental in developing community building initiatives in her school. Ann trained as a Gestalt Psychotherapist with GII and has qualified with a Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy. She has a busy private practice, does contract work for Tusla and also works at the Ford Counselling and Psychotherapy Service in Wexford. Ann was invited to join the training team in May 2021.

Billy is a psychotherapist, supervisor, OD practitioner, and dialogical educator.  His practice includes working one to one, with couples and with groups.  He is a committed embodied practitioner-researcher with a particular interest in expressive form and early developmental movement.  Billy is guest faculty at different Gestalt training institutes and a certified trainer of Ruella Frank’s Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy. He regularly presents at conferences and has published several peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters on subjects such as; group work, experiential ways of knowing, sustainability, spirituality, homophobia and working with gay men.  He has co-authored a book, Introduction to Gestalt (Sage, 2013). He is a board member of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy (AAGT) and is on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Gestalt Review.  As a committed social change activist he is currently setting up a charity Bronntanas for LGBTQIA people in non-urban communities. Billy teaches across all modules of the MA/Postgraduate Diploma and leads the Gestalt Approaches to Psychotherapy programme.

Ursula is an IAHIP accredited Gestalt Psychotherapist and an accredited counsellor with Rape Crisis Network Ireland.  She is experienced in working with survivors of sexual violence, as well as their family members and supporters.  Ursula is passionate about group work and experienced in delivering workshops on different topics such as personal development and resilience.  Ursula brings to her work her experiences of working in the Pharmaceutical Industry along with her skills as a Life Coach. Ursula is currently working as the outreach counsellor for the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan.  She also has a private practice in Sligo working with both individuals and couples. Ursula is part of the team which delivers Gestalt Institute personal development programmes.

Julien is a Gestalt psychotherapist, a graduate of The Irish Gestalt Centre and is accredited with IAHIP.  Julien has worked in the therapeutic field for 20 years, exploring and working through the lens of a holistic approach.  He is passionate about the energetics of a body/mind/environment system. As well as practising Gestalt, he has an established Shiatsu Therapy practice in Galway since 2001.  Prior to becoming a therapist Julien was a professional dancer in London and other modalities he practices include Remedial Pilates. Julien works on a one to one basis, facilitates groups for personal development and trains therapists in Shiatsu for Shiatsu College Dublin.  He works with trauma, sexual abuse, social phobia, anxiety, depression, addictions, LGBT issues, and relationships dynamics. Julien is part of the team which delivers Gestalt Institute personal development programmes.

Dan graduated from N.U.I., Maynooth College, with a degree in Sociology and History in 1974.  He taught in Milford, Co. Donegal from 1976 to 2009 and was involved in the development and implementation of Life Skills programmes.  This work sparked an interest in personal development and he attended a number of workshops in the Irish Gestalt Centre in the late 1980’s which eventually led to participation in the training programme from 1989 to 1993.  He continued to work in education and from 2000 to 2009 he worked as a Home/School/ Community Liaison Coordinator while developing his own private practice. He is an accredited psychotherapist and supervisor who works full time in private practice alongside his role in the Gestalt Institute.  Dan is the training co-ordinator for Modules 1-3 of the Masters/Postgraduate Diploma Programme.

Karina is a psychologist, psychotherapist and supervisor with a particular interest in embodied relational approaches to facilitating healing.  She initially trained as a psychologist in her native Poland and has busy practices in London and Oxford.  Karina has wide experience of working with individuals, couples and groups in various public, private and third sector educational settings.  She has an MSc in Gestalt Psychotherapy (Metanoia Institute, London), MA in Psychology (Poland),  Diploma in Integrative Supervision (London) and Certificate in Couples work (Relational Academy, Cambridge).  Karina is a registered member of BACP, HCPC and UKCP.

Tricia is a BACP senior registered practitioner and IAHIP accredited therapist with more than 30 years experience in the field. After initial counsellor training at COMPASS in Liverpool , she trained in Gestalt Therapy with Joan O’Leary and Hank O’Mahony.  Subsequently she gained an MA in Counselling Studies at Keele University and completed an Advanced Psychotherapy and Supervision Training at PHYSIS with Professor Petruska Clarkson. Tricia has acted as an external examiner to university counselling courses and taught on counselling programmes at Masters level.  She has worked as an Accreditation Assessor with BACP and served on the Governing Body of IAHIP. Tricia is the CEO of the Gestalt Institute and is responsible for all its programmes.  Her particular interest and expertise is embodied psychotherapy, sexual and relational issues and applied research.  Tricia has a private practice which includes supervision, consultancy and training. Tricia teaches on all modules of the MA/Postgraduate Diploma and leads the Diploma in Groupwork programme.

Catherine is an experienced therapist who has worked in the field for more than twenty years.  She trained with Accord, first as a couples counsellor and then as a supervisor, and continues to work and supervise in that organisation.  She completed her training in Gestalt Therapy with the Irish Gestalt Centre in 2003.  Other trainings include ‘Working with couples from a Gestalt Relational Perspective’, training in trauma and training as a psychosexual therapist.  Catherine is experienced in working with issues of domestic violence and has a special interest in relationship issues and the impact of addiction on families. She is an accredited IAHIP supervisor and has a private practice seeing individuals and couples. Catherine is responsible for clinical placements and teaches across Modules 1-3 of the MA/Postgraduate Diploma programme.

Andrea gained his initial Social Sciences degree in his native Italy and qualified as a psychotherapist in Ireland where he now lives.  He has a keen interest in social justice and extensive experience in Youth and Community, group work in residential settings and addiction recovery.  His initial psychotherapy training was with IICP College and he then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Relational Gestalt Process with the Dublin Gestalt Centre.  His MA in Gestalt Psychotherapy was completed with the Gestalt Institute of Ireland.  Andrea currently practises as a psychotherapist within the HSE working with adults, couples and adolescents.  He has a particular interest in addictive processes and how trauma impacts and presents in the body.

Jacqui is Administrator and Company Secretary of the Gestalt Institute of Ireland Ltd and IGC Ltd.  She is an experienced business administrator and began working with the organisation in September 2021.  She is a member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. She is the first point of contact and support for all prospective and current students and is happy to answer any queries you may have in relation to the programmes provided by the Gestalt Institute of Ireland. Contact details: 091-452013 Monday –  Thursday 10.00am – 3.00pm E-mail: admin@irishgestaltcentre.com