igw Switzerland

What igw Switzerland does

igw Switzerland (igw Schweiz GmbH) is a Zürich-based educational institute and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German non-profit Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie Würzburg (IGW), founded in Switzerland in 2012. It delivers berufsbegleitend (part-time, weekend-based) professional training in Gestalt therapy across three core tracks: a 4-year Clinical Gestalt Therapy program accredited by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) through 2031 and leading to the federally recognized psychotherapist title; a 3- or 4-year Gestalt Counseling program recognized by SGfB and leading to the protected Berater:in SGfB title; and a 2-year introductory Gestalt Approach continuing education track. The curriculum is supplemented by the GestaltAkademie workshop series, an annual two-week Kompakttraining intensive held in Götzis, Austria, and mandatory in-person information and selection seminars.

The institute serves individual professionals — primarily psychologists, physicians, and psychosocial workers — seeking federally regulated credentials in psychotherapy or counseling. Its go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven: prospective students must attend a CHF 348–450 information and selection seminar before enrolling, with supplementary online information evenings, email newsletters, and a modest Facebook/Instagram presence. Revenue is generated through multi-year tuition subscriptions, with cost schedules available on request rather than published. Programs are recognized by SGPP, FMH, SGfB, and SBFI, enabling federal subsidies for qualifying students.

The broader IGW network — comprising IGW Würzburg, IGWien, Centar IGW Zagreb, GestaltAkademie Südtirol, and cooperation agreements with universities including Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität, Nanjing University, and the University of Fuzhou — supplies approximately 300 trainers, teaching therapists, and supervisors across seven countries. The Swiss entity operates with a five-person leadership team led by Managing Director Johanna Fischer (appointed 2023) and Chairperson Werner Gill, with no external private equity or venture capital involvement and no disclosed technology platform or AI capabilities.

Name

igw Switzerland

Legal name

igw Schweiz GmbH

Website

https://igw-schweiz.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

igw Switzerland is a Zürich-based, BAG-accredited educational institute offering part-time multi-year Gestalt therapy training that leads to federally recognized psychotherapist and counselor titles for psychologists, physicians, and psychosocial professionals in Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Affoltern Am Albis

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Program Tuition: IGW Switzerland generates revenue through tuition fees for its professional training programs in Gestalt therapy and counseling. Programs are berufsbegleitend (continuing education) and run over 2-4 years on a part-time basis. Revenue is earned over the duration of each program enrollment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

igw Switzerland is a private educational institute providing accredited part-time professional training programs in Gestalt therapy and counseling. Its core offerings are three multi-year training tracks (4-year Clinical Gestalt Therapy, 3-4 year Gestalt Counseling, and 2-year Gestalt Approach continuing education), supplemented by weekend workshops (GestaltAkademie), annual intensive residential training (Kompakttraining), and pre-enrollment information and selection seminars. Programs are delivered berufsbegleitend (continuing-education parallel to employment), primarily on weekends.

Product overview

igw Switzerland (Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie Schweiz) is an educational institute offering a portfolio of professional training programs in Gestalt therapy. The core offerings consist of three main tracks: the 4-year Klinische Gestalttherapie (Clinical Gestalt Therapy) leading to federally recognized psychotherapist status; the 3-4 year Gestaltberatung (Gestalt Counseling) leading to SGfB certification; and the 2-year Der Gestalt-Ansatz continuing education program for foundational training. These are complemented by the GestaltAkademie (weekend workshops and multi-module seminars), the annual Kompakttraining (intensive residential training), and mandatory Informations- und Auswahlseminare (information and selection seminars). The institute is a subsidiary of IGW Würzburg and operates across Switzerland with partner programs in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Croatia, Bolivia, and China.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GestaltAkademie: Weekend workshops and continuing education series complementing the ongoing training programs of IGW institutes.
• Kompakttraining

Products and services

• Klinische Gestalttherapie (4-year Clinical Gestalt Therapy)

Quantifiable outcome

• BAG re-accreditation until 2031 for Clinical Gestalt Therapy program
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• University of FuzhoucoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Cooperation established in 2010 with University of Fuzhou, China. Offers 2-year training program in Gestalt therapy, recognized by Chinese Society for Psychotherapy.
• GestaltAkademie SüdtirolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Founded in 2010 in Bolzano/Bozen, Italy. Offers 3-year training in Gestalt-oriented Counseling recognized by Italian counselor association AssoCounseling, qualifying for Professional Counselor registration. Contact: Georg Pernter.
• Nanjing University (Nanda)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Cooperation established in 2008 with Nanjing Daxue (Nanjing University), China. Offers 2-year training program in China recognized by the Chinese Society for Psychotherapy (Peking).
• Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität (SFU) ViennacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Cooperation since 2008 enables SFU students to complete IGWien Fachspezifikum alongside their Mag. degree in Psychotherapy Science. Cross-entry opportunities exist for IGW/IGW Switzerland graduates into SFU's Psychotherapy Science program.
• University of La PazminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Postgraduate training in gestalt therapy trauma treatment conducted in cooperation with Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (University of La Paz), Bolivia. Contact: Fundacion Boliviana de Psicoterapia Gestaltica, Daisy Magali Decker Lozano.
• IGWien (Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie Wien)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995Partner institute in Austria, founded in 1995. Offers 5-year training in Integrative Gestalt Therapy (Fachspezifikum) leading to entry on Austria's ministerial therapist list. Werner Gill, co-founder and board member. Cooperates with Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität (SFU) since 2008.
• IGW Würzburg (Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie Würzburg)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGW Würzburg is the parent company of IGW Switzerland. Founded in 1976, it is a private non-profit company (gGmbH) based at Friedrich-Ebert-Ring 7, 97072 Würzburg, Germany. IGW Switzerland operates as a subsidiary, building on 40+ years of Gestalt therapy training tradition. The parent institute provides curriculum standards, trainer network, and organizational governance.
• Centar IGW ZagrebcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGW partner institute in Croatia, established over 20 years ago. Training groups based on IGW standards run regularly. Since 2013, igw Croatia operates independently with seat in Zagreb. Contact: Velimir Dugandžić, [email protected].
• Psychotherapeutische Akademie im IGW (PTA im IGW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partnership allowing 300 hours of IGW Clinical Gestalt Therapy training to be recognized toward psychological psychotherapist certification in Germany.
• Deutsche Vereinigung für Gestalttherapie (DVG)coreOthersIGW Würzburg is a founding member of DVG, the German Association for Gestalt Therapy.
• Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Beratung (SGfB)coreOthersIGW Switzerland is a collective member of SGfB. Training in Gestalt Counseling qualifies graduates for Berater:in SGfB professional title. Students in training can join as 'member in training'.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Metanoia Institute: UK-based psychotherapy and counseling training institute offering multi-year professional programs leading to recognized practitioner credentials. Highly comparable in mission (training working professionals into recognized psychotherapist/counselor roles) and academic structure.
• Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie Wien (IGWien): Austrian sister institute established in 1995, jointly controlled by IGW, offering 5-year Fachspezifikum training and cooperating with Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität. Same brand, trainer network, and Gestalt-methodology as IGW Switzerland.
• Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie Würzburg (IGW): Parent institute founded in 1976, offering the same Gestalt therapy training tracks (clinical, counseling, continuing education) in Germany. Operates on identical curriculum standards and trainer network as IGW Switzerland, making it the most directly comparable entity.

Regional players

• Centar IGW Zagreb: Croatian partner institute of the IGW network, established as an independent entity in 2013 with seat in Zagreb. Offers IGW-standard Gestalt training in Southeast Europe (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro); comparable in method and trainer standards to IGW Switzerland but serving different geographies.
• Gestalt Institute of Cleveland: One of the oldest Gestalt therapy training institutes in the United States, offering multi-year clinical and counseling programs. Comparable training modality and credentialing focus, but operates primarily in North America rather than Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität (SFU): Austrian private university offering degree programs in psychotherapy science, including cross-entry arrangements with IGWien and IGW Switzerland. A broader incumbent in the same professional training market, with both overlap and substitutive competition for prospective psychotherapist candidates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/igwschweiz
• Instagraminstagram.com/igw_schweiz

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about igw Switzerland