The first internationally focused book on gestalt therapy to provide a comprehensive overview of current practice around the world. Features coverage of the history, training, theoretical contributions, and research initiatives relating to gestalt therapy in seventeen countries Points to future directions and challenges Includes extensive information on worldwide gestalt associations, institutes, and professional societies that promote the development of the approach
This book is a collaboration of some of the best thinkers in the Gestalt therapy world and offers a high-level summary of recent and future developments in theory, practice and research.
Many books have been written about gestalt therapy. Not many have been written on the relationship between gestalt therapy and psychotherapy research. The Handbook for Theory, Research, and Practice in Gestalt Therapy is a needed bridge between these two concerns, and a timely addition to scholarly literature on gestalt therapy itself. In 2007 an international team of experienced gestalt therapists devoted themselves to create this book, and they have collaborated with one another to produce a challenging and enriching addition to the literature relevant to gestalt therapy. The book discusses the philosophy of science, the need for research specifically focused on gestalt therapy, and the critical realism and natural attitude found in both research and gestalt praxis. It provides discussions of qualitative and quantitative research, describes the methods of gestalt therapy as based in a unified theory, and illustrates the application of research in the contexts of emerging gestalt research communities. The discussion contained in this book is needed at a time when warrant for the practice of psychotherapy is increasingly sought in the empirical support available through psychotherapy research–the so called evidence-based movement–and at a time when public policy is increasingly driven by the call for "what works."
Gestalt therapy is designed to enable people to deal with a range of emotions that are obstacles to growth and development. This approach to therapy aims to help people to let go of anger, grief, resentment, depression and fear - and, in so doing, resolve problems such as indecision and unsatisfactory personal relationships. Dreams and fantasies are used experimentally in a group setting.
Enchantment and Gestalt Therapy is a personal exploration of Erving Polster’s remarkable career, the value of the Gestalt approach, and the power of enchantment in psychotherapy. Polster points ahead to a vision of a psychotherapy that includes the population as a whole rather than focusing on individuals, highlights common aspects of living, and focuses on creating an ethos for a shared understanding. The book outlines the six Gestalt therapy concepts that have formed the basis of Polster’s work and describes Life Focus Groups, with an emphasis on the communal relationship between tellers and listeners. Polster also describes the phenomenon of enchantment in psychotherapy in detail, with reference to his own experiences. This unique work is essential reading for Gestalt therapists, other professionals interested in Gestalt approaches, and readers looking for a deeper insight into community and connection. In the below link, Erving Polster speaks to Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb, the series editor of The Gestalt Therpay Book Series, about Enchantment and Gestalt Therapy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PVG9JgpTQQ&feature=youtu.be
Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice is an introductory text, written by major Gestalt theorists, that will engage those new to Gestalt therapy. Editors Ansel Woldt and Sarah M. Toman introduce the historical underpinnings and fundamental concepts of Gestalt therapy and illustrate applications of those concepts to therapeutic practice. The book is unique in that it is the first Gestalt text specifically designed for the academic and training institute settings. Gestalt Therapy takes both a conceptual and a practical approach to examining classic and cutting-edge constructs.
Gestalt therapy offers a present-focused, relational approach, central to which is the fundamental belief that the client knows the best way of adjusting to their situation. By working to heighten awareness through dialogue and creative experimentation, gestalt therapists create the conditions for a client's personal journey to health. Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques provides a concise guide to this flexible and far-reaching approach. Topics discussed include: the theoretical assumptions underpinning gestalt therapy gestalt assessment and process diagnosis field theory, phenomenology and dialogue ethics and values evaluation and research. As such this book will be essential reading for gestalt trainees, as well as all counsellors and psychotherapists wanting to learn more about the gestalt approach.
The time is ripe, more than fifty years after the publication of the magnum opus by Perls, Hefferline & Goodman, to publish a book on the topic of cre ativity in Gestalt therapy. The idea for this book was conceived in March 2001, on the island of Sicily, at the very first European Conference of Gestalt Therapy Writers of the European Association [or Gestalt Therapy. Our start ing point was an article on art and creativity in Gestalt therapy, which was presented there by one of the editors, and illuminated by a vision, held by the other editor, of bringing together colleagues from around the world to contribute to a qualified volume on the subject of creativity within the realm of Gestalt therapy. We wanted to continue the professional discourse inter nationally and capture the synergetic effects of experienced colleagues' re flections on various aspects of our chosen subject. Moreover, we intended to explore how the theoretical reflection of one's practice can inspire effective interventions and, vice versa, how the discussion of practical experiences can shape new theoretical directions. Hence, our aim in this book is to create a forum on the concept of creativ ity in Gestalt therapy.
How can we reconcile our desire for freedom with the limits or routines that orgainize our existence? How do we affirm our personality while adjusting to the world? How can we be nourished by exchanges with others without losing our autonomy? Gestalt Therapy responds to these essential questions of our daily lives. An important branch of humanistic psychology, Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the importance of communication and contact, the ways that we maintain relationships with ourselves, others and our environment. It helps individuals to develop potential by going beyond rigid patterns and to finally become creators of their own existence, each of us creating our own life rather than merely submitting to it. Gonzague Masquelier presents the history of fifty years of the Gestalt movement as well as its development in today's world. He begins with the story of its founders: Laura and Fritz Perls, and their associate, Paul Goodman. He explains how this unique therapeutic path developed little by little, through the meeting of European existentialism with American pragmatism. Then, he clearly explains the principal concepts which form the basis of this approach, illustrated by numerous clinical examples taken from his own professional experience. Finally, the author reviews the current areas of practice of the Gestalt approach: not only individual or group psychotherapy, but also within organizations, executive board rooms and the training professions. He offers an excellent synthesis of differing aspects of this important perspective within the field of psychology today.
