Book Description
Acclaimed by Psychology Today as one of the best books of 1977, this study explores the relationship between therapist and patient, and explains the roots, methods, and aims of Gestalt therapy. Line drawings. ... Read more

Book Description
Explains the fundamentals of the behavioral theory that is based on an integrated view of the personality. For the student and the professional. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The writing is dated but the content is good.
Erv and Miriam Polster were two major stars in the pantheon of psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy in particular.They were strongly influenced by the ideas of Isadore From and Lore Perls, with whom they studied at the Cleveland Institute of Gestalt Therapy and in New York City. For many years they trained practitioners in the methods of Gestalt therapy through their training center in La Jolla.They also did workshops across the US and abroad. This book is written in the 1970's and shows it, with its somewhat flowerly and gushy style.However it is probably the best book around for someone who wants to know a bit about the theory and practice of this approach first-hand, from two people who really knew what they were doing.

very good and complete
This book really has what it offers: this is an integrated view of gestalt therapy, but not only that it gives a clear and very well explanation about the main concepts of Gestalt theraphy, I really recomend it.

An easy introduction
This basic introduction to gestalt therapy, first published thirty years ago, is relatively easy to read and covers quite a lot of concepts and practices. It also provides many anecdotal accounts of example cases to help illustrate its themes. ... Read more

Book Description
`I looked forward to reading this book and was not disappointed. It reflects the best of the Gestalt approach - it is clear, challenging and refreshing. Emphasis is placed on the importance of a safe and supporting framework within which therapeutic work takes place, and this is reflected in the reader feeling a real connection with the authors.

The humanistic element of Gestalt comes through clearly in this book. Not only is this an important read for those training in Gestalt but it is equally important for trainees and established therapists in the humanistic and integrated field' - Counsellingbooks.com

`This book was put on our reading list for diploma students in humanistic counselling, and it has been snapped up by the students' - Bee Springwood, Self & Society

'Written in a clear and accessible style, this slim volume will be valued as a wise guide in attaining the necessary skills for a Gestalt flavoured clinical practice... It is in the reference material from Gestalt practitioners across the world that the authors provide a succinct integration of Gestalt theory and practice from these last fifty years. This is one of the understated but powerful aspects of the book... I recommend that all Gestalt practitioners get a copy of Skills in Gestalt Counselling & Psychotherapy for their professional library and make sure that it is mandatory reading for their students' - Dorothy ESiminovitch, A Gestalt Guide for the Journey of Skill Development

'An informative book, well worth the money, that will enrich thepractice of any practitioner' - Stress News

Skills in Gestalt Counselling & Psychotherapy is a practical introduction to the different techniques used at each stage of the counselling process. The book takes the reader through the process from beginning to termination and focuses on skills which arise out of Gestalt theory as well as those invoked by the counselling relationship.

Accessibly written by experienced practitioners, the book gives clear guidelines on: establishing the relationship; assessment and goal-setting; developing the client's awareness; maintaining the relationship and bringing the counselling to an end.

The authors also examine the spiritual dimension of counselling and offer guidance on some of the special considerations affecting counsellors such as the context in which they are working, the duration of the relationship, and particular problems with which clients present. For all those training in Gestalt or who wish to sharpen their skills as practitioners, this will be essential reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book for anyone interested in Gestalt therapy
If Gestalt therapy is for you something hard to understand (mainly because they didn't explain it all at your university), this book is for you. I had a course in Gestalt therapy for a year during my post-graduate studies in clinical psychology and I must admit I was able to FINALLY understand a lot of the concepts I learned there without really knowing what was my teacher talking about. The books offers lots of exercises for you to do so that you can actually perceive, with all your senses, what it is all about. The writers have also discussed a lot of techniques and skills for you to use with your clients. It was an eye opener for me as before I had thought that "bashing the cushion" and "two chairs" were basically the available "tangible" interventions.
The books is very ellegantly written and I only wish I had had it a few years ago... Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice

Customer Reviews (2)

A Biased/Un-biased Recommendation
First, full disclosure admits that I am a contributing author to this book.However, I'm not writing to advocate my chapter; rather, I'm writing because I am feeling fortunate and grateful to be among the other authors in this great book.That is true, and it is also true that the content and approach to this book provides a comprehensivetreatment of Gestalt therapy that serves our discipline well and provides a solid reference for trainees.Many of these authors are people with whom I have been meeting, conferencing, discussing, arguing, and from whom I have been learning ever since I started my journey in formal Gestalt training.I would rank this volume in the top five for Gestalt therapy literature worldwide.

Important Contribution to Gestalt Literature
I am very impressed with this important and comprehensive contribution to the Gestalt Therapy literature.We have assigned it for our post-graduate training institute. The students find it clear and informative. I highly recommend it for both beginning and advanced students of Gestalt Therapy. ... Read more

Book Description
This contemporary counseling approach seamlessly meshes with pastoral theology!

Gestalt therapy is designed to be simple, free of jargon, and emotionally liberating--ideal for pastoral counseling in the context of a variety of faiths. This primer is designed to give pastors and rabbis a working knowledge of the basic techniques and attitudes pioneered by Dr. Fritz Perls. Pastoral Counseling: A Gestalt Approach shows how this holistic approach, with its emphasis on the here and now, is a natural counterpoint to pastoral theology.

This comprehensive book gives specific instructions on using Gestalt techniques to increase the depth of the pastoral care and counseling you provide. Pastoral Counseling explains the basic goals of Gestalt work, which are to achieve spontaneity and expressiveness and to move toward personal authenticity. It also reveals how you can employ these techniques to help you and your congregation move toward realizing your God-given potential.

Pastoral Counseling illustrates Gestalt theories from several perspectives, including:

• theory and techniques
• case studies
• a folk tale
• session transcripts
• a sermon

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent practical application of Gestalt theory
This book is a must-read for any practitioner of the Gestalt approach. It is particularly helpful for the field of pastoral counseling and clinical pastoral education as it offers vivid case illustrations of the techniques used. It also is a useful tool for everyday pastoral care offered by congregation-based clergy, who seek a holistic approach using the body language, facial expressions and internal dialogue of the one seeking help. The chapters on the hot-chair and the counseling session are particularly gripping and enlightening for pastoral practice. All chapters offer well-integrated, in-depth theoretical reflections.

As a former post-graduate student of Dr. Knights I had the privilege to experience his personal strength and leadership for several years. His motivating force was to meet people at the center of their vital awareness by helping them to be authentic in the here-and-now. The book is an accurate reflection of Dr. Knights' clinical and educational practice. His use of the Gestalt approach has enabled many pastors to be more authentic persons and therefore to be more empathetic and genuine with the people to whom they minister.

Accessible Tools
The language and exercises of Gestalt are presented in usable form accessible to beginners as well as seasoned practitioners. Illustrations from folk tales, scripture, group and individual counseling, and congregational settings keep readers interested and involved. Actual verbatim conversations give specific insight into real life experience with the theory.The material is engaging.It would be hard to find a better description of this psychological theory well integrated into an understanding of pastoral care and counseling.I have used the book personally with Association for Clinical Pastoral Education students and in local church settings effectively.I highly recommend this resource.--The Rev. Martha Rutland, D. Min., ACPE Supervisor ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An absolute classic.
This is one of my favorite psychology books ever.In a short book, it manages a perceptive criticism of the two major 20th century currents in psychology (behaviorism and introspectionism) together with an exposition of Gestalt psychology's alternative.A must-read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Peeling the onion may make you cry for your money
Not a professional brochure, poorly eddited and without a significant contribution to praxis. The client side of psychotherapy remains sorely under represented. ... Read more

Book Description
Compiled and edited from transcriptions of three workshop/demonstrations that took place at the Esalen Institute in 1968, the first section of this book includes four lectures wherein Perls presents a clear explanation in simple terms of the basic ideas he believed underlie the philosophy and methodology of Gestalt therapy.The lectures are followed by verbatim transcripts of work Perls did with workshop participants.This Gestalt Journal edition includes an introduction by Michael Vincent Miller that explores the political and cultural milieu when Gestalt therapy leapt to the "theatrical forefront" of the human potential movement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Action!
I've read many books by the great psychological theorists like Jung, Adler, Horney etc., but none of them cut to the heart of becoming like Fritz does. Even the other third wave analysts like Rogers and Maslow stilltake a more abstract approach: they suggest ideas on how to functionoptimally in interpesonal relationships, but don't dig very deep into theapplication, or the how. This book uses practices that have parallels inZen buddhism and other sorts of experience-oriented disciplines, butdoesn't praise any particular system or thinker. The presentation of thematerial is very simple and informal--taken from live lectures. Thus,nothing is academically obscure. Rather, its as though one is listening toa very integrated human being who is beyond the need to aggrandize himselfthrough helping others. This is a very good book for people that wish toopen themselves up to the full experience of living.

very good
the idea of gestalt therapy is very healing and the use of it in interpersonal relationships relieves many people of hang-ups that accompany the usual expectations that causes problems in day-to-day communications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Very Readable Classic
All of Perls' books are an interesting read.Too bad the title sounds so clinical. You don't have to be a psychologist to enjoy this book. Anyone that wants to understand themselves and others better will be satisfied.

The Gestalt Approach & Eye Witness to Therapy
I HAVE A BOOK WITH THE SAME NAME WITH THIS ON THE COVER,THE LAST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE WORK BY THE GENIUS WHO FATHERED GESTALT THERAP, AND CAN NOT FIND THIS IN YOUR BOOKS SHOWN I WOULD LIKE TO SELL THIS POCKETBOOK NOW. The author is the same .

Simplemente maravilloso
Este es mi libro favorito de los que ha escrito Perls.A mi juicio la síntesis de su trabajo y enseñanza es inmejorable.Para mí es material de consulta permanente.
Es un "must" para los que están interesados en acompañar sus procesos de terapia gestalt con los principios y fundamentos que subyacen a este mágico enfoque.

Essays and Transcripts
In an interview with Adelaide Bry, Perls refused to answer when asked what Gestalt Therapy was. He commented that he hated intellectualizing, and instead walked her through some exercises to demonstrate the integrative rather than the analytical nature of a gestalt-based approach. It's an interesting moment, and sheds some potential light on the best way to read this book.

Essentially what Perls believed was that in order to make intelligent and healthy decisions, you have to make conscious decisions. So the goal of therapy is to bring all the issues at play into consciousness so that by being aware of all the factors involved, real choices can be made in an informed fashion. He used theatrical techniques and group therapy to help his patients achieve their goals.

Perls is reported to have viewed the essays in the first portion of the book (The Gestalt Approach) as outdated, and instead wished that he could have made a film to convey his ideas. There are seven essays, which lay out the basic principles behind his theories and ideas:

Foundations
Neurotic Mechanisms
Here Comes the Neurotic
Here and Now Therapy
Peeling the Onion
Shuttling, Psychodrama, and Confusion
Who is Listening?

I would tend to agree (with Perls' implied message) that reading the transcripts of group therapy sessions in the second part of the book (Eye Witness to Therapy) is much more illuminating for somebody who wants to get some insight into what really is involved in Gestalt Therapy.

For me at least, as a layman, it was much easier to get a feel for what was involved by reading the flow between the patients and the therapist in group than it was to digest the message in essay form.

Thought-provoking.

A different type of reference on Gestalt
Reads like a play.A different but interesting approach ... Read more

Book Description
Gestalt Therapy has been developing steadily for the last 50 years in America as well as in Europe. It is currently practiced in different settings: individual, group, and family therapies; personal growth; and social, medical and business organizations.

This book is written mostly for beginners and for psychotherapy clients: it summarizes the central philosophy of this approach and the main techniques for the enrichment of contact. It includes sketches, charts, indexes, a glossary and a bibliography, which help make the concept come alive. It also explains, in an accessible way, the latest discoveries concerning the brain (neurosciences), dreams and sexuality.

Serge Ginger puts forth a specifically French approach: a synthesis of the French culture (greatly influenced by psychoanalysis) along with a mobilizing and interactive method, emphasizing the cycle of contact, evoking the emotions, the body and the right hemisphere of the brain.

It is a new, optimistic approach to human relations. ... Read more

Book Description
The seminal text setting forth the theoretical foundations of Gestalt therapy.Originally published in 1951, The Gestalt Journal Press edition restores the work to its original editorial structure and includes a new introduction by Isadore From and Michael Vincent Miller. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The classic text
Perhaps it is not a coincidence that there is so little writing about gestalt therapy, since the therapy emphasizes experience over explanation.In any case, the writing here is very important for those who wish to understand the intellectual basis of this approach.Gestalt therapy was written by three people.The significant part of the book, part II in the original published version, was written by Paul Goodman from the notes of Fritz Perls.Reputedly, Perls paid Goodman $500 for the job, but Goodman had trouble collecting.The publishers decided to make Hefferline's section Part I.This section contains a bunch of exercises that bear little relationship to what a Gestalt therapist would actual do with a patient.

Isadore From, the famous Gestalt trainer, said that Part II was deliberately written so as not to be easily assimilated.The essence of Gestalt therapy is that change/learning takes place through experience, and that introjection, or simply swallowing what a therapist says to you is of no use.Thus, the text of Part II must be read line by line, as it was taught in year- long seminars by Isadore.When read this way, Perls, Hefferline and Goodman emerges as a rich source of insight and theoretical perspective about what was almost called "existential phenomenological therapy" by its creators.

a vital and pathbreaking work
This initial formulation of Gestalt Therapy is the single most important development of the psychotherapeutic ideas of Freud and Reich. Personally, it has helped me begin to gain real insight into myself, my friends and family, and my society.

Synthesizing psychoanalysis, western philosophy, and eastern meditation techniques, the book presents a new and vital perspective on mental health and illness, as well as a series of exercises and practices designed to bring us into closer contact with our daily experience and gain insight into the neurotic mechanisms by which we ward off excitement and growth.

The book is divided into two parts (their intended order reversed by the publisher). In the second part, the foundational theory of Gestalt Therapy is layed out. The presentation is vague and unsystematic, but its insights and approaches are crucial. Breaking with Freud, and developing Wilhelm Reich's methods of Character Analysis, the authors shift the focus of therapy from our memories, dreams, and unconscious functions, onto our present, aware functions.

Gestalt Therapy defines the self as our individual, historically, culturally, and biologically determined system of contacting our environment. Health, in GT terms, is the ability to recognize and act on elements in our environment to satisfy our impulses.

The 'gestalt' comes from gestalt _psychology_, a non-therapeutic German experimental discipline which studied the way we discern 'figures' from the 'ground' of experience. (Think of the famous picture that looks like a candlestick or two silhouetted faces-- each of these images is a 'figure' or 'gestalt' formed from the 'ground' of light and dark on the page.) The crucial ability of the healthy individual, according to Gestalt _Therapy_ is the power to easily form 'gestalts' from the experiential 'ground' of daily life, recognizing opportunities for fulfillment in the environment and acting on them with vigor and grace.

Unhealth, or neurosis, on the other hand, is conceived of in GT as 'interrupted excitement', a habitual breaking of contact with our environment and our impulses, an inability to form gestalts. Our neuroses work by avoiding novelty, tensing our muscles against impulses, and projecting our desires and resentments onto others. These neurotic strategies, Goodman and Perls observe, are pandemic in our culture, and manifest themselves in widespread anxiety, boredom, resentment, and violence.

Part One contains a series of 18 exercises in awareness and contact through which we can begin to recognize our neurotic mechanisms and the impulses they ward off. They form the practical core of the Therapy, and deal variously with focusing attention on breathing, body sensations, emotional reactions, eating, and speech, etc. Some are more clearly conceived and presented than others.

Ultimately, this great book is not a theoretical template to be applied. Rather, it provides an orientation, and an _invitation_ to assume the responsibility for our own well-being, discovering "What excitements do I refuse to accept as my own? Where do I begin to avoid or suppress them? How do I do hinder myself?" Gestalt Therapy is a call to awareness, a challenge to start to contact our experiences, change our behaviors, and grow. It is a book the must be lived with, tried, challenged, discussed, returned to. I recommend going through the exercises in the first part, then reading and digesting the 2nd, then returning to the exercises.

"Relaxing deliberateness, interpreting oneself, feeling one's body and emotions, these don't themselves solve any problems. They make solution possible, but the solution must be lived out."

A book worth to read again from time to time.
This book has meant much to me personally. I always suggest that people buy the book for themselves. I am so dissappointed because I did not get my book back from someone who borrowed it. However, for me it is worth it tobuy another one. ... Read more

Book Description
A how-to micro-approach to implementing change

For the first time, here is a practical, basic guide to leading individuals and groups through change, from a Gestalt perspective. Step-by-step, this reference guide shows you how to lead change efforts and implement them with maximum results.

Taking a micro-approach to change, this unique resource is presented in workbook form to teach you:

• The roles that power and self-interest play in the change process
• What power really is and how it works
• Aspects of, assumptions about, and steps in the change process
• The role of the change leader and styles of change leadership
• How to frame and present the demand for change
• How to develop a change contract with the group
• How to explore the change and obtain commitment to it
• What resistance really is and how to work with it
• How to negotiate aspects of the change
• What situational exclusion is and when to use it
• How to conduct the change meeting and implement the change

Packed with action steps, examples, and activities for the change leader and the group, The Change Leader is a necessary reference for every manager, trainer, and consultant called on to effect change and organizational improvement.

... Read more

Book Description
Founder of the National Society for Graphology, Felix Klein began his study of graphology in his birthplace, Vienna, Austria, at the age of thirteen. He was a practicing graphologist all of his life and lectured and gave seminars throughout the United States and in Canada, England, Germany, Israel and Mexico.

Book Description
Supportive yet challenging, this volume contains 30 useful hints and reminders to help both students and professionals in counseling examine and improve key areas of ther work. Developing Gestalt Counseling encourages counselors to focus on areas that they feel need special attention by covering topics such as relationship and dialogue, assessment in the Gestalt approach; contact, awareness, proactivity, and responsibility; and experimental and creative methods. Author Jennifer Mackewn provides an easy-to-read and informative book for readers who are already familiar with the fundamentals of counseling and have begun work with clients in counseling psychology and social work settings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Current, grounded & positive overview of Gestalt
In the evolving theory of gestalt therapy, Jennifer MacKewn takes a readable, leading and positive stance on gestalt therapy.

Content-wise it would have probably been called "gestalt therapy integrated",would the Polsters not have claimed that title. I found this bookcomparably eloquent.

Whilst a book may not be the most powerful way ofgrasping gestalt concepts, MacKewn provides case studies, illustrations andcomprehensive referencing to enhance access & ground her claims.

Nicely done
I had a pleasant surprise with this book. Not just a theory discussion, this book is a nice overview of the "how to" of a practitioner who uses gestalt. I highly recommend it to those embarking on integratinggestalt in their work. ... Read more

Book Description
`Anybody with the slightest interest in brief therapy should read this book. Now that the initial controversy over brief therapy has begun to subside it is great to see how brief therapy works in practice. Gaie Houston's book is part of a series published by SAGE which sets out to do this - and hers is particularly illuminating and accessible.

As she points out Gestalt is better equipped than many mainstream therapies to be applied to situations with extreme time constraints because it is both flexible and it acknowledges the part that can be played by other therapies.But what propels Houston's book out of the hum drum - or indeed the defensive (or offensive) diatribes about short therapy which have appeared over the past few years - is her vivid accounts of real-life sessions, both one to one and group, which punctuate the text' - Amazon Review

Brief Gestalt Therapy demonstrates how the Gestalt approach can be used effectively in brief interventions with clients. Gestalt's distinctively integrative nature and emphasis on a highly co-operative working alliance, make it particularly suited to brief work.

The book sets out the basic theory and principles of Gestalt and looks at each phase of the therapeutic process from initial assessment through the beginning and middle stages to the ending of the work. It presents clear, practical strategies for therapists to follow and in particular examines:

}aspects of Gestalt which are especially relevant to brief work

-} the elements of successful therapy

-} ways of improving skills.

Brief Gestalt Therapy includes vignettes and detailed case studies which bring the theory alive. It will contribute much to both existing literature on Gestalt therapy and also brief therapy, and will be invaluable to trainee and practising Gestalt therapists. ... Read more

Book Description

Gestalt Counseling in Action is a bestselling text which has sold over 30,000 copies. Now in its Third Edition, the book continues to be a popular text for training in counselling and psychotherapy and with practitioners who are new to the gestalt approach.

Drawing on over 30 years experience as a gestalt practitioner, trainer and supervisor, Petruska Clarkson has written a lively and authoritative introduction to the approach, beginning with the theoretical and philosophical basis of gestalt. She clearly sets out the six main phases of the therapeutic process, introducing us to a client, 'Gary', whose case is used throughout the book to illustrate the process of therapy and the techniques used in each of the phases.

Fully revised and updated, Gestalt Counselling in Action, Third Edition includes a new chapter which explores recent developments in the field and looks to the future for the gestalt approach.

Customer Reviews (2)

A Great Read
Having just started on a Gestalt training myself, I found this book to be an easy read and also very informative about Gestalt principles.

I would have liked to give it a 5 star rating but didn't have anything else to compare it to as it's the first Gestalt book I have read so far.

Definately recommend it to Gestalt fledglings like me!

compassion in action
Clarkson's writing is appropriate to present time. The straightforwardness and depth of her writing is true to transcendence, and the core of Gestalt therapy, in philosophy and practice. Balanced and egalitarian, this book is a good example ofwriting that integrates masculine and feminine energies. ... Read more

Book Description
Wheeler's classic study, a best-seller in the field, placed the Gestalt therapy model squarely in the social-constructivist tradition of Lewin, Goldstein, and Goodman. In so doing, it brought mainstream attention to the integrative power of the Gestalt approach. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Controversial, difficult and worth it.
One of the few really impressive Gestalt therapy texts out there.The author has the smarts, the skills and the patience to bring Gestalt therapy out of the quagmire of showy charlatanism and to place it on solid theoretical ground. This book is controverisal in that it challenges many of the nearest and dearest assumptions of Fritz Perls' ideas and practice--but it's encouraging in that it draws on Perls' (and others) insights to point toward a more complete, more radical and more fully humanistic Gestalt therapy.

A provocative reassessment of Gestalt therapy.
Wheeler takes Gestalt therapy in a whole new direction in this book, bridging the gap between Fritz Perls' biologistic thinking and Husserlian phenomenology. The so-called "resistances to caontact" become "styles of contact" in Wheeler's vision. For the philosophicaly minded, this is reminiscent of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty.For the clinically minded, Wheeler takes Gestalt therapy from its unfortunate preoccupation with 'technique' toward a thoroughly practical assessment and intervention of the total clinical field.The extraordinary thing is how he bridges between the foundational theoretical precepts of Gestalt theory and the concrete praxis of the practicing clinician.This book will change the the way you practice your craft on a day to day basis. ... Read more