In this original and penetrating work, the origins of the Gestalt psychotherapy model are traced back to its roots in psychoanalysis and Gestalt cognitive and perceptual psychology. Drawing new implications for both Gestalt and psychotherapy in general from these origins – and with special emphasis on the neglected work of Lewin and Goldstein – Wheeler develops a revised model that is more fully “Gestalt” and at the same time more firmly grounded in the spectrum of tools and approaches available to the contemporary psychotherapist. Along the way, a number of powerful new insights are offered, not just in Gestalt, but in the workings of the psychoanalytic and cognitive/behavioral models. The result is an integrated approach giving a fresh perspective on the universal processes of contact and resistance, both in psychotherapy and in social systems in general. The practitioner is given the tools for “addressing the problems at the intra-and interpersonal and wider systemic levels at the same time, and in the same language.”

Each chapter stands alone, and makes a fresh and significant contribution to its particular subject. Taken together, they constitute a remarkable excursion through the history of psychotherapy in the last century, weaving powerfully through social psychology, behaviorism, and Gestalt itself, yielding a masterful new synthesis that will interest the practitioners of Gestalt and other schools alike.

Gordon Wheeler, Ph.D., is internationally known for his teaching, training, and writing in Gestalt therapy, coaching, and education. His written work, including a dozen books and over 100 articles in the field, has emphasized the evolution of Gestalt theory as the basis for relational and developmental self theory, integrating the body of Gestalt psychology research with the Gestalt therapy tradition. In his writings Gordon has focused particularly on relational development, self and shame, couples and intimacy, multi-cultural issues, gender and men’s issues, leadership and coaching, and lifelong integral education, as well as post-Holocaust issues and most recently Gestalt Systems Constellations. Since 2002 he has served as President of Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he also served for some years as CEO. Gordon and his wife Nancy Lunney-Wheeler have a large and growing blended family and make their homes at Esalen and in Santa Cruz, California.