The rumour was that the theme of our one-day conference in Bristol would be around neurodiversity, neurodivergence, communication, Gestalt and creativity. What a mouthful.

It has now been advertised as “Neurodiversity and Gestalt – Creative Relating”. I need to decode this title.

At our last OC Meeting in March this year my heart sang when my colleagues in the committee spoke of how they had found what they were looking for from being a member of UKAGP – Community - through being able to engage with other members in different ways.  I have been involved with UKAGP from its early days, as a student, full member and on the Committee. 

Will you marvel at the mountain of money you made......

Or will you take comfort from your countless acts of kindness and compassion.

They ask me what I feel.
They ask again. 

They ask me what I feel.
They ask again. 

They wait for an answer in straight lines.

Numbers?

Those are for people who trust clocks.

I’ve spent years arguing with time,

and losing on purpose.

I count in feelings.

I do maths like I’m telling a story—

and yes, sometimes the story ends in cake.

Not everyone walks the wilds.
Those byways and highways,
liminal,
faint,
their enticing strange music,
calling from the distant hills.

I would like to submit a reflection and offering on the theme of Neurodiversity and Creative Relating, based on my recent workshop, "Working with Fear and Anxiety through the Lens of Neurodiversity", which took place on Saturday 12th April 2025 at London Bridge.

2024 - 2025 was the sixth winter of my exploratory women’s wintering group. I use my experience as a therapist but this isn’t a therapy group. Most of the participants have had therapy in their lives and many are trained as therapists or healers in a variety or disciplines. The concept is that the therapist is not me, but is the natural world; the archetypal sub-personality of the Wise Woman; and the participant herself and her journalling.

I am retiring from practising as a gestalt psychotherapist this year and have been wondering how to say goodbye to some long-standing fellow travellers in the UKAGP community. It occurs to me that writing something in the newsletter might be a good way to achieve this.

Matt James has been in private practice since 2019, following a background in social care and education. In 2021, he co-founded The Listening Collective—a group of Gestalt-informed coaches supporting personal and cultural change in organisations, through relational practice. For the past two years, he has also worked as a therapist with people on probation in Scarborough, Hull, and Bradford, as part of a Ministry of Justice initiative.

Engineers House falls just outside of Bristol`s Clean Air Charge Zone, Engineers House is easy to reach from temple Meads Train Station (approximately a 12 minute taxi ride), Bristol City Circular Bus Service, and has excellent links to the M5 and M4 avoiding Bristol City Centre