Whole Intelligence Research Fellowship
The Whole Intelligence Research Fellowship is a community of inquirers from diverse fields that are inspired by the living practice of Whole Intelligence and its education, practice, and delivery. The aim is to break new ground collectively with all these latter three areas, and to support one another’s independent work. If Whole Intelligence is to flourish, we acknowledge there needs to be a strong group of advocates, researchers, teachers, and practitioners. Margaret Meads’ quotation inspires us:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens canchange the world; indeed, it's the onlything that ever has.”
Meet the Fellows
Meet the fellows --->
Anne Pettit
Born in Abergavenny, South Wales, I am proud to be Welsh. I have a deep appreciation of being part of a community of people who live in the surroundings of nature, which truly speaks to my soul.
I have a longstanding partner who is Dutch, and together we have two children. I was fortunate to discover gestalt early on when I moved to Bristol and began my gestalt training with Gestalt South West in the mid 1980’s with trainers Malcolm Parlett and Marianne Fry. On returning to Wales in the Millennium, I now live midway between Abergavenny and Bristol, where the daily viewing of both Severn Bridges gives me tremendous sense of hope, encompassing huge symbolism in finding a bridge between people with inspirational and innovative ways to relate to each other and fulfil one’s own full potential, together.
Originally, I trained as a psychiatric nurse and have extensive experience working in the NHS in both generic and specialist roles in psychotherapy. Alongside my former NHS commitment, I established a private practice working with both adults and teenagers. I have over 30 years’ experience as a registered psychotherapeutic practitioner and for the past 25 years have tutored on counselling training programmes in the UK and Europe. I am a reg. UKCP Gestalt psychotherapist and Supervisor. I am the Founding Director of Gestalt Centre Wales, Chepstow Therapy Rooms and Chepstow Child and Family Therapy Centre Advanced Integrated Adult, Child & Young Person Gestalt Therapy Training course which has been developed and taught since 2015 of which I am the Programme Leader. At Gestalt Centre Wales I also lead CPD training programmes.
A joy of mine is travelling and experiencing the culture and cuisine of each place I visit. Theatre, music and creative expression is hugely nourishing for me. I also enjoy the simple rewards of ordinary living, connecting with my family and appreciating all that this brings.
Cathy Perić
I’ve always been fascinated by how we interact with ourselves, each other and our environments and what impact these interactions have on our lives and that of the wider community and environment.
As a curious reader I sought to understand these interactions and this launched me onto a journey of discovery that is still ongoing. My path intersected with Gestalt therapy about 19 years ago initially as a trainee psychotherapist, however this soon evolved into a way of being that has been a catalyst for my personal growth and has fuelled my interest in the evolution of consciousness.
I believe that Gestalt therapy and practice, with its rich, diverse and eclectic heritage, that takes a phenomenological approach, acknowledges our interconnectedness, focuses on the whole, is committed to dialogue and trusts the process of life as it unfolds in the here and now, has much to offer beyond the therapy room. Malcolm Parlett’s work on Whole Intelligence creates the bridge that enables this to happen and much of my work now as a researcher-practitioner psychotherapist and executive coach is dedicated to this. I believe that change happens one person at a time, creating a ripple effect that has a much wider societal and environmental impact.
Over the years I’ve worked within the business, cultural, entertainment, tourism, educational and health sectors internationally as a freelancer, business owner, manager, consultant, facilitator, group & executive coach and psychotherapist. I’m currently reading for my professional doctorate in Gestalt Psychotherapy with a focus on Whole Intelligence, Resilience and Adult Development as my areas of research.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, including our recently adopted puppy, reading, connecting with friends, laughing, learning, eating good food and walking by the beautifully scented, ever-changing Mediterranean Sea.
Darren Hilton
I am fortunate to live in the New Forest in England with my wife, son, daughter, and our working cocker spaniel. Living close to nature has become increasingly important for me and I am keen that my impact as a human development professional supports how we can positively respond to the dominant themes of our time. My professional interests include constantly exploring ways of realising our human potential, encouraging regenerative working in organisations, and understanding how we collaborate as humans with artificial intelligence.
My professional background has many transitions: originally in the Military, I then went on to a 25 year, and counting, career in business, that has included working for global technology corporations; setting up, growing, and eventually selling a technology business; turning around a struggling technology business; and latterly growing a human development practice working across sectors and geographies to help realise the potential of leaders and their teams. My aspiration for my business, Tapping the Source, is to support organisations to become better places to be at work, where human development is a daily practice and our huge potential as humans can be tapped to resolve the big issues of our time. I also work for the charity Help for Heroes, helping veterans regain confidence and direction after physical and psychological injury; I volunteer for the Mental Health Foundation, and I enjoy facilitating group development courses for the local community, to provide group coaching to those people who can’t normally access it.
I was drawn to the work of Malcolm Parlett and Whole Intelligence originally out of an interest in the power of Gestalt. Through working with Malcolm and appreciating the power that this way of thinking, feeling, and behaving has for individuals, groups, and the culture in organisations, I am embedding the philosophy and approach of Whole Intelligence into much of my work.
I enjoy connecting with nature so camping, walking, and latterly surfing, are keen interests of mine. I am originally from Wales, and I particularly love the Pembrokeshire coast which is where I was born. We own a 1973 VW campervan called Laurel, so keeping her in good order is important, so we can enjoy the slower pace this driving and camping experience brings in our hyper connected and fast paced world.
Greig Wilkinson
I am an advocate for autonomy, choice and change. My own experience of Gestalt therapy led me to challenge the old adage that a leopard can’t change its spots, and I have learned that developing self-awareness is key to unlocking the potential for our personal development. With awareness, desire and support, real and meaningful change is always possible.
I have ten years of experience with Gestalt therapy, and I am currently approaching the end of my training completing a four and a half year post graduate diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy at Gestalt Centre Wales.
During my training I was extremely fortunate to also be taught by our guest trainer Malcolm Parlett; psychological researcher, teacher, consultant, therapist and author of the book Future Sense. From spending time with Malcolm and reading his book I learned about his ‘radical rethink and new perspectives on human wellbeing and global sustainability’ and his concept of Whole Intelligence. This holistic, living practice uses five human capabilities (interrelating, responding to the situation, self-recognising, embodying and experimenting) to acknowledge the interconnectedness and interdependence of life and to nurture individual and collective wellbeing.
This resonates deeply with my own thinking and learning, in part from my Gestalt training but also on a deeper intuitive level. In 2022 I was invited by Malcolm to become a member of the whole intelligence research fellowship, a group of like-minded individuals from around the globe that are all connected through wishing to learn more about, and explore more deeply Malcolm’s concept of Whole Intelligence.In addition to numerous workshops I have had the pleasure to attend, I also have had the privilege of working alongside Malcolm and the hugely talented and experienced trainer and gestalt psychotherapist Anne Petit, co-facilitating workshops on whole intelligence and the human strengths program.
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Angelika Burovski
Born from Macedonian parents in Switzerland, I had the chance from an early age to have multiple cultural perspectives. I have moved around my whole life, but found my base in North Macedonia where I always seem to go back to, no matter where I go. Trained in business, and running the family business from the age of 17, I early on sensed that I wanted something more for myself. I encountered Gestalt and trained as a psychotherapist, then as an OD consultant and coach, more recently as a supervisor. Gestalt gave me something the business world failed to, genuine relationship with others, self and the wider context. In 2015 when I received Malcolm’s book Future Sense while at a training at Bath, UK, I literally devoured the book in one night. Ever since I have been using the five explorations in my coaching, consulting, supervision and training students.
I live with my husband and my cocker spaniel in Skopje and we spend more and more time in the Eastern part of the country where we build a small cottage, planted over 400 trees and I take care of my lasagna beds in summer and spring, which give me the most amazing ingredients for fresh salads. The cottage is guarded by two huge Sarplaninac dogs that are also part of our family. When I am in Skopje, together with 9 associates we run GO Center for People and Organisational development, supporting individuals, teams and organisations in developing whole intelligence.
Mike Chatziapostolou
I am a proud new parent, concerned with the world my daughter, partner and I will live in, affected by the realities of ecological decline, changing climate and the socio-economic impacts of a planet approaching the limits of its natural resources.
In the face of these global challenges, I work as a multi-disciplinary practitioner, with professional engagements as a gestalt psychotherapist-in-training, a founder and product architect for a carbon tracking software platform for organisations, and producer of therapeutic experiences in virtual reality.
In my work, I seek to integrate a future-facing, scientific perspective with a deep reflective humanistic process in the pursuit of creating perspective-shifting tools and experiences to further the holistic development and probabilistic survival of our species in relationship with the wider natural world.
I am a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Engineering and Technology, hold a Masters degree in Systems Engineering and am partway through a post-graduate diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Centre Wales.I have research interests in the intersection between science and spirituality, the study of phenomenology, advances in consciousness research, and the combination of immersive technologies with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
I am endlessly fascinated by human behaviour, particularly in groups - collaboration, creativity and connection are themes that connect my personal and professional life. In my spare time, I love bikepacking, listening to music, reading science fiction and sharing great food with loved ones.
Projects:www.omou.cowww.anuma.comwww.spherics.io
Publications:
Isness: Using Multi-Person VR to Design Peak Mystical-Type Experiences Comparable to Psychedelics.
