Gestalt therapy: principles and applications

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 of proximity. 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.

However much they were influenced by the Gestalt psychological concepts of Wertheimer, et al., Gestalt therapy more resembles philosophies like Buddhism and existentialism than Gestalt psychology. "Gestalt conceives of the mind as an interference, as a way of blocking the total momentum of the organism in some way ... The mind is not even the noble part of the organism ... For most people the mind and the creations of the mind work against the body," (Becker 1993). One of the key issues in Gestalt therapy is "being here now," becoming aware of the body's sensations and feelings and silencing the mind's chatter. By being here now, the individual can best achieve a sense of wholeness, of gestalt.

Gestalt therapy was closely related to and influenced by humanistic psychology. Early humanistic psychology, in turn, was influenced by Gestalt psychology. Kurt Lewin and Kurt Goldstein, who worked with Wertheimer, Koffka, and Kolher, first applied Gestalt psychology to psychological issues outside the domain of perception. Lewin originated the topological theory, a "map" of human dynamics that represented a "life space," (Boeree 2000). One's life space included needs, desires, and goals. Kurt Goldstein proposed a "holistic view of brain function," and coined the term self-actualization, which would become the key concern for both humanistic psychologists and Gestalt therapists (Boeree 2000). According to Sherrill (1984), "Goldstein had extensive contact with Kohler, Koffka and Wertheimer in Germany; praised their work; and used Gestalt terminology in his writings. But he considered himself a holist rather than a Gestalt psychologist."

Therefore, Gestalt psychology remains the main historical predecessor of Gestalt therapy, even if the two diverged considerably. Rosemarie Wulf (1996) places Gestalt therapy into an even wider historical-theoretical framework, referring to the "Zeitgeist (the spirit of the time) that prevailed during the lifetimes of the founders of Gestalt therapy." Included in the cultural zeitgeist surrounding the evolution of Gestalt therapy include diverse factors such as art, literature, politics, science and philosophy. Wulf (1996) notes that while "in Berlin, Fritz Perls had frequented left-wing intellectual circles and also moved in Bauhaus circles." Coming into contact with Marxist theory as well as existentialist philosophy undoubtedly impacted the development of Gestalt therapeutic models. The influences of Eastern spiritual traditions on Perls also cannot be denied; after meeting expressionist philosopher Salomon Friedlander, Perls "regarded Friedlander's philosophy as the western equivalent to the teachings of Lao-tse," (Wulf 1996). Perls would go on to study Zen Buddhist practices and incorporated the underlying "being here now" philosophy into his Gestalt therapies. Gestalt therapy remains largely committed to developing conscious awareness as the foundation for psychological healing. Such practices as counting the breath and being thoroughly aware of physical sensations continue to be incorporated into Gestalt therapeutic practices. Through conscious awareness, worries, anxieties, fears, and self-defeating thought patterns can be eliminated.