RELATIONAL INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Ashleigh Power: CO-Founder & CEO. (Master GT, Grad Dip Gestalt, Cert Holistic Counselling, Adv Cert Community Welfare) is a Gestalt therapist and Educator with 30 years experience working with individuals, couples and families, groups and organizations.
Ashleigh has substantial clinical experience working with people affected by addictions and mental health presentations. Her previous appointments include a variety of positions in the public and private psychiatric sector and various community based projects including Clinical Manger of South Pacific Private , Coordinator of Therapy programs at Evesham Psychiatric Clinic and Project Manager Lifeline Sydney Personal Counseling Program.
She had held educator positions in both private & university education sectors in the areas of counselling, social work and allied health.
Ashleigh has completed further studies in Somatic therapy and Trauma resolution. She is also an accredited Eco-Therapist and psychedelic integration therapist.
She is available for individual & group sessions and is a PACFA accredited supervisor
Declan Brady is a qualified Gestalt therapist. He also works in the corporate sector in the area of Leadership Development and
Declan has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 25 years. He was previously a qualified senior trainer with the Potential Project who offer Corporate Based Mindfulness Training to organisations looking to enhance performance and well-being in the work setting.
Forrest James: CO-FOUNDER is a Gestalt therapist, supervisor, educator and organizational consultant. He has twenty years experience as a helping professional in the fields of trauma, relationship and family issues, men's issues, alcohol and drug dependence, supervision, and management consulting. Forrest has completed extensive studies in Sensorimotor gestalt therapy and various body focused approaches to working with trauma presentations.
He has held teaching positions at the three Australian Universities. He has a particular interest in the intersections of gestalt, relational approaches in gestalt therapy, current advances in neurobiology, and their application in ‘helping relationships'.
Gina O'Neill: FACULTY, holds a Master of Gestalt therapy and has over 10 years working in a private psychiatric clinical settings treating individuals with various addictions, mood disorders, eating disorders and other trauma-related conditions and 3 years lecturing in higher education. Gina has worked in primary health care as a group therapist, eating disorder program co-ordinator, aftercare co-ordinator and clinical management roles.
She has also held the position of President of CAPA (NSW) for 2 years where she represented the gestalt therapy and counselling profession towards governance and industry recognition.
She is known for her work with childhood trauma and it's link with adult mental health issues. Gina currently has a private practice, is a higher education educator, and holds consultant clinical supervision and advisory roles both within the NGO and government sectors. Gina is both a registered Gestalt therapist and supervisor with PACFA and CAPA NSW.
As Gina is part NZ Maori her from a multicultural perspective, her interest and increasing areas of speciality is groupwork, cross-cultural and trauma therapy. Gina has a keen interest in the creative arts and plays the piano and designs and makes clothes/objects to satisfy this passion.
Gregory Poll graduated from Gestalt Therapy Sydney in 2016, holds a Master of Gestalt therapy & a Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Resource Therapy. He has experience working in private psychiatric clinical settings treating individuals with various addictions, mood disorders and other trauma - related conditions. Currently, Gregory works as a group therapist running weekly programs for people experiencing childhood trauma related issues.
Gregory also has private practice in Surry Hills seeing individuals and couples who suffer from addictions, anxiety, depression and many relationship difficulties.
Gregory is available to work with individuals, groups and he is a clinical member of PACFA.
is a Counselling Psychologist with specialist endorsement through AHPRA. He initially worked in psychiatric settings between 1998 and 2008, across a number of clinical populations including drug and alcohol; general psychiatric; trauma and personality disorders.
In 2017, John also completed a Research Masters at Macquarie University in epistemic trust and social learning for trainees of psychotherapy. Between 2002 and the present, John has presented training to clinicians through Think Education, AABCAP, CASPC, Karitane, PDP, PESI, Lifeline, Mandala and other health services. He has a Cert IV in Training and Assessment and presents on a number of topics within the field of mental health. John is the core trainer and assessor for the Diploma of Counselling.
Kati Britton holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Counselling) and a Post Graduate Diploma of Art & Play Therapy. She is a clinically registered counsellor with PACFA and APPTA. Kati leverages over a decade of diverse therapeutic experience in her practice. From addiction treatment to trauma-focused play therapy.
Kati has been deeply immersed in the field of counselling, initially serving as a counsellor for adults contending with addictions and mental health conditions. Witnessing the profound impact of trauma within this setting, Kati felt compelled to expand her focus to include children, recognising the pivotal role early intervention plays in breaking cycles of harm. Drawing from personal experiences as an adoptive mother, Kati also possesses a unique understanding of trauma and attachment issues, further enhancing her ability to provide compassionate care and specialised support to adoptive families. Beyond her clinical practice, Kati is an accomplished author, with her bestselling book, ‘Navigating Adoption: Desire to Reality.'
Leena is a practising Gestalt Therapist with a passion for working with individuals and groups to explore the complexities of life through a holistic, integrative approach. She supports clients in creative ways that honour both their inner experiences and their connection to the world around them. Leena aims to create a compassionate and collaborative space that builds enough trust and safety for all to navigate relational challenges.
Leena is a current clinical member of PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia) and GANZ (Gestalt Australia New Zealand).
Lucien Demaris, MA is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais¨ Practitioner (GCFP) and a California Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) with a Master's degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine and Chinese Herbology (MTOM) from Emperor's College. He is also a Nationally Certified Bodyworker (NCTMB) trained in Myofascial Release, Craniosacral Therapy and Visceral Manipulation. Lucien has been in private practice in West Los Angeles for the last ten years, he served as Director of Wellness at RakSa, and has been teaching movement classes and workshops in California, Mexico and Ecuador since 2007. Lucien grew up in Ecuador deeply connected to the indigenous communities and the mega biodiversity of the land. Inspired by the indigenous devotion to Pachamama (mother earth), as a young adult he found a calling to be a custodian of the Earth.
He began a three-year apprenticeship that began in the Andean highlands with Yachags (healer-shamans) from the Kichwa people, and ended with an eight-month initiation into the mysteries of Ayahuasca in the Amazonian jungle with Uwishins (healer-shamans) from the Shuar people. Upon his return from the forest, he came to Los Angeles to learn from Carlos Castaneda and his associates their teachings of Tensegrity¨. He was engaged in its practice and outreach for 13+ years and served as an Associate Instructor in 2008. While immersed in its practice, Lucien continued studying other embodied healing and therapeutic modalities, and ultimately became fascinated with the conscious movement practice of Feldenkrais¨. He is also a lead trainer in TRC's Relational Leadership training program.
Mark Fairfield, LCSW, BCD (Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work), is the Executive Director of The Relational Center. He received a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 1995. He was the former Clinical Director of Common Ground - The Westside HIV Community Center in Santa Monica, California. Mark has 20 years' experience in direct practice, program development and administration in community mental health, community organizing and public education. He also consults with other non-profit boards and management teams for strategic planning, leadership development and technical assistance. Mark's work during the AIDS crisis in the 1990s led him to a revelation about the role of interdependency in human health.
He observed how social movements, with their strong emphasis on collaborative action and systems-thinking, keep people engaged in a common goal and embedded in dense networks of trust and reciprocity that actually make them healthy. So he dedicated his career to designing communication and organizing strategies that help people build and maintain interdependency, improving the conditions of communities and the relationships that constitute them. He continues to publish in books and journals on the subject of confronting individualism in social services and teaches/trains mental health providers and community organizers internationally.
Michael Reed PhD, is a registered psychologist, an accredited clinical social worker, an authorised supervisor with the Psychology Board of Australia and the AASW and a Fellow member of Gestalt Australia and New Zealand (GANZ).
Michael has also been certified as a Gestalt therapist by Gestalt Associates Training Los Angeles (GATLA).
Michael has over 40 years clinical experience of working with individuals, couples, families and groups. Michael has been involved in gestalt therapy training for over 25 years as a Director of Training, a Faculty Member and as a Visiting Trainer with a number of accredited and respected training centres/institutes across Australia and New Zealand.
Michael has run training workshops in Hong Kong, the United States, the Middle East and, most recently, in Japan.
Michael has published in psychology, medical, health, counselling and gestalt therapy journals and books. Michael runs a private psychology / gestalt therapy practice in Crows Nest, Sydney. Michael is committed to promoting contemporary gestalt therapy practice, education and training and its relevance to present day psychological, mental, relational and holistic wellbeing.
When not ‘at work', Michael enjoys relaxing with his family, playing with his grandchildren, gardening, trying to learn to strum the ukulele and watching sport.