Similarities and differences

• Gestalt therapy and Gestalt-theoretical psychotherapy? by Javier Guillen, 11/13/97
  
  

Hi Javier, my name is Gerhard Stemberger, I am a Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapist from Vienna, Austria. Your question is hard to answer in short strokes, but I'll try: Gestalt Therapy - as put forward by Fritz and Laura Perls, Paul Goodman and others - has various roots, one of them is Gestalt psychology (Koehler, Koffka, Wertheimer, Lewin and others: the so-called 'Berlin school of Gestalt psychology'). As Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and other Gestalt therapists from the first generation were not so well acquainted with Gestalt psychology (and not so interested in theoretical issues anyway) they grasped some main ideas from this important school of holistic psychology and put them to productive use in psychotherapy but not always in the full and correct sense intended by the Gestalt psychologists. Therefore the Gestalt psychologists did not recognize any similarities between Gestalt psychology and Gestalt therapy for a long time (see for example the harsh criticism of some of Perls' ideas by the American Gestalt psychologist Mary Henle at http://rdz.stjohns.edu/~gerhard/gta/henle.html ). In the 1970s the German Gestalt therapist Hans-Juergen Walter has analysed thoroughly the relationship between Gestalt theory and various psychotherapy schools and has shown that Gestalt therapy could be based much more consistently and fruitfully on Gestalt theory (and integrate many important ideas and concepts from other psychotherapy schools) than most Gestalt therapists and Gestalt psychologists had thought before. This was done mainly in his book "Gestalttheorie und Psychotherapie" (Gestalt theory and psychotherapy; Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1978; 3rd edition: 1994) and in a series of articles, recently published in the book "Angewandte Gestalttheorie in Psychotherapie und Psychohygiene" (Gestalt theory applied in psychotherapy and psychohygiene; Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1996). On this basis Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy was developed (mainly in Germany and Austria) over the last twenty years and has become a respected psychotherapy method in the German speaking countries of Europe (in fact Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy is one of the officially acknowledged psychotherapy methods in Austria since some years). So Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy defines itself as an application of Gestalt theory. There is an international Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA) in which the Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapists have their own section. I would recommend you to visit the website of the GTA http://rdz.stjohns.edu/~gerhard/gta/gtax.html to get more information on this society and the variety of Gestalt theory applications besides the field of psychotherapy. There are also some pages devoted to information about Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy and its relation to Gestalt therapy and other schools of psychotherapy (see http://redz.stjohns.edu/~gerhard/gta/gtp.html ). As you know Gestalt therapy has developed along various lines nationally and internationally since its beginnings. There are similarities and differencies between these various lines in Gestalt psychotherapy and in my opinion all of these different lines have their strong and their weak points. Therefore dialogue and exchange of ideas and experiences between them seems to me a necessity in the common interst. In my opinion Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy differs from many other lines of Gestalt therapy in first instance not so much in tools and technical matters but mostly in its metatheory, in its epistemological basis (Critical Realism), in its explicit ethics and somehow in its view of man. [It is true that these metatheoretical differences might show in practice too and the similarities in tools and technical matters might be not so far-reaching as it seems at first glance.] There are some differencies too in the view of the process of psychotherapy, the relationship between psychotherapist and client, questions of psychopathology and healing process, but it would go too far to explicate this in this message. If you have specific questions about that please feel free to post another message or to contact me directly at stember@ibm.net

Gerhard

• Gestalt therapy and science by Javier Guillen, 11/17/97