The Ground of DSP - Online Seminar 2021

I'm offering a seminar about the theory and practice of gestalt therapy, specifically for DSP trainees and DSP-trained therapists. DSP is Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy, a movement-based therapeutic method created by Ruella Frank that adds a finer perception of kinesthesia and relational movement to gestalt therapy.

This seminar is addressed to therapists who are familiar –or are getting familiar, with DSP, and who would like to widen their knowledge of the theoretical bases of gestalt therapy on which DSP deeply relies.

Topics

These are some of the concepts I would like to discuss in our meetings:

• Shame and dignity as a motivation for developing a relational view of therapy.
• The concept of support in gestalt therapy: "that which enables"
• Cultivating uncertainty: a necessary skill for gestalt therapists
• The theory of field and its implications in psychotherapy
• Extrinsic vs. intrinsic diagnosis
• Inclusive vs. exclusive aggression
• The self as a structure: personality, id, ego functions
• The self as a process: the sequence of contacting
• The modalities of contacting: confluence, introjection, retroflection, projection, egotism

This syllabus is pretty ambitious! Probably too much. I will be open to modifying it according to the group's actual needs. Examples, cases, and supervision will be welcome. When possible, we will connect all these concepts to the model of body movement provided by DSP. One of my main interests is to connect theory with practice and practice with theory. The theory is not useful unless... it is useful!

Methodology

A 90-minute seminar will be held once a month. There will be a total of 8 seminars. Each seminar will be held by videoconference using Zoom.

Between seminars, readings on specific topics will be proposed and a private discussion forum will be available through a private web platform in order to help with the study of the proposed material.

The video conference sessions will be recorded on video and will be available to participants privately to review the sessions, or catch up if you are unable to attend any of the sessions.

Schedule and cost

• Jan 7,
• Jan 28,
• Feb 18,
• Mar 25,
• Apr 14,
• May 6,
• May 27,
• Jun 17

• 3:30 pm Central European Time, which corresponds to 
• 9:30 am in New York City, 
• 8:30 am in Austin, Texas, or
• 2.30pm in London, UK.

This may change in some of the sessions because the change to daylight saving time is not done on the same day in all countries. The fixed reference for the seminar will be 3:30pm CET.

About David Picó

• Gestalt therapist trained in the Institut Français de Gestalt-thérapie with Jean-Marie Robine and Ximo Tàrrega.
• Trainer at Centre Gestalt, in Valencia, Spain.
• Accredited psychoterapist in private practice at Centre Terapiados in Valencia, Spain. https://terapiados.net/
• Trained in Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy (DSP) by Ruella Frank. Currenly under the teacher training program.
• PhD in Computer Science in the area of Natural Language Processing.
• Associate professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia with 20 years of teaching and research experience.
• Full member of the Spanish Association for Gestalt Therapy (AETG). Member of the international committee and the research committee of AETG.
• Full member of the European Association for Gestalt Therapy (EAGT).
• Associate member of the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy (NYIGT). Member of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy (AAGT)
• Co-founder and team member of gestaltnet.net, the most important open online resource on Gestalt therapy in Spanish language.
• Classically-trained pianist and singer. Specialized in therapy of the voice and artistic expression.