History of the Institute

Founded in 2011 and accredited by the European Association for Gestalt Therapy (EAGT) in 2019, the Georgian National Gestalt Institute (GNGI) is the first professional institution in the field of Gestalt psychotherapy in the Caucasus region integrated into the European professional space.

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The foundation of the National Gestalt School dates back to 1993, when Professor Dimitri Nadirashvili—Doctor of Psychological Sciences, laureate of the Dimitri Uznadze Scientific Prize, EAP-certified and EAGT-accredited psychotherapist, supervisor, and trainer—introduced and established Gestalt therapy in Georgia. Professor Nadirashvili initiated the teaching of Gestalt therapy at both institutional and university levels. He authored the first Georgian-language textbook on the subject, Existential Gestalt Therapy (2007), and co-authored a second textbook with Professor Dr. Téa Gogotishvili. As leaders of the Georgian National Gestalt Institute and the first EAGT-accredited psychotherapists in the country, they continue to advance the achievements of Georgian psychology and Gestalt therapy within the international scientific and professional community.

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The establishment of the Georgian National Gestalt Institute is deeply rooted in Dimitri Uznadze’s "Theory of Set/Attitude." In 1943, Uznadze founded the first psychological research institute in the Soviet Union, which was later named the D. Uznadze Institute of Psychology. Since the 1990s, Professor Dimitri Nadirashvili has headed the Department of Clinical Psychology at this institute. Together with Téa Gogotishvili and his research team, they studied the psychological regularities of social attitude within psychotherapy, specifically focusing on Gestalt therapy.

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During the 1990s, Professor Dimitri Nadirashvili integrated the theory and methodology of Gestalt therapy into the curriculum of the D. Uznadze Educational Institute of Psychology. Since then, he has consistently promoted Gestalt therapy at both the institutional level and within university Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs. Consequently, the Gestalt therapeutic approach has expanded across various sectors, including organizational, educational, and clinical settings.

Since its establishment, the Institute has annually enrolled cohorts of students seeking comprehensive psychotherapy training and European accreditation. Furthermore, the Georgian National Gestalt Institute maintains extensive international and local collaborations, conducting exchange programs for both students and trainers.