Space kid makes good ....

• Relation to the Larger Field by Philip Brownell, 6/24/98
  • In response by Dale R. Smith, 6/28/98
    • Some thoughts by Philip Brownell, 7/4/98
      
      

Phil,

Alrighty then Phil, you believe what seems right for you. If it makes your garden grow, by all means, help yourself to it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, to give ya a bit of a breather, some misunderstanding apparently could have got ya going in the wrong direction with me, cuzz I meant a degree program, and not simply a course. I already realize Phil, that Gestalt has been around universities since the 1920's. Any gestalt therapist would know that, if they were trained. And I was trained Phil. I mean, how dumb do you think I am? That's right buddy. And you already know all this from other "places" we have shared post's going back to the fall of 1997. Even in this forum is a post about my training. Am I wrong about this Phil? So guess what? I am kinda perplexed about your smugness. You have a way about you brother that does not give me good food. I guess to put it into words I say that it lacks good taste. In any case let's take a real good look at" some" of your "thoughts" in your last response.

To my knowledge Phil, (and yours too eh?) no degree program in Gestalt THERAPY is yet (still not) taught in any university in the whole world. Why is that Phil? Face the truth of the statement, (I am thinking machine theory here now) or give me the name and web site of the university where I can graduate as a full blown Gestalt therapist like I could, say as, an M.A. in CBT, or as a clinical psychologist, or a whole world of counseling and therapy disciplines; but no gestalt therapy degree now is there?

Next time you are so quick to hand out advice, perhaps take a second or two to get some gestalt going with yourself and make contact with that next individual first. Rubber stamp responses don't work very well in what is currently going on in the world of gestalt. (Here I am referring to your March 1997 posts on this forum to some very (I thought any ways Phil) well trained and contact mindful gestalt therapists). On the other hand , thanks for proving my point that gestalt is changing, and that some of that change is not good. Not real. Not alive with true gestalt. A little to much (dare I say it?) theory that is confused with therapy. True Gestalt theory is and always has been alive and well, but it cannot simply be used to practice by-the-book gestalt therapy. Gestalt is not gestalt if we can take it apart and put it together again. Come on now. Gestalt is a WHOLE. Taking it apart to be able to teach theory is going to supercharge machine theory. If that ever happens (and I think that we are at critical risk of exactly that) it will take much more than Fritz Perls and the old gang to shake us up, wake us up, make us realize that the sickness killing our patients MUST be lived through, not just theorized away by reading some well written books (or visiting some well engineered web sites). (And here let me state for the record Phil, that thank you and everybody and everybody that is doing anything and everything to bring gestalt therapy back up from the grass roots. Just include me too somewhere in the game, will ya?)

What is true in the whole therapy movement from all disciplines is the general consensus that interactions and field theory is much more prevalent than ever before. Perhaps machine theory is finally getting it's oil changed, but it is really an immense undertaking, and nobody can say with a high degree of precision if this is not just another response to cyclic generational systems changes, or a genuine overhaul and foundation rebuilding of the whole therapy industry. As gestalt therapists we all want something genuine. But what is, is. One thing leads to another.

Oh yeah. Fritz Perls. What a guy eh Phil! You really have some kind of weird gestalt going on with him, don't ya? Your drift that charisma and unpredictability is what kept Fritz dominating Gestalt therapy is really coming up flat in any field that I can generate. Zero formation. Let me explain to you what I think about Fritz and the old gang. They had something that you said I am seemlily lacking in my appreciation. They had substance Phil. Yup, hard as rocks, yet the right approach good melt them into just the finest gold this side of the dark side of the moon. They loved contact. Real contact. At any price. And because of their no-price-to-high motivation and philosophy they bequaethed onto us a priceless gift that is rich in practice, practice, practice. NOW THEY could train gestalt therapists. But they did even more. They even tried to put some theory down WITHOUT taking apart the therapy. I don't know about you brother, but that can't be easy work. No wonder most of it dosen't make sense to the average guy today. But in it's heydey in the 60's it sure made sense.(course ya had to be stoned to really gestalt with it, but that is another story) Just as an aside, look how flat my gestalt of the Recovery Steps posted last year panned out in this forum. Man that really pissed me off I just had to make contact WHATEVER the price. Those posts STILL make a gestalt for me, but it's not doing much for the rest of my collegues. What is, is. One thing leads to another.What did come out of it was that now I like fishing in this forum. (Hiya Brian, how's the weather downunder? Raining here right now. I love the rain. It's like God is baptizing the whole lot of us, warts and all. Tally-Ho!!)

Any ways lets cut to the guts of this post Phil. I am pissed off again. Gestalt has substance for me Phil. It has saved my life, time and time again. I offered some insight into my "substance" (read guts here Philly) in my last post giving up some small bits of my bio. After reading that last post Phil, (did you actually read it) can you for one minute imagine what kind of gestalt structures must become perceptual to a guy like me from where I have come from. Can ya? Have you ever been where I have been? Can you be where I am now? Will you be where I am going Phil? At the very least, get some kind of gestalt going that I am not just some dummy that likes to dream and hope one day to be a "real" gestalt therapist.

I am doing quite well thank you brother. Training is always bringing formations up in me, but I am not hurting for business let me assure you. I work with professionals from all differing backgrounds, educations, and disciplines. I am not the ignorant, backward wannabee you SEEM to be suggesting Phil.

So now then you have a real nice day, Phil .

warmly,

Dale R. Smith Gestalt Therapist President, Paradox Innovations Inc.

• Gestalt Center of Mexico by Dale R. Smith, 10/30/98