David Forrest: Gestaltuk

Ken also worked as a Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer in a number of European countries including Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. Ken was originally trained as a Social Worker and employed as a local authority Principal Social Worker/Team Leader for several years prior to studying as an Anglican Priest in Cambridge and working as a Chaplain in mental health. Ken first trained as a psychotherapist in the early 1970s and again in the mid 1980s. He qualified as both a Gestalt Psychotherapist and Integrative Psychotherapist and had extensive experience working with adults (in the Mental Health and Private Sectors), as well as couples and groups. His main areas of professional work were Psychotherapy, Supervision, Consultancy, Therapist training and research.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Reflection

Ken Evans establsihed the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Insitute in Nottingham at Thiskney House, St James's Terrace, close to Nottingham Castle. By the time I trained at The Sherwood, the institute had expanded to Park Row and it is was in Park Row that my four year studies were conducted. Whilst for most of my time Ken was our Prgramme Leader he did not in fact teach us. Knowing some trained by Ken I would say he was supportive, intuitive, compassionate and giving. For me this strikes an oddity withsome of his behaviour I encountered outside of the Institute; none of us are perfect are we? In place of Ken my training was mostly with Jane Jamieson-Millner and I can honestly say her presence filled, without suffocating, the atmosphere of the traiinng room. I found Jane fully respectful, grounded and boundaried; Her ability to penetrate with grace and support a person's defences that led to awareness and healing was amazing to see and powerful and warm to experience.

Ken has interviewed me for my plalce on the Master programme of study and coming into this without and other graduate experiences I was not confident I would meet the demands of study yet his assurances and reflections for my teaching experiences and life events gave me the encouragment to continue; and here I am now!

Whilst adding this information to my website I have felt the sadness in recalling the closing years in which Ken was present. He had achieved great things in establishing Sherwood, and then enhancing Scarborough. His move into Europe and Research came, unknowingly, too late to give a greater level of recognition for his contribution to Gestalt Therapy psychotherapy.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Maria Gilbert wrote an obituary in the British Gestalt Journal and I will look to link this onto this page and my website at a later time. The journal in question is British Gestalt Journal 2016, Vol. 25, No. 1, 5–8