The Gestalt Institute of Kentucky, originally founded by Robert (Bob) L. Harman, Ed.D. in Lexington in the late 1970’s, is being re-established by Dr. Elmer Maggard. Elmer is a 1984 certificand of the 300-hour training program Bob offered in the tradition of his trainer, James S. Simkin, Ph.D., of Big Sur, California.
Gestalt therapy is an approach to personal growth and healing through present-centered awareness and an “experimental attitude” in the context of a therapeutic relationship. Clients discover how to observe and trust their feelings, sensations and emotions and to re-own parts of themselves that have been lost or suppressed in other relationships.
The institute offers therapy workshops, dream workshops, and introductory Gestalt training for therapists, coaches, educators and clergy. It also provides a forum for salons, (the old meaning of that term), to discuss psychological, social and cultural issues from a Gestalt perspective.
A new website, gestaltinstituteofkentucky.com, will be partially up by about April 15th. A schedule for workshops and salons for the summer and fall of 2026 will be available on that site.
Southfork Counseling 