Gestalt Therapy: Advances in Theory and Practice

212 Pages·2011·1.44 MB·English

by  Talia Bar-Yoseph Levine

Gestalt Therapy
The Gestalt approach is based on the philosophy that the human being is
born with the healthy ability to regulate needs and wants in relationship
with the environment in which she/he lives. Heightening of personal
awarenessandexplorationofneedsisenabledbythetherapistwhoactively
engages in supporting and assisting the therapeutic journey of the client.
GestaltTherapy:AdvancesinTheoryandPracticeisacollaborationofsome
ofthebestthinkersintheGestalttherapyapproach.Itoffersasummaryof
recent advances in theory and practice, and novel ideas for future devel-
opment.EachchapterfocusesonadifferentelementoftheGestaltapproach
and, with contributors from around the world, each offers a different
perspective of its ongoing evolution in relation to politics, religion and
philosophy.
Incorporating ideas about community, field theory, family and couple
therapy, politics and spirituality, this book will be of interest not only to
Gestalt therapists but also to non-Gestalt practitioners, counsellors, psy-
chologists,psychiatristsandothermentalhealthprofessionals.Counselling,
behavioural science and psychotherapy students will also find this a
valuable contribution to their learning.
Talia Bar-Yoseph Levine BA, MA (Hons), DPsych is a co-founder of the
Jerusalem Gestalt Institute; past head of the MSc programme in Gestalt
psychotherapy at Metanoia Institute, London; registered clinical psychol-
ogistsince1981.TaliaisthemanagingdirectorofChoicePsychotherapyand
Management Consultancy Ltd, UK, and is a business consultant in Israel,
Europe, USA and Asia and an international trainer. She has published
numerous journal essays and is a member of the IPA (Israeli Psychological
Association).
Advancing Theory in Therapy
Series Editor: Keith Tudor
Most books covering individual therapeutic approaches are aimed at the
trainee/student market. This series, however, is concerned with advanced
and advancing theory, offering the reader comparative and comparable
coverage of a number of therapeutic approaches.
Aimed at professionals and postgraduates, Advancing Theory in Therapy
willcoveranimpressiverangeoftheories.Withfullreferencetocasestudies
throughout, each title will
• present cutting-edge research findings
• locate each theory and its application within its cultural context
• develop a critical view of theory and practice.
Titles in the series
Body Psychotherapy
Edited by Tree Staunton
Transactional Analysis: A Relational Perspective
Helena Hargaden and Charlotte Sills
Adlerian Psychotherapy: An Advanced Approach to Individual
Psychology
Ursula E. Oberst and Alan E. Stewart
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy: Theoretical Developments
Edited by Windy Dryden
Co-Counselling: The Theory and Practice of Re-evaluation
Counselling
Katie Kauffman and Caroline New
Analytical Psychology
Edited by Joe Cambray and Linda Carter
Person-Centred Therapy: A Clinical Philosophy
Keith Tudor and Mike Worrall
Psychodrama: Advances in Theory and Practice
Edited by Clark Baim, Jorge Burmeister and Manuela Maciel
Neurolinguistic Psychotherapy: A Postmodern Perspective
Lisa Wake
Constructivist Psychotherapy: A Narrative Hermeneutic Approach
Gabriele Chiari and Maria Laura Nuzzo
Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Revolutions in Subjectivity
Ian Parker

Gestalt Therapy
Advances in Theory and Practice
Edited by Talia Bar-Yoseph Levine
Firstpublished2012
byRoutledge
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SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYorkNY10017
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
Libraryof CongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Gestalttherapy:advancesintheoryandpractice/editedbyTaliaBar-
YosephLevine.
p.cm.
ISBN978-0-415-48916-4(hbk.) – ISBN978-0-415-48917-1(pbk.)
1.Gestalttherapy.I.Bar-Yoseph,TaliaLevine.
RC489.G4G48372011
616.89'143–dc22
2011001404
ISBN:978-0-415-48916-4(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-415-48917-1(pbk)
ISBN:978-0-203-15776-3(ebk)
TypesetinTimesbyGarfieldMorgan,Swansea,WestGlamorgan
PaperbackcoverdesignbySandraHeath
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyTJInternationalLtd,Padstow,
Cornwall
Contents
List of contributors ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction xvii
1 Gestalt in the new age 1
JAYLEVINANDTALIABAR-YOSEPHLEVINE
PART I
Gestalt therapy and theory 13
2 Flexibility in theory formation: point and counterpoint 15
ERVINGPOLSTER
3 Reconsidering holism in gestalt therapy: a bridge too far? 27
CHARLESBOWMAN
4 The interactive field: Gestalt therapy as an embodied
relational dialogue 39
MICHAELCRAIGCLEMMENS
5 Personality: co-creating a dynamic symphony 49
CARMENVA´ZQUEZBANDI´N
6 Critiquing projection: supporting dialogue in a
post-Cartesian world 59
LYNNEJACOBS
7 Sensing animals/knowing persons: a challenge to some
basic ideas in gestalt therapy 71
DANBLOOM
viii Contents
8 Mind and matter: the implications of neuroscience research
for Gestalt psychotherapy 83
PETERPHILIPPSON
9 Spirituality in gestalt therapy 93
PHILIPBROWNELL
PART II
Aspects of Gestalt practice 105
10 Creating an embodied, authentic self: integrating mindfulness
with psychotherapy when working with trauma 107
LOLITASAPRIEL
11 The four relationships of Gestalt therapy couples work 123
GARYYONTEF
12 Gestalt family therapy: a field perspective 137
BRIANO’NEILL
13 A neo-Lewinian perspective on gestalt group facilitation 149
SEA´NGAFFNEY
Epilogue 161
14 Awareness instead of rules: Gestalt ethics 163
ERNSTKNIJFF
15 Culture change: conversations concerning political/religious
differences 175
PHILIPLICHTENBERG
Index 185
Contributors
DanBloom,JD,LCSW,isapsychotherapistinprivatepractice.Hestudied
with Laura Perls, Isadore From, and Richard Kitzler. He is a fellow of
the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy and a full member of the
European Association for Gestalt Therapy. Dan is past president of the
AssociationfortheAdvancementofGestaltTherapyandtheNewYork
Institute for Gestalt Therapy. His writings have appeared widely.
Charles Bowman is past president of the Association for the Advancement
of Gestalt Therapy (AAGT) and Co-President of the Indianapolis
Gestalt Institute. He has published commentary on a variety of topics,
most related to Gestalt therapy, and is the editor of the AAGT news-
letter and co-editor of the online journal Gestalt! He is a Gestalt trainer,
psychotherapist and business consultant in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Philip Brownell, MDiv, PsyD, is a registered clinical psychologist in
Bermuda and a licensed clinical psychologist in Oregon and North
Carolina, USA. He is editor of the Handbook for Theory, Research and
Practice in Gestalt Therapy, the author of Gestalt Therapy: A Guide to
ContemporaryPractice,andserieseditorforTheWorldofContemporary
Gestalt Therapy.
Michael C. Clemmens, PhD, is a psychologist in Pittsburgh, PA in the US,
working with individuals and couples. He trains therapists throughout
theUSandEuropeemphasizingrelationalphysicalprocess.Michaelisa
professional staff member of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. His
publications include Getting Beyond Sobriety: Clinical Approaches to
Long Term Recovery and other articles on Gestalt therapy.
Sea´nGaffney,PhD,wasbornandraisedinDublin,Ireland,andhasbeena
resident of Sweden since 1975. He is a Gestalt therapist, Gestalt OSD
consultant, and university lecturer in Cross-cultural Management. He is
a full member of the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy (NYIGT)
and a senior trainer at Gestalt Institutes worldwide.