Book Description
What determines whether stepfamilies remain together? What helps stepfamilies overcomes the difficulties of remarriage and become mutually supportive family units? How can mental health professionals better support this development? This book brings both clarity and depth to the unique and complex dynamics of remarried families.
Patricia Papernow draws on interviews with over 100 stepfamily members, up-to-date research, a solid theoretical framework, and an empathic clinical sensibility to present an insightful model of stepfamily development, the Stepfamily Cycle. This details account of the sages of forming a lasting, cohesive group is richly illustrated by stepfamily members' own stories.
The author offers therapists, clergy, school personnel, and others involved with stepfamilies a range of effective interventions, including preventive, educational, and clinical approaches. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Comments on Papernow's "Becoming a Stepfamily"
I am a stepfamily therapist and researcher, and an invited member of the Stepfamily Association of America's Advisory Council. I have read over 40 lay and clinical books on stepfamilies and stepparenting since 1979. "Bocoming a Stepfamily" is one of the two best ones I have read, on a complex and controversial subject. The other is Margaret Newman's "Stepfamily Realities."
A major plus for this book is the many stepfamily vignettes and quotes Papernow uses to illustrate her points. Another is her way of framing the developmental stages of four kinds of typical stepfamilies. A third plus is Papernow's insightful sketching of the respective viewpoints and needs of the biological parent and the stepparent in different phases of stepfamily development. A rare feature of her book vs. others in the genre is her acknowledging that many stepfamily co-parents (bioparents and stepparents) have significant psychological wounds from their childhood that impact their stepfamily relationships. Most stepfamily authors ignore this vital reality.
A last unique advantage to this book is Papernow's (accurate) description that stepparents (and their kids, if any) initially feel like "outsiders" in the new stepfamily system, and that a major task all members face is to acknowledge that, and work to balance the outsiders and insiders through expanding mutual empathy.
A major drawback to this book is Papernow's decision to say little about ex mates. She implies that a nuclear stepfamily excludes or minimizes them (and any new mate and stepkids they have). The benefit of this is to keep her book conceptually simple. The great deficit is that it ignores a major source of re/marital and co-poarenting stress (or potential strength) for adults and kids alike. Unless a remarried bioparent is a widow/er, a nuclear stepfamily system *always* spans at least three co-parents and two or more co-parenting homes - even if a non-custodial bioparent is inactive.
The only other major improvement I can see to this clear, well organized, reader-friendly overview book is to clarify Papernow's metaphoric concept of "stepfamily mapping." She rightly says a common task for new stepfamily members is to "build a map" of each other's part of their new family. The metaphor seems vague and somewhat confusing. I believe what she means is "work to clarify each other's needs, new roles, and new stepfamily rules as you merge your biofamily cultures."

I highly recommend this useful book to courting and remarried coparents, clergy, and other human-service professionals.

Papernow's book focuses on the real issues of stepfamilies.
In 1994, my then fiance and I read together Papernow's book on stepfamilies in order to prepare us for the challenge of blending my five children and his eight children (four of which were already married).This was so invaluable in giving me the perspective of all parties involved.Over and over through the years (it is now 2001) this book made me realize that my side of the various issues that come and go is not the only valid view of things.Time does make a big difference in settling issues and feelings. I think this book should be required reading before anyone undertakes the task of step parenting. It arms you with so many valuable insights before you have to learn by experience and wreck your marriage.Our marriage is going strong; this book did help.

insightful and thorough guide for parents and professionals
While this book is written for professionals, it reads smoothly enough that anyone with a basic understanding of family dynamics should find it helpful.Of particular interest to families facing the challenges ofremarriage are the many interviews and case histories of families who havebeen there, done that. I would also recommend this book to anyprofessional who works with stepfamilies, as it contains clear models ofstepfamily development and the stages of forming long-lasting successfulblended unions. A ray of hope in the sometimes murky arena of steparenting! ... Read more

Book Description
This remarkable exploration of the inner principles of Gestalt therapy originated over twenty years ago in the form of a completed book, written at Fritz Perls' request. Here it is joined by a collection of essays that present Naranjo's reassessment of Gestalt therapy for the present day. In his fascinating study, Naranjo has captured the flavor and distinctive character of the California-based school of Gestalt therapy, propagated by Perls in his last years as a teacher and exemplar of the approach he pioneered. Lively and highly readable, learned and insightful, this book is indispensable both for professionals and the lay-reader in demonstrating why Fritz Perls was truly the father of the now-flourishing human potential movement. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive manual for group leaders from the inception of the group, choice of clients for group, guidelines for members, sample sessions, situations and practical ideas, suggestions, tips and handouts to use with group members ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

No doubt Fritz would be swayed
Appropriately named, the book is a practical toolbox. The guide packs ideas, techniques and years of experience. A must have for group therapists- Gestalt trained or not. Thanks Bud!

A great addition
This book is a great addition to the training materials of Gestalt Therapy. It is clear, concise and full of suggestions, wisdom and practical forms ... Read more

Product Description
From the Preface by Joe Wysong, Publisher of The Gestalt Journal Press"Bob Harmans first contributions to professional journals, 'Goals of Gestalt Therapy' and 'Techniques of Gestalt Therapy' were published in PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY in 1974. This volume includes all Harmans articles that appeared the pages of THE GESTALT JOURNAL over its twenty-five-year history. The final contribution, 'Gestalt Therapy in the 21st Century,' was his invited opening talk at a special gathering of Gestalt therapists honoring Erving Posters and Miriam Polsters lifelong commitment to the development and growth of Gestalt therapy.Harman was an appropriate choice to open the conference honoring the Polsters. His professional approach is similar to theirs with a focus that is always more on the clinical applications of Gestalt therapy rather than on its theoretical formulations. While not ignoring the theory, the center of Bobs attention is always on the client rather than on the canon. That focus is reflected in these articlesstories (some prefer case studies) of clients appear in almost all."Robert Harman recently retired as Director of the Counseling and Testing Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando. A Diplomate in Counseling Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology, he was the founder of The Gestalt Institute of Central Florida and ran an active training program there for many years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very practical
You can't miss this book if you're interested in Gestalttherapy or Play therapy.

Also great reading! ... Read more

Book Description
This is the first full-length historical study of Gestalt psychology--an attempt to advance holistic thought within natural science.Holistic thought is often portrayed as a wooly-minded revolt against reason and modern science, but this is not so.On the basis of rigorous experimental research and scientific argument as well as on philosophical grounds, the Gestalt theorists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka opposed conceptions of science and mind that equated knowledge of nature with its effective manipulation and control. Instead, they attempted to establish dynamic principles of inherent, objective order and meaning in current language, principles of self-organization in human perception and thinking, in human and animal behavior, and in the physical world. The impact of their work ranged from cognitive science to theoretical biology and film theory.Based on exhaustive research in primary sources, including archival material cited here for the first time, this study illuminates the multiple social and intellectual contexts of Gestalt theory and analyzes the emergence, development and reception of its conceptual foundations and research programs from 1890 to 1967. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Origins of Gestalt Theory
Gestalt psychology was founded by three German psychologists (Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler) in 1910 in Frankfort. Reestablished after World War I at the University of Berlin, it flourishedfrom the 1930s into the 1960s, then faded as its leaders aged and its majorfindings were absorbed by mainstream psychology. Today, the only survivingBerlin-trained gestaltist is the 95-year-old art theorist Rudolf Arnheim(author of Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye),who is still actively writing. Gestalt theory was and is important todifferent people for different reasons. In German, the word for"design" is gestalt, and one reason for its appeal to artists,architects, and graphic designers is that it provides scientific validationof age-old esthetic principles. For those who have gained from gestalttheory, whether artists, scientists, or psychologists, this is aninvaluable, interesting book. As the first comprehensive history of themovement, it covers a wide range of material, beginning at the turn of thecentury with Carl Stumpf, Christian von Ehrenfels, and others who set thestage; moving on to the Berlin Psychological Institute, and the numerousteachers and students who left before and during World War II; andconcluding in the 1960s, when Germany was still divided, with the fate ofthe few who preferred to remain. (Copyright by Roy R. Behrens from BallastQuarterly Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, Summer 1999.) ... Read more

Product Description
In Gestalt Therapy Frederick Perls explains his revolutionary view of human personality. He introduces the astonishing techniques for expanding awareness and deepening intepersonal relationships which have been so successful at Esalen Institute. ... Read more

Book Description
Originally published in hardcover in 1980, "Beyond the Hot Seat" was the first Gestalt Therapy book devoted to groups and it pioneered the movement away from individual work with an audience to an emphasis on group process and group dynamics within a Gestalt framework. It is consider a Gestalt Therapy classic and contains sections on theory,clinical applications and community applications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Still the seminal book of Gestalt Group Work
Beyond the Hot Seat was the first book to integrate Gestalt Group Therapy and Group Dynamics. It is still the best of its type and offers a wide range of theory and practice. Outstanding for trainees as well as more experienced group therapists ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory
I originally bought this because of my interest in Gestalt Theory, but found myself even more taken by the story of Wertheimer's life, his feeling for justice, and his intellectual depth and breadth.A fascinating memoir!

Interesting, fascinating, important
I hope to write a longer review when I have time, but here goes.I ordered this book a couple months ago and have been referring to it constantly.

Gestalt psychologists -- and by this I mean the original variety -- are among history's most fascinating and deep psychologists.This might not be evident from the few tidbits that show up in most basic psychology texts. But one hint that does get passed down frequently is that Abraham Maslow viewed Wertheimer as one of the few "self-actualized" people he had met. This book paints a portrait of the heroes of Gestalt psychology, and their profound outlooks on science, life and everything.They were creative, courageous, outrageous, profound... and human. Their long-neglected ideas were important then and they are important now.

This is Michael Wertheimer's long-awaited biography of his beloved and long-deceased father, completed with his long-time research collaborator, Brett King.I remember seeing him, and later them, work on the enormous project when I was a graduate student in the 1980s and 1990s in Boulder, Colorado.Professor Wertheimer's offices were cluttered with document after document related to his father and other Gestalt psychologists.The Gestalt/Wertheimer story was remarkably intricate, and it was clear that Professor Wertheimer wanted to do justice to the story.Well, the resulting book is remarkable, and I recommend it strongly.

Another book on Gestaltists that I recommend strongly - Ley's book on Wolfgang Kohler and the Apes of Tenerife.

Oct 16, 2006: New Book/translation of a classic and important Gestalt text:

LAWS OF SEEING
by Wolfgang Metzger (originally published 1936)
Translated by Lothar Spillmann, Steven Lehar, Mimsey
Stromeyer, and Michael Wertheimer
MIT Press.

I just ordered the Metzger/Spillmann et al. book.

I think it is great that there is so much "new" material on the great Gestalt thinkers.Taking a deeper look at Gestalt thinking has been well worth it.The school's thinking was much more deep and significant than the cartoon versions that are found in many textbooks. ... Read more

Book Description

The question of being was integral to the philosophy of Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) and was a large factor in the development of his political and aesthetic thought. In Heidegger and the Question of National Socialism, Bernhard Radloff investigates the philosophical foundations and cultural context of Heidegger’s conception of being, focusing on the idea of gestalt as the guiding thread that determined German conservative thought throughout the 1930s. In doing so, Heidegger’s philosophy is related to the whole of German society at the time, a society in which gestalt was the guiding light and the ultimate aspiration of artists, technicians, and politicians.

Throughout the book, Heidegger’s own understanding of gestalt is used as a window to his thoughts on being, which is conceived of as incorporated, finite, and historically situated in beings. Concentrating on the years between 1933 and 1942, Radloff seeks to capture the response of Heidegger’s philosophy to National Socialism, examining key works and relating them to the literature of the German conservative revolution. Heidegger and the Question of National Socialism is, therefore a thorough treatment of his political philosophy as it relates to the question of being.

Adopting both a historical and phenomenological approach to the subject, this book is equally an examination of German conservative ideology, a critique of technological determinism, and a study of one of the most controversial philosophers of twentieth century.

Customer Reviews (1)

All behavior is meaningful
Most clinicians are familiar with the Bender-Gestalt test.Since the publication of the system by Elizabeth Koppitz, the test has been largely utilized for visual-motor screening, screening for neurological impairment,and for emotional indicators. Dr. Perticone has brought this test to a newlevel.Those who are familiar and believe in the utility of the projectiveutilization of testing will take delight at a new way the Bender-Gestalttest can be administered and interpreted.In his work, Dr. Perticonediscusses the hypothesized symbolic pull of each design, the projectivesigns of how the designs are drawn, and a method of expanding the Bender. Dr. Perticone brings a method where subjects, clients, and patients candiscuss their design, thereby adding to the projective value of theassessment.This is a strongly recommended work, especially for anyclinican who utilizes the Bender-Gestalt test in their assessment. ... Read more