Register HERE for an intake appointment

 

The Gestalt Student Clinic offers in-depth, caring, low-cost psychotherapy to Ontario residents. A Gestalt relational approach goes beyond traditional “talk therapy”. Many people come to Gestalt therapy when they feel stuck, disconnected, overwhelmed, or unsure of themselves. Others come simply wanting to know themselves more deeply in relationship. Some want something more than superficial “fixes” from a manual. There are infinite reasons to seek out care from the GSC; beginning with a willingness to explore.

 

At the heart of Gestalt therapy is the therapeutic relationship. Your experience unfolds in the presence of another person who is engaged, responsive, and deeply human.

 

If you are curious about a therapy that values your lived experience and invites you into something more than words alone, we welcome you.
“Gestalt therapy supports us to notice that something different happens here and now— not by telling us what to do, but by discovering ourselves in real time, with other human beings.”

 

About Our Student Therapists

Therapy at the GIT Student Clinic is provided by upper-year student therapists as part of the extensive Five-Year Training Program in Gestalt Psychotherapy. These student therapists offer a high standard of care within a supportive and closely supervised training environment.

 

• • • Upper-year student therapists have completed a minimum of three and a half years of intensive training, and many bring additional personal, professional, and life experience to their work.
    • They work relationally and experientially, focusing on the present moment in a warm, engaged, and direct manner.
    • All student therapists receive ongoing clinical supervision, and all client work is reviewed confidentially with a qualified supervisor.

 

Duration, Frequency, and Fees

 

• • • Session length: Therapy sessions are 50 minutes in length, whether offered online across Ontario or in-person across the GTA.
    • Frequency: The frequency of your sessions depends on factors such as personal health, social circumstances, and goals of therapy. That is why it is important to discuss the frequency of your appointments with your student therapist.
    • Typically, clients begin with weekly or biweekly appointments, while actively working on building therapeutic alliance and goals. Monthly sessions are more common at a “maintenance” phase of psychotherapy.
    • Fee: The student clinic rate is $45 per session for individual sessions, and $90 for couples therapy. The fee is honoured for one year. The low-cost fee is intended for those who do not have extended health insurance benefits as the providers are student therapists who are asynchronously supervised by experienced RPs, OTs, and Social Workers.
    • At the one-year point, the therapist-in-training may increase their fee after discussing this with you.
    • If you do not wish to continue with your student therapist, you can contact the clinic to inquire about being matched with a new student therapist at the student clinic rate. This can be discussed openly at any time.

 

Interested in Getting Started? Next Steps

If you are interested in working with a student therapist, please follow these steps:

 

• • • Complete the intake request form below.
    • An intake student will contact you within approximately 10 business days to schedule a free telephone intake interview to assess together whether the Gestalt Student Clinic is a fit for your psychotherapy goals.
    • Please include your availability for this phone call when completing the form.
      The free intake assessment phone interview:
    • Takes approximately 45 – 60 minutes
    • Requires that you are in a quiet, private space where you can speak openly
    • Includes questions about your concerns, goals, and relevant personal history that help us to determine what support you need, and if one of our student therapists would be best suited to work with you.
    • All potential clients are asked to review and agree to the limits of confidentiality, which are discussed as part of the intake and ongoing therapy process.

 

Information from the telephonic intake assessment interview is stored securely by the intake student and, if a match is made, shared with the assigned student therapist as part of your client file.
If you are returning to the Student Clinic and three months or more have passed since your previous intake assessment, a new intake interview is required.

 

Register for the Student Clinic
Click here to submit your intake request
When completing the registration form, please note:

 

• • • Your message is sent directly to the GIT Student Clinic via email.
    • Email is not fully secure; please avoid including sensitive information such as medical or insurance details.
    • Your message will be forwarded to an intake student, who will contact you by email and phone to schedule your intake assessment.
    • By using the form, you consent to your information being sent and stored as described above.

 

If you are experiencing an emergency, please do not use this form. Call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.

 

The GSC Offers In-Person Therapy across the GTA as well as Online Therapy in Ontario

 

Requirements for Online Therapy
If we find you a match and you opt for Online Therapy, please note the following: To participate in online therapy, you will need:

 

• • • A private and quiet space where you feel safe to talk
    • A device with audio and video capability (computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone)
    • A reliable high-speed internet connection
      Online appointments are arranged by email, and you will generally receive a secure session link prior to your appointment.

 

More about Gestalt Therapy

 

At the Gestalt Student Clinic, we invite you to experience the Gestalt approach to growth, healing, co-empowerment, and transformation.
Gestalt therapy is more than traditional “talk therapy.” There is a rich history, and living philosophy that grounds our therapists’ approach.
While talking can be helpful, many people find that lasting change happens when they are supported to experience what it is like to be deeply perceived by a caring, attentive other person (the therapist) and invited to explore relationally in the present moment — in their bodies, emotions, relationships, and choices.
At GSC, therapy is not about being analyzed, fixed, or given advice. Instead, it is a collaborative process of exploring what is already here, with curiosity and care. Together, you and your therapist may notice patterns, experiment with old and new ways of being, and discover possibilities that feel more integrated, intentional, and alive.

 

Gestalt therapy works with the whole person —your thoughts, feelings, body sensations, relationships, and life context — as interconnected parts of one living system. Through gentle, creative, in-the-moment experiments, you are invited to become more aware of how you move through the world, opening up possibility to do this with intention or to choose something different.
Gestalt student therapists aim to work with clients on building awareness of the ingenuity and beauty underlying our intentions, contextualizing and recognizing us so we find our belonging on earth and can breathe and move more freely including our connections and differences.

 

The Meaning of the German Word: Gestalt
The word Gestalt refers to a whole meaningful pattern that is recognized through relationship, while always being made up of smaller and smaller parts and, at the same time, belonging to larger and larger systems. When we gently attend to one part of experience, we create a boundary that allows us to notice and explore it. Yet we do so with the understanding that this part is never separate from the greater, living fields to which we all belong. Each part impacts the whole, and each whole system, impacts the parts. With support, we are able to re-sensitize to impact of every part and recognize every part’s contribution within a system so we can breathe, respond and coordinate.

 

Gestalt therapy honours both what can be known and what remains mystery — holding each moment as something complete in itself, and also part of something much larger.