EAGT Membership Officer Report
Dear UKAGP members,
I have recently joined the UKAGP organising committee as an EAGT Membership Officer and will be the main UKAGP contact person for matters relating to EAGT.
Some of you might recall that in October 2018, an agreement was reached to simplify the process for UKAGP members joining EAGT and enabling them to practice on the mainland. Since then, UKAGP has offered UK-based Gestalt practitioners and trainees a streamlined, cost-effective route to European accreditation, enhancing professional mobility post-Brexit. For a small additional fee paid annually, the Joint UKAGP-EAGT membership offers access to EAGT resources, like their Newsletter, networking with European colleagues, and a more active part in EAGT activities, including participation in their conferences at the reduced fee.
Becoming one of the first UKAGP-EAGT Joint Members in 2019 felt for me like a great achievement as it enabled me to continue working with the clients and supervisees, who live outside of the UK in various European countries. Since then, again as one of the first UKAGP members, I went through the 5-year reaccreditation process and gained EAGT accreditation as a supervisor. The procedure was more complicated than I envisaged, especially that only a few members choose to do it, and I definitely could not have done it without the perseverance, time and support received from Liz Beauchamp, who dealt with membership issues in her role as Finance Officer. This is when it dawned on us that creating a new post dedicated to EAGT matters would be a better option, especially since interest in joining EAGT has grown recently. So here I am now to support anyone who wishes to benefit from this scheme.
Last Saturday, the 7th March 2026, I had a pleasure to attend EAGT GMM for the first time in my role as an EAGT Membership Officer, and I must say that it was a real joy. I was most impressed by how the event went and chose to describe it to you, especially since this was truly a radically different experience from that of a few years ago. EAGT has been undergoing a major change over the past few years, transforming from a rather bureaucratic, top-down organisation to a more democratic body whose shape and role are developed by members for members. I was astounded by how much the organisation's operations and meeting structure have changed over such a short period. The meeting was well-paced, allowing all participants time to share their ideas. EAGT current president Michal Lewandowski has a way of making everyone welcome and presided over the meeting with genuine confidence and compassionate firmness. The technical glitches, which are inevitable when an event of this size (2,000 people expected) takes place online, were addressed as they arose. The cooperation between the president who chaired the meeting and Olaf Zielke, the EAGT treasurer acting as technical support, was admirable. This was matched only by my experience in UKAGP, when consecutive chairs were supported by our Liz, also a treasurer.
The actual overall attendance on the day was approximately 70 to 80 people (out of 2,000 invited members). The morning part of the meeting followed a clear agenda for the business meeting, with all documents emailed in advance and available for viewing. Issues discussed included amendments to the EAGT Code of Conduct, gestalt psychotherapy training requirements, Financial Auditors election, inclusion of NOGT representatives in the General Board structure and issues brought up by the Ethics Committee. I found the Ethics Committee proposal particularly interesting: including practical guidance in the statute on how to end the conflict resolution process when all hope for dialogue has faded. There was enough time for brief discussions and clarifications and we were able to vote on all planned issues. There was no rush to vote, in fact, due to some technical issues, the agenda order changed so that the assigned people could be present. Not an easy task, especially when attendees were from many varied countries some in the middle of war, like the Ukraine and Israel. The two-hour business part of the meeting in the morning went exceptionally well.
The afternoon session was on Zoom. The organisers had a great idea to change the internetplatform because the prior one even while enabling a smooth voting process, did not wellsupport open conversation and visibility for all attendees. This session was an opportunity forparticipants to discuss whether EAGT should issue statements regarding political and socialworld events. This was a particularly important issue to debate, because it affects all organisations at some point in our complex world situation, when professional organisations are often expected to give public statements and comment on the political or social news.
The dilemma arose from the Gaza statement issued last year by the EAGT Human Rights and Social Responsibility Committee. The General Board refused to adopt it as a public statement for the entire organisation, which subsequently met with severe criticism from some members and groups representing different countries and ways of thinking. The meeting organised attendees into small groups of 5-7 people who discussed the issue for approximately one hour. Afterward, everyone returned to the large group and shared their responses. It was a treat to be part of a truly successful working meeting where most people expressed their different views and perspectives.
There was no rush to make any conclusions that would be premature, but rather an occasion to commence a lively dialogue on this important, highly contentious and polarising subject. The complex field we inhabit inevitably affects us, often leaving us logically helpless when common solutions to arising problems aren't easily found. More often, these situations lead to polarized opinions and further conflicts. People are hurt and things become even more difficult. The organisations we constructed to support us become dangerous places or are destroyed. The challenge then is how to maintain personal connections within such a large organisation, given the many varied, often opposing viewpoints and the reduced possibility of meeting in person. Our discussion clearly illustrated that EAGT is seen as a space for reconciling all our differences—a space that ought to be nurtured and made safe. The safe and constructive, and contact-full meeting between individuals supports the organisation's growth into a healthy entity that promotes peace and offers shelter to those affected by war and crisis.
I am interested to hear your views on my first report as the EAGT Membership Officer. Please email me at the address below and I will attempt to respond to everyone as soon as possible.
With warm regards
Piotr Mierkowski
The UKAGP-EAGT Membership Officer
