Maria Gilbert and Kent Evans

Gestalt therapy is humanistic/existential approach to counselling and psychotherapy which has been in use for over 50 years. Humanism stresses the importance of a person’s own inborn capacity for growth and change. Existentialism stresses the responsibility people have for their own lives and their choices. The primary focus of existentialism is on heightening awareness of our being in the world.

We distinguish between classical Gestalt developed by Perls and his immediate followers and contemporary Gestalt.  Whereas the goal and method of classical Gestalt is on developing self-awareness, contemporary Gestalt is focuses more on contact, that is, and awareness of the person's relationship to self, to others and to the world.  Consequently there is a greater emphasis on the nature of the therapeutic relationship in current Gestalt theory and practice.  In this chapter we will focus on classical Gestalt and refer the reader to appropriate sources on contemporary Gestalt.

Further information about this therapeutic approach written by the authors, can be found in "Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Essential Guide", edited by Professor Stephen Palmer and published by Sage, London.  Price £18.99.

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