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
In this book the author has collected stories, which he has often told in his therapeutic work - during individual therapy sessions with clients as well as in group trainings. These stories have already often contributed to helping people open themselves again and be deeply touched by others.
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.
Using Fritz Perls as an example, this book recalls the representatives of an urban avant-garde culture who were driven out of Europe, emigrated, and for the most part found a new homeland in the USA. Many an element of the lost avant-garde spirit later found its way back to Europe in an enriched form. This monograph is the first to focus in greater depth on the German-European roots of Gestalt therapy. It thereby bridges the continents at the same time.
In Gestalt therapy, sociological, political, and economic research is often neglected or ignored. Drawing on analyses about current societal conditions, this book considers that there is no such thing as a ‘postmodern’ therapy and offers a new approach to Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy is still currently based on the Cartesian worldview, even if relational approaches are in search for an ‘in-between’. The author’s approach of Gestalt therapy is based on an idea by the founders: “Contact is the first reality” – so the field coemerges and coexists with individuals’ perceptions providing specific conditions, demands, limitations and opportunities. An individual’s field is not an afterthought established by the perspective of the first-person-singular (i.e. individuals) but a ‘conditio sine qua non’. Gutjahr reflects on both theoretical and practical aspects of the field’s many processes of resonance. Putting the field consistently at the centre of his approach, the author describes the main tenets expanding on previous versions of Gestalt therapy. This important new book is at the cutting edge of the current discussion of relational and field-oriented approaches to Gestalt therapy, and will be of particular interest to practitioners of Gestalt therapy, psychotherapists, phenomenologists, as well as theorists of philosophy, sociology and therapy.
Aggression, Time, and Understanding is the first book of Staemmler’s writings to be published in English. In the early sections of this book, Staemmler (supported by his Buddhist wife, Barbara) comprehensively explores and questions the traditional Gestalt therapy theory of aggression and proposes a new approach to working with anger and hostility. Further sections include in-depth examinations of the topics of time (the "Here and Now" and "Regressive Processes") and understanding ("Dialogue and Interpretation" and "Cultivated Uncertainty"). From Staemmler’s "critical gaze," Dan Bloom observes, "concepts emerge as refreshed, re-formed, and revitalized constructs so we can continue to develop the theory and practice of contemporary Gestalt therapy."
For years, psychotherapists have known that Laura Perls was actively involved in the development of what today is known as Gestalt therapy, although her husband, Frederick Perls, officially authored the foundational texts. Laura Perls’s own professional publications are succinct and appreciated, but they are not numerous. The present volume, comprising Laura Perls’s heretofore unpublished writing, including journal entries, letters, poems, translations, short stories, and drafts for lectures and publications, offers a very personal perspective on one of the founders of Gestalt therapy. The extensive interview that Daniel Rosenblatt conducted with Laura Perls in 1972, published here for the first time in English, complements her literary texts, and provides valuable background information. Laura Perls’s history spans two world wars, flight from Nazi persecution, life on three continents, and many new beginnings. Together with her known works, these literary texts reflect the emergence of women into professional and public life during the 20th century by giving the reader insight into this time period and the influence of a woman on the development of a major school of Humanistic Psychology. The rich cultural background from which Laura Perls benefited and the authors whose works inspired her resonate in her literary texts, a treasure chest of personal reflections during the decades of her life from 1946 to 1985. In addition, a general overview of her life is provided, her theoretical and practical contributions to the origins and development of Gestalt therapy are described, and her legacy to the field of Gestalt therapy is elucidated. Laura Perls was known for making the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy a viable and important teaching community. For decades, she was the keeper of the flame of this foundational Gestalt institute. Best known for her concepts of contact and support, the creative use of experiments, and productive use of embarrassment, Laura Perls’s literary texts are finally made available here.
This seminal textbook on Gestalt therapy refreshes the theory of by revisiting its European roots. Taking the basic premise that people do the best they can in relation to their own situation, leading European therapist Georges Wollants explains Gestalt theory and provides a useful critique of commonly taught concepts. Each section approaches a key area of psychotherapy theory in context, while chapter summaries, illustrations and worked-through case examples help to make the theory accessible to all those training in Gestalt therapy. Commentaries from current experts in different areas of Gestalt provide a balanced overview of Gestalt therapy today.
Anna Halprin is a world-famous theatre artist and early pioneer in the expressive arts healing movement. This book explores her personal growth as a dancer and choreographer and the development of her therapeutic and pedagogical approach. The authors, who each trained with Halprin, introduce her creative work and the 'Life/Art Process®' she developed, an approach that takes life experiences as a source for artistic expression. They also examine the wider impact of Halprin's work on the fields of art, education, therapy and political action and discuss how she crossed the conventionally defined boundaries between them. Exploring Halprin's belief that dance can be a powerful force for transformation, healing, education, and making our lives whole, this book is a tribute to an exceptional body of artistic and therapeutic work and will be of interest to expressive arts therapists, dance movement psychotherapists, dancers, performance and community artists, and anyone with an interest in contemporary dance.
