We are committed to supporting students in our Gestalt Therapy Australia (GTA) education program to inquire into, and develop, their personal abilities alongside their theoretical and practice competencies.

A therapist is afforded great trust by their clients through virtue of their professional standing and by the nature of the work itself.  Our students are afforded a similar position of trust within the learning environment with their peers, and especially when they come to practice as a student intern.  Therefore, a student must always be accountable for the position of power that comes with a presumption of integrity.

 

We believe that integrity is not simply a private matter, but that it is tested relationally. Good intentions are not enough; we must also consider the experience and perceptions of others.  

Student disclosure

If there is any matter that might impede your capacity to enter fully into the training program, or subsequently take up a professional role, we expect you to declare this as part of the application process or as circumstances arise. This could include, but is not exclusive of, anything related to criminal charges, mental health conditions, and addictions. If you are in any doubt, please speak with the Director of Training.  We view any such disclosure as an act of integrity.

 

In this situation, we would work to understand the ways (if any) the matter hinders your participation, or we would work to mitigate any concerns. In most cases, the issue disclosed would not warrant exclusion from the program. In all cases, sensitivity and discretion would be guaranteed from our faculty and staff. 

 

Questions we would explore with you during this process include the following:

• How do you make sense of (and integrate) this?
  
• What support have you sought in the past and how do you currently manage this? 
• Do you understand any potential risk to you, your clients, students, teaching staff or the Gestalt Centre? 
• Do you understand how this might impact on you being a student, an intern, and a future therapist? 
  

We ask you to declare relevant information as part of your enrolment process. As a third- and fourth-year student, you will be seeing clients and will need to provide a current Working with Children Check (WWC) and a National Police Check. These should be dated less than 12 months. This requirement brings us in line with other organisations in the sector. Please note that this is not only relevant to your work with children but is also relevant in acknowledging the potential vulnerability (including historic abuse or trauma) of any client.  

 

We expect you to manage this dimension of your professional development across the four years of your training and beyond. As a student and as a practitioner, you have a responsibility to monitor and maintain your fitness to practice. If your effectiveness becomes impaired for any reason, even if only temporarily, please seek advice from your supervisor or a faculty member as soon as possible.

 

Our GTA faculty has a duty of care and responsibility to progress or graduate practitioners. In line with this, we reserve the right to raise issues that may impact your capacity to practice safely.