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Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt TherapyFritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

 

Fritz Perls (1893-1970)

German-born American psychotherapist (pictured right)

Founder (with his wife, Laura, pictured right below together in 1930) of Gestalt Therapy (see point 1).

Popular with hippies in the 1960's who were seeking self-fulfilment.

 

Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

His most famous book is…

Gestalt Therapy (1951), co-written with Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline.

 

What did he teach us about psychology?

 

1. Gestalt Therapy

This emphasizes your independence and responsibility to yourself and others through:

  • satisfying your needs.
  • giving people the freedom and help to find satisfaction and fulfilment.

 

2. The Gestalt prayerFritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

This reads:

“I do my thing and you do your own thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations.

And you are not in this world to live up to mine.

You are you, and I am I, and, if by chance, we find each other, it’s beautiful”.

 Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

3. The mind and body are inseparable

The mind and body are one entity and totally interconnected, each affecting the other.

So it is therapeutic to say or do something, if you think or feel it.

 

4. Awareness and honestyFritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

The aim of Gestalt Therapy is to make you aware of:

  • what you want.
  • how you can change.

So you must be totally honest with yourself.

A key question is ‘What are you aware of now?’, because of the importance of the present (see point 5).

 Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

5. Live for today

Accept that the past has gone, and the future hasn’t yet arrived.

Be aware of your true feelings and thoughts and focus them on the present (“be here now”).

 

 

6. Change yourself

To improve your life, you must:

Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

a) change

Accept the inevitability of change.

 

b) be proactive

Realize you have the power to change and make choices

So say:

I want to, or I can do, something, not...

I won't /can't /shouldn't do it - see also point 7.

 Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

c) take responsibility for changing your life

Do something about your problems, not blame others for them.

 

d) free yourself from dependency on others

 

e) accept and value yourself

 

7. Power over problems

 Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy

a) find and accept your problems

This will give you the will to overcome them. 

“Truth can be tolerated only if you discover it yourself”, Perls said.

 

b) be independent 

  • don’t seek other people’s praise and judgement (which gives them control over you).

  • remember no one can make you feel good, or behave badly, other than yourself.

  • control your own actions and emotions.   

Fritz Perls - Psychology and Gestalt Therapy 

8. Be true to yourself

Choose your actions and beliefs that allow you to be who you really are, not what someone else wants you to be.  

 

Key quote on success

To mature means to take responsibility for your life.

 

Key quotes on learning and wisdom

Truth can be tolerated only if you discover it yourself

Learning is the discovery that something is possible.

 

Key quote on empowerment

Our dependency makes slaves out of us.

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