Gestalt therapy emerged from a multitude of philosophical, theoretical, scientific, and cultural roots. As a product of the early twentieth century, it would be impossible to divorce the evolution of Gestalt therapy from Marxism or existentialism, and indeed the theories of Gestalt therapy in part derive from those philosophies. Moreover, Gestalt therapy at least in part originated through a therapeutic application of the perception principles of Gestalt psychology. The relationship between Gestalt therapy and Gestalt psychology is both tenuous and controversial: "Gestalt therapists frequently claim descent from Gestalt psychology by quoting some of the classical Gestalt experiments in figure/ground information and figure/ground reversal ... Yet Gestalt psychologists have consistently denied any close kinship between their system of theory and research," (Sherill 1986). Still Gestalt therapy owes part of its theoretical framework to the work of Max Wertheimer, Ernst Mach, Christian von Ehrenfels, Oswald Kulpe, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka. While Wertheimer and other Gestalt psychologists did not concern themselves with existential matters as Gestalt therapists do, their discoveries in the realm of perception remain markedly similar to the philosophies underlying Gestalt therapy. Most notably, the term "gestalt," meaning "whole," applies itself equally to Gestalt psychology and to Gestalt therapy. However, the main concern of the Gestalt psychologist is human perception, whereas the main concern of the Gestalt therapist is self-actualization and self-awareness. The key founders of Gestalt therapy were Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman. Their theories first become codified in the 1940s and 1950s, decades after the publication of key Gestalt psychological works like Wertheimer's 1933 Productive Thinking, and Kolher's 1929 book Gestalt Psychology. Perhaps the main contribution of Gestalt psychology on Gestalt therapy were the "gestalt laws," including the law of pragnanz, the law of closure, the law of similarity, and the law...
Although these laws were used by Gestalt psychologists to describe mostly perceptual phenomenon, they can be easily extended to offer descriptions of human mental and cognitive processes. For example, the law of pragnanz (literally the "law of pregnancy") implies that the individual will gravitate toward experiencing "as good a gestalt as possible," (Boeree 2000). In other words, the human being naturally seeks wholeness in his or her visual perceptions. Applied to Gestalt therapy, the law of pragnanz would imply that the human being naturally seeks wholeness in his or her experiences of reality, and in his or her relationships. One of the keys to psychological healing is the achievement of wholeness, or gestalt.
Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that can be of immense benefit to certain types of people with certain types of issues. It is largely considered distinct from other varieties of psychotherapy because it is greatly concerned with perception -- both how it relates to the individual as well as to the observer. Although one might argue the case that virtually all forms of therapy are preoccupied with the
Abstract Gestalt is a German word signifying a pattern or shape. The roots of Gestalt therapy can be traced to Max Wertheimer, who studied human perceptual illusions. Wertheimer’s research led to a holistic view of the human psyche that provided a necessary counterpoint to the fragmented, reductionist, and structuralist views that prevailed in research psychology. Gestalt therapy emerged after blending the principles of Gestalt with the goals of psychotherapy. In particular,
Gestalt Therapy Thoughts / Feelings / Reactions The first impression upon reading the Chapter 9 (Gestalt Therapy) is that is has a human feel rather than the harsher, less-friendly Freudian psychoanalysis. Not that all of Freud's work is harsh or standoffish, at all. But when the easy-to-digest narrative in this chapter (lacking some of the esoteric passages of Freud) refers to the "awareness of awareness" I relate immediately (Yontef, et al., 316).
Person-centered therapeutic advocates would say that the therapist can work swiftly, if that is the client's desire. But if the client is less than 100% committed to working through his or her issues the needed duration of the therapy can vastly exceed the time and money of the client. Still, person-centered therapists would point out that unlike psychoanalysis, the focus of the therapy is about 'being in the moment'
The primary difference between the two however, is gestalt therapy concentrates more on the ability of the individual to make proper choices regarding their care. This theory or approach to therapy reminds the client of the connection between mind, body and spirit. The behavior approach is less concerned with the paradigm of holistic health, and more concerned with a therapist-driven approach to identifying problems and selecting appropriate solutions. In this
"The song was there before me, before I came along" Dylan answered. "I just sorta came down and just sorta took it down with a pencil, but it was all there before I came around…" (www.edlis.org)]. Meanwhile Ginger explains the practical application of Gestalt theory from the perspective of Fritz Perls: a) "we all know that each of us perceives the world from our own personal perspective…" and yet people
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