Gestalt Therapy Brisbane is held by a diverse community of educators, practitioners, leaders, and administrators who share a commitment to Gestalt values and relational learning.
Educators and Tutors
Our educators are experienced Gestalt therapists and supervisors who bring depth, curiosity, and exceptional care to their teaching. They are actively engaged in clinical practice and scholarship, ensuring that learning remains relevant, grounded, and connected to the evolving field of psychotherapy.
Teaching at GTB is dialogical and collaborative. Educators walk alongside students, offering structure, challenge, and support while encouraging personal responsibility and reflective practice.
Throughout the programs, we also welcome local and international guest educators who contribute specialised perspectives and contemporary insights, enriching the learning experience and connecting students with the wider Gestalt community.
Leadership and Administration
Our leadership and administration team support the day to day life of the institute with clarity, responsiveness, and care. Together, they hold the organisational structures that allow learning, teaching, and community life to flourish.
GTB is led by a dedicated leadership team who are committed to sustaining an educational environment that is ethical, transparent, and deeply human.
Karen Semitecolos is a highly accomplished professional with a diverse background spanning finance, supply chain, hospitality, and education. She brings a broad skill set and a steady, solutions-focused approach to her role, supporting the smooth and effective running of the organisation.
Outside of work, Karen enjoys spending quality time with family and friends. She values balance and wellbeing, and her interests include riding, reading, and relaxing at resorts.
Grounded in a deep recognition of the interonnectedness of all life, Sharon is passionate about working towards transformation, equity, and sustainability for all.
Sharon brings a thoughtful, critical, and creative engagement to complex situations and ideas, holding them in their full nuance and depth. Her lived experience as a mother, friend, community member, therapist, supervisor, educator, consultant, and facilitator informs her work with warmth, humility, and wisdom — embracing both the tears and laughter that accompany meaningful learning and change.
She holds a Bachelor degree in Theology and Ministry and Master degrees in Education and Counselling. Sharon’s diverse professional background spans outdoor education, pastoral care, school and tertiary education, and senior management.
Sharon has been part of the Gestalt Therapy Brisbane community since 2010.
I am a French-Australian educator, musician and audio professional with extensive experience in tertiary education. I am passionate about the ways creativity and technical knowledge can support meaningful learning, professional growth and human connection.
My PhD research investigated the pedagogy of critical listening in sound and music, with a particular interest in communicative approaches to teaching. Alongside my academic career, I have maintained a long-standing professional practice in music and audio; industry experience that enables me to bridge scholarship, practice and the realities of professional creative work. I also bring experience in educational management and quality assurance.
I work collaboratively with staff and students to strengthen learning environments, develop clear and practical systems, and support positive institutional and learner outcomes. My approach is grounded in clear communication, thoughtful leadership and a commitment to helping people do their best work.
She/Her
Tine is deeply committed to the Gestalt Therapy Brisbane learning community and holds a strong belief in education as a transformational process—one that can profoundly shapes students’ lives and ripple outward into the wider world. She enjoys engaging with the rich complexities of life and being in meaningful connection with others. Tine is also the mother of three teenagers.
Originally from Germany, Tine migrated to Australia after completing her education in Hamburg and undertaking extensive travel. She completed her Gestalt Therapy training at the Brisbane Gestalt Institute and later earned her Master of Gestalt Therapy at Gestalt Therapy Brisbane.
Tine has a strong professional background in social work. Her experience includes working with women experiencing domestic violence in Arnhem Land, drug and alcohol counselling, supporting women and children who have experienced sexual abuse, and counselling women in prison.
Alongside her leadership and teaching roles, Tine runs a private practice where she works with individuals, couples, and families.
Faculty
Our educators and tutors are a supportive and experienced team committed to delivering our Graduate Certificate and Master of Gestalt Therapy programs. Throughout the programs, we also welcome local and international guest presenters who contribute specialised topics, bringing diverse perspectives and areas of expertise that enrich the learning experience.
Dr Leanne O’Shea is a psychotherapist and supervisor in private practice in Melbourne. She trained in the Gestalt approach in Melbourne and London, and more recently in relational Gestalt Therapy at the Pacific Gestalt Institute (USA).
Leanne is deeply interested incultivating awareness of relational responsibility and brings particular passion to exploring sexuality and the erotic within the therapeuticrelationship. She is widely published and is an inaugural co-editor of the Gestalt Journal of Australia and NewZealand.
Leanne has served extensively within the Gestalt community, including as President of GANZ and as Chair ofthe GANZ Ethics Committee. She rejoined Gestalt Therapy Brisbane in 2021.
Jack Tully is a psychotherapist and educator based in the Northern Rivers. He works with individuals and couples in private practice and supports young people in educational settings.
With 20 years’ experience in education, Jack brings a deep appreciation for how relationships shape well-being. He holds a BA/BEd and a Master of Gestalt Therapy, with a focus on healing developmental trauma through relational practice, alongside further studies in relationship counselling and trauma-informed care.
Jack is also a father, partner, musician, and accredited surfing instructor. He values presence, connection, and the simple joys of life, finding support in the ocean, playing guitar, and a good cup of tea.
Justine Brown grew up in Zimbabwe and has lived and travelled extensively in Australia and overseas, bringing a rich diversity of experiences to her work. She is passionate about supporting others to feel empowered and at home within themselves, helping them discover their unique gifts.
Her background spans counselling, health, bodywork, refugee support, expressive arts, and disability coordination. Deeply connected to nature, Justine integrates the wisdom of the natural world into her work, including equine-assisted therapy from her private practice in Buderim. She enjoys camping, rainforest walks, and environmental activism.
Justine joined Gestalt Therapy Brisbane in 2024.
Lisa Toman has long been deeply connected to the natural world, drawn to its capacity to nurture, heal, and transform. She is fascinated by the interconnectedness of all living things and how our relationships with nature, animals, art, and each other shape our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
With over 20 years’ experience in psychotherapy and personal transformation, Lisa integrates Gestalt Psychotherapy, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, outdoor leadership, Mindfulness, Embodied Awareness, and Creative & Expressive Art Therapy. She is particularly passionate about the healing potential of nature and expanding the relational field to include the more-than-human world, supporting trauma recovery and personal growth.
Lisa joined Gestalt TherapyBrisbane in 2025.
Michael began his career as a primary school teacher before spending over 20 years in IT. In 2003, he began his Gestalt training at the Brisbane Gestalt Institute, discovering a deep passion for Gestalt as both a therapeutic modality and a way of life. He completed his Master of Gestalt Therapy at Gestalt Therapy Brisbane in 2013.
Michael has extensive experience in private practice, offering individual and couple therapy, mediation, and clinical supervision. He has also facilitated rites of passage programs, men’s groups, and restorative justice conferences for adolescents and young offenders through NGOs and government programs. He currently works at Interrelate as a relationship counsellor and group facilitator.
Michael has been part of the Gestalt Therapy Brisbane staff since 2010.
Born in Tanzania, Rosemary Bower has lived and worked across diverse cultural contexts, shaping her relational and community-oriented approach to practice. She trained at the Brisbane Gestalt Institute and completed her Master of Gestalt Therapy at Gestalt Therapy Brisbane.
Now based in Maleny, Rosemary is passionate about working with culturally diverse communities, refugees, and social change initiatives. She is a founding member of W2M Refugee Support Group and has facilitated community and international programs alongside her long-standing private practice with individuals, couples, groups, and supervisees.
Rosemary has been a faculty member of Gestalt Therapy Brisbane since 2018.
Guest faculty
I am a Gestalt therapist, supervisor and educator who has worked in private practice for over 20 years. Im also the Clinic Director of Thrive Clinic in Mullumbimby. My work specialises in couples and relationships, training and supervision, integrating Gestalt therapy with contemporary relational and neurobiological approaches. Alongside my clinical and teaching work, I am passionate about working with small groups, including in professional, family and education settings.
My professional path has also been shaped by earlier work as a frontline police officer and my own recovery journey from PTSD, experiences that deeply informed my understanding of trauma, emotional regulation and relationship dynamics. Outside of work, I am a father of two, partnered, and deeply nourished by music, surfing and immersion in nature.
Since 2017, I have been honoured to facilitate the Year 4 weekend in Couples and Relationship Therapy with GTB.
I hold a Masters in Gestalt Therapy and am a Clinical Member and Accredited Supervisor with PACFA, and a member of GANZ and ACRC.
Tracy Santos is a Gestalt psychotherapist, mental health social worker, and educator with over 20 years’ clinical experience. She is a guest presenter at GTB after many years of contributing to GTB as faculty member and has taught grief and trauma-informed practice at Southern Cross University.
For the past 17 years, Tracy has specialised in death, dying, grief, and bereavement, working with individuals, couples, and as a trainer and supervisor to other clinicians. She has been closely involved with Amitayus Home Hospice Service in the Byron Shire since 2003, serving on their training committee and team.
Tracy is passionate about educating both community members and professionals to cultivate death awareness, provide compassionate care for the dying, and support those experiencing profound grief.
Academic support
Alex Greene is a former lawyer turned Gestalt therapist with a wide-ranging professional and life experience. She began her career as a legal officer with the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Classification Board, the Commission for Children and Young People, and the QLD Parole Board.
Alex also runs a private psychotherapy practice from her home on Russell Island. Her interests include spirituality, existentialism, ethics, and exploring the edges of human awareness.
Alex joined Gestalt Therapy Brisbane in 2025.
She/They
Hey, my name is Amy and I am happy to be a CTOs tutor again in 2026.
I graduated my Masters in Gestalt Therapy in 2024 and bring to CTOs my experience working as a therapist since graduating and over 10 years working in frontline community services.
I am a deeply field oriented person always looking at societal influences in the therapy room and am practical and grounded in my ways of relating. I bring my whole, blunt, humourous self to CTO work and for me, working together in CTOs is a deeply collaborative, experimental and (hopefully) fun process!
I am an avid reader, bike rider and nature frolicker. See you at GTB :-)
Pronouns: She/Her
I am a gestalt psychotherapist and community worker living in Naarm/Melbourne. I work as a counsellor with incarcerated queer and trans people and as a phone counsellor on a sexual violence support line.
I am a committee member of the Victorian Association of Gestalt Practitioners and am passionate about the possibilities that gestalt methodology offers for social change. Reading, my relationships, gardening and knitting support me to remain heart centred whilst navigating the violence and complexity of our contemporary field. I am excited to begin my tutoring journey with GTB this year.
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Pronouns: He/Him
I’m a cis-gay Jewish man born on Turribal land, living in West End, Meanjin.
Psychotherapy is the third chapter of my professional life and the one in which I feel most myself. Deeply shaped by earlier work in the performing arts, health and the NGO and not-for profit sectors (working in foster care, end-of-life, the gender diverse community and addiction), these foundations now inform my work as a Gestalt therapist, where I feel the immense privilege of walking alongside people through their points of uncertainty, transition, and healing.
I work in private practice and run The Place Within, West End.
Esperanza Egan began her psychotherapy practice in 2007, supporting asylum seekers and new immigrants in detention. Through these experiences, she developed a profound understanding of resilience and the human potential for growth.
In 2010, Esperanza joined the Sydney Gestalt Institute as a Year 3 facilitator and student clinic coordinator. She is drawn to the transformational potential of working through conflict, grief, loss, trauma, anxiety, depression, domestic violence, and addictions. Esperanza works with individuals and couples, facilitates therapy groups, and is a qualified Clinical Supervisor.
Esperanza joined GTB in 2022.
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They/them
I am a gestalt psychotherapist in Brisbane and a supervisor of a well-being support service for university students at QUT. I have worked in higher education for over 20 years, supporting students with academic writing and research, study and learning skills, and motivation. I have also worked in queer organisations as a peer supporter, trainer, phone counsellor and group facilitator, often supporting male victim/survivors of sexual violence.
My cats and the beaches of Minjerribah are two things that calm and ground me in this seemingly mad world we currently live in. I moved from Perth to Brisbane in 2018, and started tutoring at GTB in 2024.
I came to Gestalt Therapy as part of my own therapeutic journey. I fell in love with a theory that not only provided a solid foundation for practice as a psychotherapist but also has the capacity to change our world. I feel excited for the students embarking on this enriching and challenging journey, and I am honoured to support them through it.
I have a legal background, having worked with children and families, and am now following my heart on a new path that includes Gestalt Therapy. I live at Wentworth Falls and am sustained by Atlas, my Bernedoodle, and the forest that borders my home.
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I am a Gestalt psychotherapist, EMDR clinician and social worker based in private practice in Bulimba. For over 10 years, I have worked in different settings including trauma counselling, family violence, refugee and asylum seeker support, youth mental health, EAP and training.
Growing up in Zimbabwe and living in Australia has given me a deep respect for the wisdom that comes through shared learning, relationships and community. I am drawn to the many layers of human experience and to the ways people survive, adapt, grow and make meaning of their lives. I joined GTB in 2026, where I continue to be part of a space that invites curiosity, complexity and depth.
Outside of work, I enjoy being in nature, martial arts, the gym, a good film and time with my loved ones.
