Abstracts for Volumes 12-15

The Embodied Field – Vol.12 No.1

The Embodied Field
James Kepner
Received 15 February 2003

Editors Note: We are very pleased to be able to publish the adapted text of a keynote presentation given by James Kepner at a recent conference. In this ground-breaking article he elucidates what being embodied entails, and suggests the need for therapists to be more embodied themselves. He makes an important contribution to the development of field theory and its application by describing how Gestalt practitioners need to create an experiential field that supports the particular work they are doing. He describes the ways in which practitioners and clients can create an embodied field. He concludes with a passionate plea for therapists to attend to their clients embodied soul and their ensouled body. This article is adapted from a keynote presentation to Deutsche Vereinigung Fur Gestalttherapie Conference. Bad Kissingen, Germany. May 2002. As part of his presentation he invited the audience to undertake exercises in awareness, which we print here as they would have been addressed to the conference audience.

Key words:embodiment, body-oriented psychotherapy, embodied field.

Culture and Body – A Phenomenological and Dialogic Inquiry – Vol.12 No.1

Culture and Body – A Phenomenological and Dialogic Inquiry
Michael Craig Clemmens and Arie Bursztyn
Received 12 October 2002

Abstract: Major components of the complex field in which we live are our embodied selves, and the cultures in which we live. As Gestalt therapists, we need to understand and appraise the ways in which culture finds its expression and life through our bodies, and to understand the different themes and modes of the embodied existence of our clients. In this illuminating article, two therapists, with their roots in different cultures, collaborate in demonstrating their appreciation of these basic field conditions and the way that they shape our work as therapists. This article is based on a chapter to be included in Making a Difference,edited by Talia Levine Bar-Yoseph, a forthcoming publication. The editor of the British Gestalt Journal thanks the author and editor for permission to publish this material.

Key words:culture, body, embodiment, field, Gestalt therapy, phenomenology.

Embodying Creativity: The Therapy Process and its Developmental Foundation – Vol. 12 No. 1

Embodying Creativity: The Therapy Process and its Developmental Foundation
Ruella Frank
Received 4 February 2003

Editors Note: In this article, Ruella Frank drawing from observations of infant behaviour illuminates a parallel process between the developing infants creative adjustment to their environment, and the boundary management of adults. Indeed, she argues that an understanding of the formation of infant contact mechanisms is necessary if we are to appreciate and successfully shape the boundary functions of adults. With reference to the field conditions that best support and lead to healthy contact with infants, she cites: 1) the attendance of a care-giving presence; 2) a supportive environmental surface; 3) involvement in experiential co-created tasks; 4) an optimum level of arousal; and 5) the development of the capacity to meet flexibly with an ever- changing environment. These qualities are also suggested to be worthy field conditions for therapy. A case study is provided to exemplify how we might cultivate the same to heal contact boundary disturbances in an adult client. In this way, components of our earliest formation of self, and embryonic contact with others, are seen via therapeutic experimentation, to provide tools with which to heal contact boundary disturbances in adults.

Key words:infant development, gestalt therapy, movement patterns, experiment, proprioception

Developmental Processes in Clients with Chronic Health Conditions – Vol. 12 No. 1

Developmental Processes in Clients with Chronic Health Conditions
Bill Palmer
Received 8 October 2002

Editors Note: In this invited paper, we are very pleased to publish some extracts from the manuscript of a forthcoming book, entitled The Tiger in the Grove: Developmental Process Therapy, by Bill Palmer. A teacher of Gestalt therapists and a body worker, Bill is also trained in Chinese medicine and developmental movement therapy. Here he describes some of the principles behind his work with patients suffering from chronic physical health problems. In this article, drawing on case examples, he describes the three phases of his Gestalt-informed developmental process therapy. These are (1) to explore the processes of development his clients are struggling with; (2) to help his clients become aware of how they are supported or hindered by the way they inhabit their bodies; (3) to suggest experiments clients can use to loosen up habitual ways they use their bodies. This elaboration of the paradoxical theory of change, applied to this specialised field, has relevance for all therapists, not just those who focus on physical process work.

Key words:bodywork, chronic illness, change, medical story, imbalance, development, experiment.

Countertransference and the Gestalt Approach – Vil. 12 No. 1

Countertransference and the Gestalt Approach
Joseph Melnick
Received 7 March 2002

Abstract: The term countertransference is an important theoretical concept with useful practical value to the Gestalt approach. Although commonly accepted by most therapeutic theories, it has multiple meanings that have shifted over the years. In this article, this concept is first looked at from a historical perspective, as it developed from psychoanalytic theory. This phenomenon is then discussed from a Gestalt framework. Common forms of countertransferential patterns that emerge in working with individuals, couples, families, and organisations are then articulated. Finally, suggestions for noticing common indications of countertransferential experiences are described.

Key words:Gestalt, countertransference, transference, projection.

I am Me and my Circumstance – Vol. 12 No. 1

I am Me and my Circumstance
Richard Wallstein
Received 7 March 2003

Editors Note: We are pleased to be publishing this very informative interview with Jean-Marie Robine, a distinguished Gestalt thinker, writer, and practitioner in France. He created Institut Francais de Gestalt-therapie in 1980. His current practice is in Bordeaux and he teaches Gestalt therapy in Europe and all over the world, from Moscow to Mexico and the Indian Ocean. He founded the two French Gestalt journals and is on the editorial board of Cahiers de Gestalt-therapie, Gestalt Review, and the new International Gestalt Journal. He has written many articles, a number of which have been translated in other languages. His latest book, The Unfolding Self, will appear very soon in English (translated by Gordon Wheeler for Gestalt Press/Analytic Press). In this interview, he reflects on the beginnings of his Gestalt career, and the various influences on him especially that of Isadore From. He reflects on some central Gestalt concepts, notably self and field; on Gestalt therapy and its development in France; and how his practice has evolved over time. The interview culminates with a fascinating discourse about differentiation of the field, with Jean-Marie remarking that what he would like to do, as frequently as he could, would be to short-circuit the premature intervention of personality-function and to create confusion, undifferentiation or pre-differentiation. Jean-Marie Robine can be contacted at Institut Francais de Gestalt-therapie, 87 cours dAlbret, 33000 Bordeaux, France. Email: jm.robine@wanadoo.fr (IFGT : www.gestalt-ifgt.com).

The Phenomenal Field: The Homeground of Gestalt Therapy – Vol. 12 No. 2

The Phenomenal Field: The Homeground of Gestalt Therapy
Des Kennedy
Received 9 May 2003

Abstract: This article attempts to open up the subject of the area of operation proper to Gestalt therapy. If we can view Gestalt therapy as a modality of perception, then we can bring the analysis of Merleau-Ponty to bear on the question and view it in the light of what he has to say about the phenomenal field. This concept embraces what is sometimes called the unconscious but in Merleau-Pontys view it is the lived body fully present with all its relationships. The phenomenal field as the lived body is part of phenomenology and carries all the richness and promise of what we call field theory.

Key words: lived body, contact, existential, Gestalt, intervention, the kiss of the world, perception.

Ethics of Context and Field: Practices of Care and Inclusion and Openess to Dialogue – Vol.12 No. 2

Ethics of Context and Field: Practices of Care and Inclusion and Openess to Dialogue
Lynne Jacobs
Received 4 September 2003

Editors Note: In this article, which will be published in a collection of writing on relational issues applied to ethics, Lynne Jacobs, prominent Gestalt therapist and writer, develops a model of ethics which arises from examination of the field and context in which therapy takes place. She uses vivid examples from her own experience and clinical practice to show how therapists might focus their awareness on the ethics of their practice, primarily by attending to the issues of care, inclusion and openness to dialogue. She describes how this stance can be challenged by circumstance both distal and proximal, by events both in the consulting room and in the wider world; and she illustrates how these are inevitably linked. By attending to ourselves and to our work with this in mind, she suggests, an ethical practice that develops authentically from the therapeutic dialogue can inform and guide us, perhaps more helpfully than one imposed somewhat arbitrarily from the outside.

Key words:Gestalt therapy, ethics, care, inclusion, dialogue, context, therapeutic task.

The Impassioned Body: Erotic Vitality and Disturbance in Psychotherapy – Vol. 12 No. 2

The Impassioned Body: Erotic Vitality and Disturbance in Psychotherapy
William F Cornell
Received 21 March 2003

Editors Note: We are glad to be publishing the following article by William Cornell, which provides the basis for two Reflections, from Leanne OShea and from Michael Vincent Miller, which follow. Cornell begins by discussing the marginalisation of Wilhelm Reich someone who wrote of passion with passion and then goes on to argue that the de-eroticisation of therapy has led to sentimentalising and loss of the capacity to disturb. The holding at bay of the darker passionate forces in therapy can lead to dried up therapy. Erotic aliveness is present between parents and their children, and between therapists and clients. Cornell speaks of how therapists can enter the realm of the erotic with our clients. After all, sweetness and idealization in a therapeutic relationship are not sufficient if one seeks the capacity for passionate attachments. He also writes about the transference / countertransference interplay, loss, anxiety, and transgression. While not leading the client into an erotic realm, therapists do need to create an evocative and reflective space a kind of erotically charged space, to hold for our clients as they investigate realms of passion in psychotherapy and out in the world. The article is radical, stimulating, and controversial. There is much for OShea and Miller to reflect upon, which they do, to great effect, in the two contributions which follow the lead article.

Key words: passion, erotic transference, sexuality, therapeutic relationship, Wilhelm Reich, mother/infant.

The Dialogic Relationship in Gestalt Therapy – Vol.13 No. 1

The Dialogic Relationship in Gestalt Therapy
Martina Gremmler-Fuhr
Received 10 March 2004

Abstract: In this article I revisit the understanding of the interpersonal developed by the founders of Gestalt therapy (in particular Laura Perls and some other Gestalt therapy writers). I aim to order and differentiate the terms relationship, contact and dialogue. I will explore some contradictions and unanswered questions and then elaborate on some central characteristics of the dialogic. At the end of the article I contrast the term normative dialogue, as it is discussed widely in Gestalt therapy, with intentional dialogue, which I hope may open perspectives for further development of the Gestalt approach.

Key words: dialogue, Gestalt therapy, contact, relationship.

Playing in the Sand – Vol. 13 No. 1

Playing in the Sand
Christine Stevens
Received 12 November 2003

Abstract: Playing with small objects in a tray of sand is a powerful but simple form of experimentation, which for some time I have been incorporating into my work as a Gestalt therapist. The therapeutic use of the sandtray is not something I have invented it is used quite widely, especially in work with children, but I believe it is a rich and under-exploited resource for Gestalt therapists working with adults. In this paper I give a brief background to the development of the use of sandplay in psychotherapy. I then present my thinking about working in this way from the perspective of Gestalt psychotherapy theory, using some clinical examples to illustrate these ideas.

Key words: sandplay therapy, experimentation, Margaret Lowenfeld, Dora Kalff, Gestalt therapy, figure and ground.

The Song Is You – Vol. 13 No. 1

The Song Is You
Susan Gregory
Received 26 March 2004

Abstract: Singing is central to human group formation. It facilitates contact among group members, promoting social cohesiveness through organising and discharging of intense emotions. In Gestalt therapy practice, singing experiments can be dynamic ways of working with clients. Looking from the perspectives of neurobiology, infant development, anthropology, biomusicology and sociology, this paper aims to show why experiments with singing make highly effective therapeutic activities.

Key words: Gestalt therapy, singing, voice, group, aural field.

Facing Death – Vol. 13 No. 1

Facing Death
Daan van Praag interviewed by Malcolm Parlett
Received 2 May 2004

Editors Note: In the autumn of 2003, Daan van Praag, the distinguished Dutch Gestalt therapist and trainer, was informed that he had incurable cancer and only a few months to live. The following interview took place in March 2004, at Daans home overlooking the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. In the interview, Daan speaks about his experience in coming to terms with his illness, and the privilege he feels in being able to draw upon his many years of Gestalt experience to help him face death. He touches on many themes his feeling of wider connectedness to his world, the importance of contact, his recognition of existentialist themes, the limits of awareness, the pain of saying goodbyes, his determination to live in the present, and (in Holland) the potentiality for taking full responsibility for the exact timing of his death. Daan van Praag, who was born in 1939 and grew up in a partly Jewish family in Amsterdam under the German occupation, has worked in the field of mental health for thirty years. He trained in Gestalt therapy with Robert Hall and Ischa Bloomberg, and with many of the early visiting teachers to Europe, including Laura Perls, Isadore From, and Jim Simkin. He also trained in family therapy with Salvador Minuchin and Virginia Satir, and later also specialised in working with people with addictions. He was, until he became ill, the director of an institute for training mental health professionals. Daan van Praag is a past president of the Dutch Association for Gestalt Therapy. He has written two books (in Dutch) about Gestalt therapy and about twenty articles. He is the founder of the Dutch/Flemish Journal for Gestalttherapy, and a highly respected board member of the European Association for Gestalt Therapy (EAGT) where he served as the Chair of the Training Standards Committee until 2003. He is married, with two adult sons. His interests outside Gestalt include painting, sailing, and long-distance walking. This interview one of the most remarkable we have published is a testament to Daans strength and willingness to be open about the end period of his life, and we are grateful to him for the gift to readers that this represents.

A Gestalt Integration Received 8 September 2004 – Vol. 13 No. 2

A Gestalt Integration Received 8 September 2004
Gary Yontef interviewed by Sally Denham-Vaughan
Received 8 September 2004

Interviewers note: Gary Yontef is one of the most prolific writers and thinkers in the Gestalt psychotherapy field. He is the author of Awareness, Dialogue and Process: Essays on Gestalt Therapy(1993), which has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Korean. Additionally, he has published over 40 articles, chapters and reviews. In this interview, he describes how he was originally inspired by Fritz Perls and then trained in Gestalt with Jim Simkin. He was chairman of the training committee of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles for 18 years in the 1970s and 80s. During this time, Gary constantly worked to secure Gestalt therapy a place as an ethical and professional approach to people with serious mental health problems, as well as a vehicle for personal growth and exploration. More recently, Gary co-founded the Pacific Gestalt Institute (PGI) with Lynne Jacobs and together they have pioneered the development of Relational Gestalt Psychotherapy. I first met Gary some 6 years ago, at the second Winter Residential of PGI, held in the mountains just outside Santa Barbara, California. During the frequent periods of near-freezing rain that we experienced that year, I was privileged to have a number of conversations about Gestalt therapy, and the influence of our shared background in clinical psychology. Those conversations formed the background to this interview, which is particularly wide-ranging in the topics discussed. It also succeeds in giving a close-up of the man behind the written word.

Drive Theory in Gestalt Therapy – Vol.13 No. 2

Drive Theory in Gestalt Therapy
Peter Philippson
Received 10 September 2004

Abstract: This paper explores the place of drive theory in Gestalt therapy, and how its neglect in favour of a dialogic relational approach has led to the disembodying of the therapy and loss of holism. I suggest how this came about, and what needs to be recovered for a fully holistic therapy.

Key words: drive, holism, dialogue, body, sexuality.

Why Awareness Works And Other Insights from Spiritual Practice – Vol. 13 No. 2

Why Awareness Works And Other Insights from Spiritual Practice
Robert Kolodny
Received 16 March 2004

Abstract: That awareness is a productive mental state is a foundation stone of Gestalt theory and practice. Just why it is conducive to self-knowledge, interpersonal effectiveness and psychological wellbeing is not so clear. The highly elaborated science of mind that informs Buddhism offers fresh ways of understanding the particular power of mindfulness and of being in good contact with our moment-to-moment experience. The psychological understanding that lies at the core of this wisdom tradition holds great potential for enriching Gestalt work, especially because these two practices are similar in terms of how they understand human experience.

Key words:spirituality, Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation.

Gestalt Therapy: A Harm Reduction Approach – Vol. 13 No. 2

Gestalt Therapy: A Harm Reduction Approach
Mark Fairfield
Received 5 September 2004

Abstract: In this article I argue that an abstinence-only model for addictions treatment is at odds with the pragmatic focus of Gestalt therapy. Arguments are made for a harm reduction approach especially when working with the multiply diagnosed. Gestalt therapys shift in emphasis from independence (e.g.self-support) to interdependency (e.g.relational trends, field support) is highlighted. Traditional harm reduction strategies are compared with Gestalt therapy practice and implications for work with vulnerable populations are explored. I draw on statistics that refer to the picture in the United States, but which are likely to be applicable elsewhere, certainly in developed western societies.

Key words: substance abuse, chemical dependency, high risk, harm reduction, harm minimisation.

Towards an Integrative and Holistic Model of Gestalt Couple Therapy – Vol. 13 No. 2

Towards an Integrative and Holistic Model of Gestalt Couple Therapy
Glenda Devlin and Brian O'Neil
Received 12 July 2004

Abstract: This article outlines an integrative model for defining and practising Gestalt couple therapy, which the authors suggest will be of use in training and as a basis for research. The model described in this paper has three key defining aspects: a key philosophical and theoretical ground or framework (field theory, phenomenology, existential dialogue and behaviour); a key principle of therapeutic focus (autonomy and intimacy, awareness, contact/relationship and experiment); and a key mode of practice (the here and now, I and Thou, what and how ongoing development of an authentic couple relationship). How the Gestalt approach to couples therapy accords with the findings of couples research is also reviewed.

Key words: couple therapy, Gestalt, integrative, holistic, phenomenological, relationship, research studies.

Will and Grace: An Integrative Dialectic Central to Gestalt Psychotherapy – Vol. 14 No. 1

Will and Grace: An Integrative Dialectic Central to Gestalt Psychotherapy
Sally Denham-Vaughan
Received 28 January 2005

Abstract: In this paper I argue for the existence of a dialectic between what is called here 'Will/directed action' and' Grace/receptivity', that provides an overarching integrating paradigm for Gestalt psychotherapy. The dialectic is traced to its origins in Augustinian philosophy and is proposed as a way of viewing different aspects of self-function, specifically middle mode/spontaneity. I suggest that contrasting schools of psychotherapy can be arranged along the same dialectic and that this can also be seen as a way of comprehending some of the tensions within Gestalt psychotherapy itself. Finally, implications of the dialectic are explored with reference to the practice of Gestalt psychotherapy and its epistemological and philosophical roots.

Key words: will, grace, Augustine, Gestalt, directed action, receptivity, psychoanalysis, CBT, self.

Gestalt in an Information Technology Organisation: A Case Study – Vol. 14 No. 1

Gestalt in an Information Technology Organisation: A Case Study
Fiona Coffey and Simon Cavicchia
Received 19 March 2005

Abstract: This is a story about Gestalt-informed consulting in a modern business setting. We describe what happened as we attempted to introduce emergent, relational ways of working, in a corporate culture preoccupied with individual task performance. Our experience illuminated the dynamics of feedback, learning and shame at work. We suggest that feedback processes at work appear ripe for being animated and refreshed by the application of Gestalt thinking based in phenomenology, field theory and dialogue.

Key words: feedback, relational, consulting, phenomenology, field, dialogue, shame, learning, performance, system, contact boundary, corporate culture.

Working with the Field – Vol. 14 No. 1

Working with the Field
Ty Francis
Received 23 March 2005

Abstract: Gestalt is a holistic epistemology, based on field theory. What does this mean in practice? How can we move to a more experiential notion of the field rather than intellectually engage with a conceptual model? This article focuses on how organisational consultants can consciously develop more field-sensitive professional practices. It also explores intuition as a natural field phenomenon. Implications and applications for a different approach to management and organisational development are considered.

Key words: field, field theory, felt sense, holism, systems, intuition, presence, embodiment, organisations.

Cultural Field Conditions: A Hermeneutic Study of Consistency – Vol. 14 No. 1

Cultural Field Conditions: A Hermeneutic Study of Consistency
Frank-M. Staemmler
Received 17 January 2005

Editor's Note: At the last seminar in November 2004, organised for the benefit of the Friends of the British Gestalt Journal, one of our distinguished guests was Frank-M. Staemmler, editor of the International Gestalt Journal, and himself a long-term Friend of the BG.l in more senses than one. The paper he gave was much appreciated by those attending, and we invited Frank-M. Staemmler to give us a written version (of necessity somewhat truncated). The paper (which appears below) is a reflection on the cultural field conditions that influence, even govern, the actual experiences of human beings, and which Gestalt therapists can ill afford to ignore. Before developing – in the second half – an extended example of the (usually) taken-for-granted influences of culture, he offers an overview of field theory as generally understood in the Gestalt therapy community, and argues that philosophical hermeneutics needs to supplement field theory, and usefully provides a short introduction to hermeneutics. He then turns to developing his example, which is to show how the 'the appearance of consistency' is a powerful and taken-for-granted social norm about how people should be and act within Western culture, including within most schools of psychotherapy. Gestalt therapy with its theory of the 'mutable self', he suggests, takes up a 'hybrid position'. In the last section, Staemmler provides a penetrating and amusing survey of a number of 'discursive ploys… to create a credible impression of internal consistency'. In concluding, he suggests that 'acceptance of inconsistencies provides the chance to live more creatively' and that, more generally, therapy cannot be comprehensive without 'hermeneutic investigation of the culture in which therapy takes place'.

Key words: culture, field theory, philosophical hermeneutics, life space, Gestalt therapy, consistency, unified personality, splitting.

A Centennial Celebration of Laura Perls: The Aesthetic of Commitment – Vol. 14 No. 2

A Centennial Celebration of Laura Perls: The Aesthetic of Commitment
Daniel J. Bloom
Received 3 August 2005

Editor's Note: Daniel J. Bloom gave the following as a celebratory speech (on 3 June 2005) at the conference in Germany to mark the centenary of Laura Perls' birth ('An Der Grenze', Laura Perls zum 100. Geburtstag, Munich, Germany), and it is being published in two German language journals. We are grateful for the agreement of the editors of Gestalttherapie, 2, 2006, and Gestalt, No. 55, February 2006, to our publishing it at the same time in its original English version. In this extended tribute to one of the founders of Gestalt therapy, Dan Bloom summarises and critically discusses some of Laura Perls' distinctive theoretical contributions. He reminds us of her history and her intellectual, aesthetic, and philosophical grounding in German culture; and the centrality of her understanding of music and the arts in her work. He focuses on Laura's views on contact and support as two central pillars of Gestalt therapy; on her early dialogic practice; her continuing interest in dental aggression; the central place of movement and the experiencing of the body in her work; the existential but nonnihilistic dimensions of her thinking; her creative love of life; and, of course, her commitment and enduring legacy to Gestalt therapy. Dan further offers a synthesis of some of her ideas in his notion of the' aesthetic criterion for contacting', a discussion of which appeared in previous issues of this journal. This speech is indeed a celebration.

Key words: Laura Perls, Gestalt therapy, contact, creative-adjustment, aesthetic criterion, commitment, existentialism, self.

Therapy of the Situation – Vol. 14 No. 2

Therapy of the Situation
Georges Wollants Interviewed by Malcolm Parlett
Received 15 September 2005

Editor's Note: We are glad to publish this interview with Georges Wollants and to bring a notable and original Gestalt voice to the attention of a wider English-reading audience. Georges is well known in continental European Gestalt circles; he is the leading theoretician within the Flemish-Dutch Gestalt therapy community; and is an influential and much respected therapist, supervisor, and senior trainer. In this interview, he demonstrates how his approach to Gestalt therapy draws more from Laura Perls than from Fritz Perls and is rooted deeply in the European tradition, in scholarship, and in the fundamental theories on which Gestalt therapy stands. Georges Wollants' theme in this interview is 'the situation' – a term he prefers to 'field' – which he argues is central to Gestalt therapy theory and practice. He describes how a focus on the situation differs from more individualistic versions of Gestalt practice and how it permeates his whole approach to working – including working with physical process and the body, facilitating therapy groups, and exploring dreams. Georges Wollants' book, in English, with the same title as this interview, will be published in 2006. The following interview was embedded in a conversation spread over two days (April 25-26, 2005); it took place near Oostende, to which both parties travelled for the occasion. Georges can be contacted at: georges.wollants@skynet.be or via the British Gestalt Journal.

Gestalt Students at Tate Modern: A Qualitative Research Study – Vol. 14 No. 2

Gestalt Students at Tate Modern: A Qualitative Research Study
Christine Stevens
Received 30 October 2005

Abstract: This paper describes an experiment in which students in Gestalt psychotherapy training, who are also studying for a research degree, go on a visit to Tate Modern as an experience of qualitative research in action. Ideas about perception, and the parallels between contemporary art and Gestalt therapy, are considered. These ideas, together with reactions to the experiment, were then discussed in a subsequent focus group, and some of the findings from that are summarised.

Key words: Gestalt, psychotherapy training, Tate Modern, art, qualitative research.

The Lived Body – Vol. 14 No. 2

The Lived Body
Des Kennedy
Received 12 September 2005

Abstract: This article deals with the 'lived body' which I propose as both the epistemological and ontological foundation of Gestalt therapy. To deepen our understanding of Gestalt therapy theory I draw upon the reflections of Maurice MerleauPonty whose philosophy is one protracted meditation upon the theme of the lived body. I show how this concept was pivotal in Gestalt therapy theory from the start and lies behind the holism embraced by both Laura and Fritz Perls. To demonstrate the centrality of the lived body, I elaborate upon five areas of embodiment: my lived body as the vehicle of my being-in-the-world, as the carrier of my heart-longings, as the repository of my history, as the locus of my uniqueness, and as my ever-present power of transformation (transcendence).

Key words: body, holism, foundation, correlate, embodiment, motility, immediacy, grounding, belonging, transcendence.

Shame and Creative Adjustment in a Multicultural Society – Vol. 14 No. 2

Shame and Creative Adjustment in a Multicultural Society
Thrid Heiberg
Received 3 April 2005

Abstract: This article aims to show how shame inlluences the lives of black, immigrant, and refugee women in Norway. It suggests that shaming is a significant factor in their encounter with society at large. It tells a story of a culture that resists integration and of a white majority society that continuously judges members of the minority on a basis of colour, appearance and culture. It is also claimed that 'whiteness' is an invisible premise that forms the background of decisions and shaming messages. By understanding these ground conditions, it is suggested the practice of Gestalt can offer support through the dialogic approach of truly valuing, accepting, and appreciating the uniqueness and otherness, plus the qualities and creative adjustment, of each individual.

Key words: shaming, black and minority women, the white society, ground. intel'ration

Brief Gestalt Therapy (BGT) for Clients with Bulimia – Vol. 14 No. 2

Brief Gestalt Therapy (BGT) for Clients with Bulimia
Sally Denham-Vaughan
Received 14 November 2004

Abstract: Although recent years have seen a rapid increase in the body of literature relating to both the theory and practice of Gestalt psychotherapy, there has been remarkably little written concerning the use of the model within the British National Health Service. This is where most British mental health practitioners work, and certainly an environment where Gestalt psychotherapy has much to offer to clients and the wider organisation. This paper describes the author's use and development of Gestalt psychotherapy within her routine clinical practice in that setting.

Key words: Gestalt, bulimia, 'National Health Service'.

On Being Absurd: Soren Kierkegaard 1813-1855 – Vol. 15 No. 1

On Being Absurd: Soren Kierkegaard 1813-1855
Sean Gaffney
Received 4 October 2005
Abstract: This paper raises some aspects of Kierkegaard's life and work, and posits a possible relevance for the Gestalt practitioner. This includes Kierkegaard's position as a source not only for the existentialism of Sartre, but also for the thinking and living of Laura Perls and Paul Goodman. In addition, the author's personal and professional responses to the influence of Kierkegaard arc a central theme throughout the article.

Key words: Kierkegaard, existentialism, Gestalt, faith, angst, existing individual.

The Trainer's Presence in Effective Gestalt Training – Vol. 15 No. 1

The Trainer's Presence in Effective Gestalt Training
Juliet Denham
Received 5 April 2006

Abstract: This paper explores the presence of the trainer as an essential and central part of effective Gestalt training. It attempts to define the subtle and complex concept of presence and suggests that it consists of five main aspects: being present, being authentic, maintaining creative indifference, practising inclusion, and attuning to the field. It looks at the challenges of presence for trainers as opposed to therapists, and begins to investigate how trainers can support and develop their presence.

Key words: presence, trainer, here and now, authenticity, inclusion, creative indifference, attuning to the field, Gestalt training.

The Poetry of Gestalt Therapy – Vol. 15 No. 1

The Poetry of Gestalt Therapy
Jan Ruckert Interviewed by Carol Swanson and Mark Fairfield
Received 13 Fehruary 2006

Editor's Note: We are delighted to be publishing this interview with Jan Ruckert. Jan is a popular and inspiring Gestalt teacher, known for her appreciation of diversity, her commitment to nurturing community growth, her support for trainees' development, and her emphasis on creativity and aesthetics in therapy. She is a founding member and past president of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles (GTILA), and served as chair of the Faculty Training Program for ten years. She is in private practice in Westwood, California and has been training and supervising psychotherapists since 1970. The interview begins with Jan's recollections of her early Gestalt therapy experiences (with Fritz Perls, Jim Simkin, and others) and ends with her thoughts on Gestalt therapy, present and future. In between, she reflects on art and creativity, her style of teaching (including training of dogs), competition and 'divorce' between trainers, and leadership of successful team efforts. We thank Mark Fairfield and Carol Swanson for this notable interview. They report that their conversation with Jan Ruckert 'unfolded as the three of us sat together beside a tire at her home in Bel Air, California, her two Rottweilers resting at her side, and the walls offering samples of her art that helped to frame and enrich our dialogue.'

Dialogue in Groups – Vol. 15 No. 1

Dialogue in Groups
Adam Harvatis
Received 31 January 2006

Abstract: In the present article a synthesis of the main contributions in Gestalt group counselling is attempted by emphasising the importance of the authentic meeting of persons (including the therapist) in the group. The author suggests, with examples from the counselling practice, that the promotion of the I-Thou dialogue in counselling groups elevates a more creative complexity of the group organisation, which goes beyond the theoretical schemata that have been proposed until now.

Key words: group, Gestalt, systemic, Cleveland model, counselling, consonance, interaction, dialogue, I-Thou.

Gestalt And Family Constellations: Compatible, Complementary, Or Conflicting? – Vol. 15 No. 1

Gestalt And Family Constellations: Compatible, Complementary, Or Conflicting?
Janet Gunn
Received 10 April 2006

Abstract: Some Gestalt practitioners welcome the constellations approach of Bert Hellinger with open arms. Others do not. My research project looked at two dimensions of this tension: attraction and compatibility. In this article I report my findings and comment on them. I discuss the controversy over Hellinger's therapeutic style, referring to similar controversies over the style of Perls and others. I compare and contrast the concepts of trans-generational family loyalties and the embedded or structured ground. I highlight the potential contribution of the constellations approach to spirituality in Gestalt therapy. I include observations on how Gestalt family therapy differs from individual therapy and is similar to constellations; and I close by suggesting that the integration of this systemic approach could facilitate briefer therapy and align Gestalt more closely to its radical field theoretical origins.

Key words: family history, Gestalt, Hellinger, constellations, orders of love, phenomenology, dialogue, solution-focus, spirituality, soul.

Lynne Jacobs – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: This paper undertakes to elaborate various understandings of ‘support’, including its complexity, its emergent quality, its intimate intertwining with creative adjustment, and its bi-directionality.

Key words: support, context, adjustment, emergence, bi-directionality.

Lichtenberg and Gray – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: Using a relational analysis of the founders’ [of Gestalt therapy] theory of contacting and withdrawing, with special attention to awareness patterns, this paper shows how personhood and community are intertwined and develop together. The flowing process encompasses a solitary resting condition with special attributes of both personhood and community; a particularising activity in which self-definition and responsibility with the other take pace; a merging with the other in a temporary community; and withdrawing and taking away the fruits of the process.

Key words: awareness, contact, community, democratic, egalitarian.

Melnick and Nevis – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: This article deals with the concept of commitment as it relates to the sustainability of a loving relationship. After first describing the beginning stages of romantic love, we provide a historical perspective and then offer a relational definition. We then discuss the concept of commitment, focusing on the difficulties in meeting it. We break commitment down into three phases – promise, effort, and discipline – and list important skills for enhancement. We end by discussing how to better live out a loving relationship, including when to let go and when to end.

Key words: commitment, endings, intimacy, love, relationship.

Spagnuolo Lobb – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: Malcolm Parlett (2000) has written about ‘Five Abilities’ in an article published in the British Gestalt Journal. He has written about these abilities in greater depth, but this work remains unpublished. In this paper I want to demonstrate how the Five Abilities are connected with Gestalt therapy’s core principles as well as with the results of recent studies in neuroscience and infant research, and I hpe to prompt Parlett to bring this work to the public arena.

Key words: human nature, socio-psychological situation, neuroscience, interconnecting.

Wheeler – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: Malcolm Parlett’s ‘Five Abilities Model’ and the Esalen Curriculum for the Human Potential (‘CHP’) are two models for mapping human capacities and experiential dimensions for heuristic, diagnostic, pedagogical, and anayaltic purposes. Parlett’s dimensions of ‘responding, interrelating, self-recognising, embodying, and experimenting’, and the CHP dimensions of ‘mental body, emotional body, physical body, social body, and spiritual body’, represent different ways of identifying needs in programmes of education and training, and different analytical tools for designing group and individual curricula based on those needs. By comparing these two systems, we gain clarity and understanding of each in the light of the other, and also identify areas for needed further development.

Key words: creativity, Gestalt, holism, human potential curriculum, humanistic education, ‘relational body’.

Philippson – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: While the emphasis of Gestalt therapy as a field theory was present in the earliest days, for most present day Gestaltists the primary source of discussion on the theme is in the writings of Parlett (1991; 1997). Since these were published, there have been startling advances in our understanding of the neurological underpinning of human behaviour, which have both confirmed and added to our understanding of the field nature of human consciousness and selfhood. In this article, I explore some of these advances and their implications for the development of Gestalt field theory that is true to our tradition, and also in line with what we are currently discovering.

Key words: field theory, neuroscience, mirror neurons, intersubjectivity, complexity, attachment.

Staemmler – Vol. 15 No. 2

Abstract: Although frequently employed within Gestalt psychotherapy, the term ‘field’ is rarely defined or the precise meaning exemplified. This paper therefore examines the ways in which it is used in various physical, philosophical, and psychological theories. Special attention is given to the field theory of Kurt Lewin (1951), as well as to the notion of a field as applied in Ego, Hunger and Aggression (Perls, 1947/1992) and Gestalt Therapy (Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, 1951). Similarities and differences between Lewin’s and Perls’ respective ideas of a ‘field’ are pointed out, and confounding of categories in Peerls’ and Goodman’s theorising is scrutinised.br>

Key words: critical realism, epistemology, field theory, holism, life space.