Research Committee
Introduction
"Although there are still a lot of articles to review and to include, it is already working and accessible though this link: https://gestaltresearch.org/ and it is free."
Considering the need of research in psychotherapy and in Gestalt-Therapy, the EAGT decided to set up a Research Committee in order to support the development of research in the European Gestalt community.
The EAGT Research Committee (RC) was founded in 2008 from the initiative of Peter Schulthess, who became the first chair of the committee then Gianni Francesetti, Jan Roubal and now Vincent Beja became the next chairs. You can see below our current members.
Scientific board
As the research trend is growing now, the new RC has decided to add a new informal body: the Scientific Board (SB). This body will be a support for the RC and a pool of expertise to achieve any task relating to research while the RC will remain the political body in which the main and strategic directions will be discussed and decided.
Our aims
The sensitization phase for which the RC was set up at the time has been achieved. Now we are building the tools for the second phase which can be sketch this way:
- supporting the introducing of research in our GT training institutes
- supporting the increasing of research in GT, both qualitative and quantitative through networking and collaborating in launching projects and publishing
- strengthening our links with the academic world
In order to:
- strengthen our understanding of our Gestalt practice and support qualitative professional competencies
- support GT to become more figural in the psychotherapy research field
- and thus, help GT to become a valid, recognized and well-established modality for the respective governments and administrations of our countries.
Concrete oncoming tasks and events
- International Research Conferences. The next one will be in Hamburg in September 24-27, 2021. In coordination with our German colleagues and with the AAGT we are waiting for 300 people attending this conference, from all over the world. At the same time, it seems that the need to give some structure to the Gestalt International Research community is growing. Thus, the Hamburg conference will be a good meeting place to start organising it. The RC will, of course, have an important role in facilitating the process.
- The Gestalt Research Database for which there is a lot of work to do, mainly about the selection of the research articles which could be included in it. Through this database we want to offer to any people outside our modality (and obviously policy makers) a view on what we have been doing so far in the research area and also to give our own practitioners and researchers a tool for finding the research gestalt literature they need for their own sake. There is also a challenge about the design: we are already thinking to give our community a wider platform where to find some solid and valuable tools for research practice and networking. At the moment we are busy with filling in the database. Although there are still a lot of articles to review and to include, it is already working and accessible though this link: https://gestaltresearch.org/ and it is free. We expect that it will also go the other way around, that is to say that Gestalt researchers will send us a link to their publication for us to be able to include their work in the database and thus to make it increasingly precious.
- Single Case Time Series Studies: this methodology has been recognised some years ago by the APA (American Psychology Association) as being as effective as Random Controlled Trials in order to assert for the validity of a treatment. Such a methodology which is both quantitative and qualitative has been long discussed in our global GT community. There is now a kind of a consensus to say it is conciliant with GT or - at least - compatible. And it is a good lever to get the recognition we so dramatically need in many of our countries and it is also a very good tool to make fine research on change processes. So, the RC is planning to organise something specific to introduce this methodology and practical guidelines in the forthcoming two years for any institute or people belonging to our EAGT community. This could be done through a dedicated seminar and/or pre-conference workshop(s) in Hamburg.
- Networking: This is a point which, I think, is crucial for the future of our modality. We have to build a strong research network within EAGT. One simple aspect of this task is to maintain a list on which all the people interested in research can be. This list will be public and open. You can be part of it in giving your name through an email at this address (Research Committee ResearchCommittee@eagt.org ). But it is also important to create the conditions for an effective sense of collective support. This will be achieved partly through working together with the PC&QS committee and with the TS committee on the research standards and the research competencies. And also, partly through joint research projects in our community. This is also deeply linked with the next point.
- Research seminars for supporting the TIs in their introducing of research in their trainings: The RC has already done a good job through the setting up of research seminars and conferences (Roma in 2014, Paris 2017). That was primarily aimed at raising awareness among our people for research. It was not fully dedicated to Training Institutes. Now we want to give a greater impulse to this movement and a more practical turn. So, we are offering, with the help of our Scientific Board, to support the organising of introductory seminars for research in the trainings where it is needed. These will be the place where ways to introduce research in the trainings, simple research methodologies and examples of such introduction are presented. So, please, just tell us (Research Committee ResearchCommittee@eagt.org ). The Warsaw seminar which will be held the 27-28-29 of March 2020 (https://conference.eagt.org/conference/) with the full support of the polish NOGT, will be the first one of them. And of course, you are all invited to come and participate.
RC members:
Rosanna Biasi (Chair)
Florence Belasco
Christine Stevens
Dimitri Nadirashvili
Margherita Spanuolo Lobb
Jevgenyij Kolesznyikov
Scientific Board members:
Peter Schulthess
Gianni Francesetti
Ivana Vidakovic
Jelena Zeleskov Djoric
Michele Cannavo
Michele Settani
Jaroslaw Wasielewski
Maja Simonovska
Tijana Micovic
Jan Roubal
Vikram Kolmannskog
Vincent Beja
Rezeda Popova