LA Faculty

Trainers

Liv Estrup, M.A.

Liv Estrup began her psychotherapist practice in Santa Monica, California in 1971 only a few years after being introduced to Gestalt therapy. For 25 years, her golden retrievers, Rufus and Hickory, worked as her co-therapists.

Liv received her BA in Psychology from University of Florida while working as a psychometrist in the counseling center and her MA from California State University, Los Angeles. She studied a wide range of therapeutic approaches (movement, tai chi, art, Reichian, psychodynamic, Transactional Analysis, bioenergetics) during the years until she was certified as a Gestalt therapist by GTILA in 1979. Since the 1970s Liv has been dedicated to women’s movement, peace and anti-war movements, and issues of diversity in race and gender.

Liv became a faculty member with Gestalt Associates Training Los Angeles in 1998 and has trained psychotherapists in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia. For many years she led women’s groups, the Journey Workshop for Women, women’s sexuality groups and groups for survivors of sexual abuse. In graduate school, she worked with a research team to help people quit smoking. Liv taught at Loma Linda University for fifteen years and supervised at a community mental health center for over twenty-five years. She twice served as President of GTILA, was the Conference Coordinator for AAGT’s Conferences (1994 –1999), and is an Associate Editor of the Gestalt Review.

Currently Liv limits her practice to training workshops, supervision, and psychotherapy with therapists and/or their partners, and couples. She has been working through the Internet since 2016.

For many years Liv was a long-distance runner, SCUBA diver, golfer, skier, and hiker. Her lifelong interest in the creative process has led to work as a mime, photographer, writer, film maker, and painter. Currently, she is living in Mallorca and most inspired and delighted by her grandchildren.

Paul Plakos, M.A.

Having graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology, Paul entered the field of business. The last 21 years of his business career was with Princess Cruises. While heading up the largest land-based portion of the company that included 475 employees, he received his MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles.

His shift from the business world to the world of psychotherapy earned Paul the endearing title of “retread” from Bob Resnick. A term from yesteryear where you would put a new tread on a tire rather than throw it out and buy another.

Paul began his Gestalt training in 2001 with GATLA, Los Angeles program. Following certification in 2006 he became a Group Leader for the program, and filled that roll until becoming a trainer in 2013. Although he closed his physical practice in 2018, Paul continues with online client sessions and Gestalt Therapy consultation for Gestalt therapists who wish to review their cases and improve their skills.

Paul is also a Captain/Firefighter for North Sonoma Coast Fire Department, a Board Director for his community in Northern California, and is currently involved in three other non-profits. More treads.

As one of the goals of therapy is not to be in therapy, he very much believes in process-driven therapy where clients experience the interruptions to their own self-regulation and discover what keeps them from getting their own needs met.

David Narang, Ph.D.

Dr. Narang began in psychology with his Bachelor’s at UCLA, then earning a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Kent State. He first encountered Gestalt Therapy during a full-time internship, which included co-leading groups with a Gestalt psychologist. The potential for liveliness, depth and power in that work drew him in. He has been a part of GATLA since 2001, and he has been on the faculty since 2017. Gestalt Therapy is his largest therapeutic influence. Psychodynamic attachment work is also a strong part of his background, and he authored a related workbook entitled ‘Leaving Loneliness.’ He is also informed and influenced by both Gottman Method and EFT couples’ therapies. Having a long history in working with children and teens, in more recent years he has worked primarily with individual adults and couples. His driving force is a desire to help people build stronger relationships with the important others in their worlds, and also helping them develop their peace and liveliness from within. David is married with two children, and his interests include meditation, playing the saxophone, biking, tennis, trading funny memes, and being on the water.

Stephanie Goldsmith, Ph.D.

Stephanie is the Co-Director of GATLA’s Los Angeles training program and a Group Leader for the Summer Residential Program. She found and fell in love with Gestalt therapy while taking a graduate class with Todd Burley, Ph.D., under whom she later trained extensively and collaborated on Gestalt research. Currently, she owns and is the clinical director of a group private practice in Claremont, CA where she provides individual, couples, and group therapy. In addition to her clinical work, Stephanie is an Associate Clinical Professor at Loma Linda University where she enjoys teaching and mentoring students in the school’s doctoral programs. She also provides Gestalt supervision to post-graduate therapists in her private practice and Gestalt clinical consultation via teleconferencing to therapists all around the world.

Nelly Nassar, Ph.D.

Dr. Nelly Nassar completed her doctorate degree from California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University (AIU) in 2008 in clinical psychology. During her last year of schooling, she attended a one-day workshop where she witnessed Bob Resnick (co-founder of GATLA) in action. He did an inspiring demonstration in the group. The next day she signed up for GATLA and has been in love with Gestalt and GATLA ever since. She got certified by GATLA and joined the LA faculty as a group leader in 2018, later becoming the co-director of the GATLA LA program in 2022.

Nelly currently works in a group practice and has her own private practice. She works with adults in individual and couples therapy. She also co-facilitates an online case consultation group and provides online supervision for clinicians locally and internationally. She is originally from Lebanon and her hobbies include traveling, dancing, and doing puzzles with her boys.

Group Leaders

Karly Gilbert, LCSW

Karly initially found a home in Gestalt therapy in NYC as a client. Right away she felt a collaborative support with her therapist that was different than she had ever experienced in therapy. Becoming more aware of how she was living felt so magical she decided to dive right into Gestalt training at GAP in NY and then GATLA in Los Angeles in 2010. Karly has continued to train and supervise with GATLA ever since and was thrilled to join the faculty in 2022. In her private practice with individuals and couples, as well as her supervisory role in a Gestalt consult group, Karly loves creating a collaborative environment where people can feel safe enough to track inner experiences, allowing them to see where they get stuck and where they feel genuine, fluid and alive.

Sheri McCashin, LMFT

Sheri is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Certified Gestalt Therapist in private practice, providing counseling to couples and individuals in Los Angeles, California USA. Sheri has been trained and certified by GATLA.

One of Sheri’s passions is Gestalt Theory (GT). As Sheri continues to assimilate, integrate and distill GT into her understanding, she finds new ways of bringing it to life for herself, the individuals and couples she sees, in supervising GATLA trainees and in her presentations.

Of special interest to Sheri is how people go about or interrupt meeting their needs and following their interests in order to have a fuller, more joyful, meaningful and authentic life throughout their life cycle.

In her personal life Sheri seeks out adventure in travel, hiking, gym classes, spiritual time, movies, reading, sampling eateries and recipes, visiting with friends, laughing at the antics of her dog Quinn Hunter Beagley and all the dogs in the neighborhood who stop by for a visit.