Gestalt Reconsidered

Wheeler, Gordon

doi:10.4324/9780203779484

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Another emphasis was the contact between self and other and, ultimately, the dialogical relationship between therapist and client (Polster & Polster, 1973). This was followed by an emphasis on field theory (Wheeler, 1991). Gestalt therapy focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, and the environmental and social contexts in which these things take place, as well as the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of the overall situation.…”

Section: Gestalt Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Humanistic–existential theories.

Watson

Schneider

2016

APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology: Theory and Research (Vol. 2).

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Carl Rogers was the leading proponent of the person-centered approach in the United States. He was born on January 8, 1902, in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father was a civil engineer and his mother a homemaker. Carl was the fourth of six children and received a strict religious education. Initially, he intended to study agriculture but switched to theology and spent 2 years at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. When he was 20, after a trip to China, he began to question his faith and decided to pursue an alternative career. He transferred to Columbia Teachers College to pursue a degree in clinical psychology under the supervision of Goodwin Watson, an expert in group leadership training. He completed an internship at the Institute for Child Guidance, where he received training in psychological assessment and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The writings of John Dewey influenced his thinking and contributed to his strong commitment to the principles and methods of scientificCopyright American Psychological Association. Not for further distribution.

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Section: Gestalt Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Humanistic–existential theories.

Watson

Schneider

2016

APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology: Theory and Research (Vol. 2).

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“…What we perceive and re-cognize as reality is a flowing, continuously emerging Gestalt of various streams of information that gain their valence, quality, and specific, as well as general meanings from their relational matrix (Parlett, 1991;Wheeler, 1991Wheeler, , 2000. In other words, we are the creators of our reality-not the passive receivers of objective "truth".…”

Section: Conceptual Foundationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gestalt Couples Therapy in the Field of Trauma

Jenkins¹

2016

PSYCH

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The field of Gestalt therapy has long had a troubled relationship with mainstream psychotherapy. The decades long assent of cognitive-behavioral and other, more objectively oriented therapies moved Gestalt even further from common acceptance as a valid alternative for treatment. Couple's therapy, in particular, has not commonly been seen as a natural "fit" for Gestalt practice. The author's view is that the recent rise of integrated therapy and the need for Evidence-Based Treatment separate from issues of allegiance to a particular school of therapy has created a new opportunity to reconsider Gestalt therapy theory and practice in couple's work. It is particularly relevant for work with couples in which one or both have been traumatized. Recent developments in Gestalt practice offers a fresh approach for such work, especially in regard to its focus on resolving underlying shame and the need for the couple to develop mutual acceptance at a deep level. Both these therapeutic tasks are vital in work with traumatized clients. These Gestalt tasks can easily be integrated with other, more mainstream models of working with trauma and working couples. An example of this integrated approach is offered to explore the ramifications of the theoretical assertion.

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“…While some psychotherapists speak of resistances to, or disturbances in, contact, the Norwegian Gestalt Institute prefers the term "modes of contact". In line with the thinking of Wheeler (1996), the Institute teaches that people are always in contact with someone or something, modes of contact exist in polarities, and one cannot say that a certain mode of contact is absolutely unhealthy while another is healthy since this will depend on the situation. Psychoanalysts such as Randall (2012) have argued that inaction on climate change is often related to resistances or defences.…”

Section: Relationship and Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Gestalt Approaches Can Contribute to Climate Change Transformation

Kolmannskog¹

2013

JSD

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A main aim of this paper is to show how Gestalt approaches can contribute to climate change transformation. A fictional case loosely based on experiences from the Dadaab refugee camps serves as a basis for theoretical speculation. For many people climate change, natural hazard-related disasters and displacement entail major life changes. This paper discusses certain cross-cutting and overarching concepts that may be of value in the process of transformation in general and transformational adaptation in a refugee camp particular. The Gestalt concepts explored are field theory, existential phenomenology, relationships and contact, and conflict and change. Field theory, which posits that everything is in mutual interaction, can be the basis of an ecologically oriented worldview. Phenomenology helps people stand aside from their usual way of thinking, and have a more immediate and naïve perception of what is in the present situation. It is important to consider interpersonal relationships as well as relationships between people and trees, animals and the wider natural environment. Several contact forms may be particularly relevant in a climate change context, including collective "chewing" of certain norms. Sometimes contact forms, such as projection, are related to intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict. An essential task is to think about how a safe space can be provided for conflicts to be explored. The Gestalt theory of conflict sees the person as a conglomerate of polar forces. Change happens when one becomes what one is rather than trying to become what one is not. The paper concludes that Gestalt approaches have much to offer and points out future research possibilities, including carrying out actual case studies based on Gestalt-inspired transformation.

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Gestalt Reconsidered

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Humanistic–existential theories.

Humanistic–existential theories.

Gestalt Couples Therapy in the Field of Trauma

What Gestalt Approaches Can Contribute to Climate Change Transformation

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