Abstract
Gestalt therapy is a holistic form of therapy that emerged from Gestalt theory in the 1800s. It is a nontraditional approach to therapy that utilizes art and art work accomplished by the person to unmask feelings and emotions that are occurring at the moment and the reasons for those feelings and emotions. Used primarily in group sessions, Gestalt therapy is guided by awareness, which is significant for the person, the group members and the therapist. Yet, to fully understand the details associated with Gestalt therapy a history of the theory and an overview of the practice must be considered.

From the Paper
Gestalt Therapy and Theory Gestalt therapy is a holistic form of therapy that emerged from Gestalt theory in the 1800s. It is a nontraditional approach to therapy that utilizes art and art work accomplished by the person to unmask feelings and emotions that are occurring at the moment and the reasons for those feelings and emotions. Used primarily in group sessions, Gestalt therapy is guided by awareness, which is significant for the person, the group members and the therapist. Yet, to fully understand the details associated with Gestalt therapy a history of the theory and an overview of the practice must be considered.

Tags:gestalt, therapy, theory

Abstract
This paper discusses Gestalt therapy in terms of its goals, concepts, approaches, and components. The paper also discusses the major ideas of Gestalt therapy including individuals seeking closure, constancy and wholeness and looks at how the Gestalt therapist works with clients.

From the Paper
"Gestalt psychology emerged from a German movement that was a reaction against structural psychology. According to James F Brennan, underlying Gestalt psychology was the nativistic proposition that the organization of mental activity predisposes the individual to interact with the environment in characteristic ways. The goals of Gestalt psychology and therapy are to investigate the organization of mental activity while determining the exact nature of the interaction between the person and the environment. The principles of Gestalt psychology are described by..."

Tags:psychology, Gestalt therapy, psychotherapy

Abstract
This paper discusses the process of Gestalt therapy and its essential components. The paper also discusses agape love and its role in Gestalt therapy. In addition, the paper discusses the problems that can be helped through this therapy and explains the notion of Joseph Zinker's "experiment."

From the Paper
"Gestalt therapy is an individual process, but it is also a social act the helps the human condition. Gestalt therapy can involve a process that fosters an individual's commitment to living a full life that will ultimately contribute to his/her fellowship with others. It is not a process that aims at an ultimate goal somewhere in the future. It is a dynamic process of the present moment that seeks to break down the boundaries inside of an individual and between individuals: a vibrant progression that requires that individuals risk failure and self-induced privacy for the purpose of beginning anew and connecting with others."

Tags:gestalt therapy, agape love, joseph zinker, psychology, the experiment, creative process

Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of gestalt therapy based on the article, "Gestalt Therapy Theory of Change" by Yontef and Fuhr. The role of the therapist in promoting change is highlighted as well as the need for existential dialogue between the patient and therapist.

From the Paper
"Yontef and Fuhr, both gestalt therapists, wrote 'Gestalt Therapy: Theory of Change." This article presents Gestalt therapy theory, noting that with this therapy the therapist is not a change agent but acts to promote growth conditions to allow for change to take place. For this type of therapy it is the organism that regulates the change rather than the therapist. The paradoxical theory of change is noted to be at the core of this theory, trying to be who one is not results in remaining the..."

Tags:therapist, gestalt therapy, theory, patient

Abstract
This paper discusses the Gestalt therapy that emerged from a multitude of philosophical, theoretical, scientific and cultural roots. The paper explains that as a product of the early twentieth century, it would be impossible to divorce the evolution of Gestalt therapy from Marxism or existentialism and indeed the theories of Gestalt therapy in part derive from those philosophies. Moreover, the paper claims that the Gestalt therapy at least in part originated through a therapeutic application of the perception principles of Gestalt psychology. The paper examines the tenuous and controversial relationship between Gestalt therapy and Gestalt psychology.

From the Paper
"The key founders of Gestalt therapy were Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman. Their theories first become codified in the 1940s and 1950s, decades after the publication of key Gestalt psychological works like Wertheimer's 1933 Productive Thinking, and Kolher's 1929 book Gestalt Psychology. Perhaps the main contribution of Gestalt psychology on Gestalt therapy were the "gestalt laws," including the law of pragnanz, the law of closure, the law of similarity, and the law of proximity. Although these laws were used by Gestalt psychologists to describe mostly perceptual phenomenon, they can be easily extended to offer descriptions of human mental and cognitive processes. For example, the law of pragnanz (literally the "law of pregnancy") implies that the individual will gravitate toward experiencing "as good a gestalt as possible," (Boeree 2000). In other words, the human being naturally seeks wholeness in his or her visual perceptions. Applied to Gestalt therapy, the law of pragnanz would imply that the human being naturally seeks wholeness in his or her experiences of reality, and in his or her relationships. One of the keys to psychological healing is the achievement of wholeness, or gestalt."

Tags:fritz, perls, laura, paul, goodman

Abstract
The paper reviews the academic literature on gestalt therapy and focuses on some of the quantitative and qualitative studies that explore the impact of gestalt therapy on relieving psychological anxiety in subject groups. The paper looks at how cultural integration can influence gestalt therapy and how it can permit this therapy to assist people in optimizing their quality of life and psychological well-being. The paper concludes that while the scholarly literature is not uniformly in favor of gestalt therapy, the academic view is generally a favorable one.

From the Paper
"The number of purely qualitative studies that have been done on gestalt therapy is actually rather small; for the most part, it appears as though researchers prefer studies that are predominantly quantitative in nature - or studies that are a "mix" of qualitative and quantitative measures. As one consequence of this emphasis upon statistical measures, several of the studies pored over by this writer utilized bivariate and multivariate regression analysis to control for variables such as age, ethnicity and gender (sometimes also for socio-economic status) but these studies also used descriptive or qualitative devices to contextualize (or, more importantly, to defend) their empirical findings."

Tags:qualitative, quantitative, data, self-care, cultural, integration, agoraphobia

Abstract
This paper provides a review of the academic literature on gestalt therapy. In particular, the paper looks at some of the quantitative and qualitative studies undertaken by academics eager to explore the impact of gestalt therapy upon relieving psychological anxiety in subject groups. The paper also sets aside time to looking at how cultural integration can influence gestalt therapy and how the former can permit the latter to assist people in optimizing their quality of life and psychological well-being. In the end, while the scholarly literature is not uniformly in favor of gestalt therapy, it is certainly favorable towards it on the whole.

Tags:psychology, cultural, integration, wholeness

Abstract
This paper reviews and analyzes Gestalt and behavior therapy. According to the paper, Gestalt therapy is a psychological system that stresses integration of body and mind factors by developing self-awareness and personal responsibility. The paper goes on to discuss behavior therapy, stating that there are several approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy, including rational emotive behavior therapy, rational behavior therapy, rational living therapy, cognitive therapy and dialectic behavior therapy.

From the Paper
"Therefore, the therapeutic process encourages the client to interact with the environment, as a group, as an individual, and on many different levels, with different techniques, from using battacca bats to whack furniture, to imaging and interacting with the image in their mind by conversing with it out loud. The techniques used in therapy vary as widely as the therapists and clients, from principles based on Holism, Field theory, figure formation, organismic, the concept of the Now and "unfinished business." The therapist dialogues with warmth and caring, yet remains "invisible," as the client is encouraged to interact with the field (environment). The client must think of him- or herself as an abstract area in a limitless "field," thus, therapy is "unpredictable," or follows moment to moment dictum. (Doermann, 2002)"

Tags:Dr., Joseph, Wolpe, Hans, Eysenck, whole, person, thoughts, feelings, behavior, body, sensations, dreams

Abstract
This paper explains that, although the founder of Gestalt therapy Fritz Perls was trained in psychoanalysis, he also was influenced by existentialism especially the I-thou relationship, the idea of personal choice and responsibility, the personal growth and human potential movement and Lewin's field theory. Next, the author illustrates the way that Gestalt therapy considers the whole individual to be more than the sum of her parts. The paper relates the core concepts of Gestalt therapy, which are contact, contact boundaries, contact boundary disturbances, awareness and the present.

From the Paper
"There were quite a few forces that had a major influence on Perls in the development of psychological development. While working as a medic Perls was influenced by Kurt Goldstein. Goldstein viewed the soldiers with brain injuries from a Gestalt psychology perspective, focusing on the perceptions that the soldiers had of themselves and their environment. Perls was also influenced by Wilhelm Reich, and ideas on nonverbal behavior. Another contributing influence was Sigmund Friedlander's work on creative difference. Perls wife Laura, who was a writer and teacher not only influenced him, but also helped him on a great deal of his work on Gestalt therapy. From a theoretical and philosophical point of view Perls development of Gestalt therapy was influenced by Lewin's field theory, phenomenology, and existentialism.
"The objective of Gestalt Therapy, in addition to helping the client overcome symptoms, is to enable the her-him to become more fully and creatively alive and to be free from the blocks and unfinished issues which may diminish optimum satisfaction, fulfillment, and growth. Gestalt therapy is concerned with the whole individual, who is viewed as more than the sum of her parts . In order to gain a full understanding of Gestalt therapy you have to have knowledge of the main concepts of this theory. These concepts include contact, contact boundaries, contact boundary disturbances, awareness, and the present."

Tags:perceptions body-boundaries retroflection awareness, unfinished business

Abstract
The paper first outlines the basic idea of person-centered therapy and the person-centered therapeutic techniques. The paper then describes Gestalt therapy and its techniques and contrasts this form of therapy to person-centered therapy. The paper highlights the strengths and criticisms of both forms of therapy.

From the Paper
"Person-centered therapy was developed by the American psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1960s partially as an antidote to the directed approach of Freudian psychoanalysis. In person-centered therapy, the "client determines the general direction of therapy, while the therapist seeks to increase the client's insight and self-understanding through informal clarifying questions" (Person-centered therapy, 2008, Encyclopedia of mental disorders). The therapist offers the client unconditional acceptance, and attempts to achieve a state of total congruence or sympathetic emotional harmony with the client's current mental state, without validating the patient's self-defeating thinking patterns. Person-centered therapy has come to be associated with the modern self-esteem movement because it stresses self-actualization, or the client striving to reach goals set for him or herself, by him or herself, not by the therapist.
"Unsurprisingly, critics of the self-esteem movement have often taken person-centered therapy to task for encouraging the client to simply wallow in his or her problems, without undertaking positive actions to change. The more probing technique of Gestalt therapy, developed earlier in the century, stands in marked contrast to person-centered therapy, even though it also strives to create a holistic state of being within the self of the client. However, person-centered therapists would disagree that they merely engage in 'touchy feely' self- validation. Their approach, although non-directive and not overtly critical can be quite effective in creating real and meaningful change. It is the client who must decide he or she wants to change, not the therapist."

Tags:client, therapist, emotions, self-actualization, empathy