LOGOTHERAPY

Basic principles[edit]
The notion of Logotherapy was created with the Greek word logos ("meaning"). Frankls concept is based on
the premise that the primary motivational force of an individual is to find a meaning in life. The following list
of tenets represents basic principles of logotherapy:

* Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones.
* Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.
* We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience, or at least in the stand we
take when
faced with a situation of unchangeable suffering.[4]

The human spirit is referred to in several of the assumptions of logotherapy, but the use of the term spirit is
not "spiritual" or "religious". In Frankl's view, the spirit is the will of the human being. The emphasis,
therefore, is on the search for meaning, which is not necessarily the search for God or any other supernatural
being.[4] Frankl also noted the barriers to humanity's quest for meaning in life. He warns against "...affluence,
hedonism, [and] materialism..." in the search for meaning.[5]

Purpose in life and meaning in life constructs appeared in Frankl's logotherapy writings with relation to
existential vacuum and will to meaning, as well as others who have theorized about and defined positive
psychological functioning. Frankl observed that it may be psychologically damaging when a person's search for
meaning is blocked. Positive life purpose and meaning was associated with strong religious beliefs,
membership in groups, dedication to a cause, life values, and clear goals. Adult development and maturity
theories include the purpose in life concept. Maturity emphasizes a clear comprehension of life's purpose,
directedness, and intentionality which contributes to the feeling that life is meaningful.[6]

Frankl's ideas were operationalized by Crumbaugh and Maholick's Purpose in Life (PIL) test, which measures
an individual's meaning and purpose in life.[6] With the test, investigators found that meaning in life mediated
the relationships between religiosity and well-being;[7] uncontrollable stress and substance use; depression
and self-derogation.[6][8] Crumbaugh found that the Seeking of Noetic Goals Test (SONG) is a complementary
measure of the PIL. While the PIL measures the presence of meaning, the SONG measures orientation towards
meaning. A low score in the PIL but a high score in the SONG, would predict a better outcome in the
application of Logotherapy.[9]

Discovering meaning[edit]
According to Frankl, "We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or
doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take
toward unavoidable suffering" and that "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the
human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances".[1] On the meaning of
suffering, Frankl gives the following example:

"Once, an elderly general practitioner consulted me because of his severe depression. He could not
overcome the loss of his wife who had died two years before and whom he had loved above all else. Now how
could I help him? What should I tell him? I refrained from telling him anything, but instead confronted him
with a question, "What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to
survive without you?:" "Oh," he said, "for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered!"
Whereupon I replied, "You see, Doctor, such a suffering has been spared her, and it is you who have spared
her this suffering; but now, you have to pay for it by surviving and mourning her." He said no word but shook
my hand and calmly left the office.[1]:178179

Frankl emphasized that realizing the value of suffering is meaningful only when the first two creative
possibilities are not available (for example, in a concentration camp) and only when such suffering is
inevitable he was not proposing that people suffer unnecessarily.[10]:115

Philosophical basis of logotherapy[edit]
Frankl described the metaclinical implications of logotherapy in his book The Will of Meaning: Foundations
and Applications of Logotherapy. He believed that there is no psychotherapy apart from the theory of man. As
an existential psychologist, he inherently disagreed with the machine model or rat model, as it
undermines the human quality of humans. As a neurologist and psychiatrist, Frankl developed a unique view
of determinism to coexist with the three basic pillars of logotherapy (the freedom of will). Though Frankl
admitted that man can never be free from every condition, such as, biological, sociological, or psychological
determinants, based on his experience during his life in the Nazi concentration camps, he believed that man is
capable of resisting and braving even the worst conditions. In doing such, man can detach from situations,
himself, choose an attitude about himself, determine his own determinants, thus shaping his own character
and becoming responsible for himself.[11]

Logotherapeutic views and treatment[edit] : Overcoming anxiety[edit]
By recognizing the purpose of our circumstances, one can master anxiety. Anecdotes about this use of
logotherapy are given by New York Times writer Tim Sanders, who explained how he uses its concept to
relieve the stress of fellow airline travelers by asking them the purpose of their journey. When he does this,
no matter how miserable they are, their whole demeanor changes, and they remain happy throughout the
flight.[12] Overall, Frankl believed that the anxious individual does not understand that his anxiety is the result
of dealing with a sense of unfulfilled responsibility and ultimately a lack of meaning.*13+
Treatment of neurosis[edit]

Frankl cites two neurotic pathogens: hyper-intention, a forced intention toward some end which makes that
end unattainable; and hyper-reflection, an excessive attention to oneself which stifles attempts to avoid the
neurosis to which one thinks oneself predisposed. Frankl identified anticipatory anxiety, a fear of a given
outcome which makes that outcome more likely. To relieve the anticipatory anxiety and treat the resulting
neuroses, logotherapy offers paradoxical intention, wherein the patient intends to do the opposite of his
hyper-intended goal.

A person, then, who fears (i.e. experiences anticipatory anxiety over) not getting a good night's sleep may try
too hard (that is, hyper-intend) to fall asleep, and this would hinder his ability to do so. A logotherapist would
recommend, then, that he go to bed and intentionally try not to fall asleep. This would relieve the anticipatory
anxiety which kept him awake in the first place, thus allowing him to fall asleep in an acceptable amount of
time.[1]

Depression[edit]
Viktor Frankl believed depression occurred at the psychological, physiological, and spiritual levels.[13] At the
psychological level, he believed that feelings of inadequacy stem from undertaking tasks beyond our abilities.
At the physiological level, he recognized a vital low, which he defined as a diminishment of physical
energy.*13+ Finally, Frankl believed that at the spiritual level, the depressed man faces tension between who
he actually is in relation to what he should be. Frankl refers to this as the gaping abyss.[10]:202[13] Finally
Frankl suggests that if goals seem unreachable, an individual loses a sense of future and thus meaning
resulting in depression.*13+ Thus logotherapy aims to change the patients attitude toward her disease as
well as toward her life as a task.*10+:200

Obsessive-compulsive disorder[edit]
Frankl believed that those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder lack the sense of completion that
most other individuals possess.[13] Instead of fighting the tendencies to repeat thoughts or actions, or
focusing on changing the individual symptoms of the disease, the therapist should focus on transform*ing+
the neurotics attitude toward his neurosis.*10+:185 Therefore, it is important to recognize that the patient is
not responsible for his obsessional ideas, but that he is certainly responsible for his attitude toward these
ideas.*10+:188 Frankl suggested that it is important for the patient to recognize his inclinations toward
perfection as fate, and therefore, must learn to accept some degrees of uncertainty.[13] Ultimately, following
the premise of logotherapy, the patient must eventually ignore his obsessional thoughts and find meaning in
his life despite such thoughts.[10]

Schizophrenia[edit]
Though logotherapy wasnt intended to deal with severe disorders, Frankl believed that logotherapy could
benefit even those suffering from schizophrenia.[13] He recognized the roots of schizophrenia in physiological
dysfunction.*13+ In this dysfunction, the schizophrenic experiences himself as an object rather than as a
subject.[10]:208 Frankl suggested that a schizophrenic could be helped by logotherapy by first being taught to
ignore voices and to end persistent self-observation.[13] Then, during this same period, the schizophrenic
must be led toward meaningful activity, as even for the schizophrenic there remains that residue of freedom
toward fate and toward the disease which man always possesses, no matter how ill he may be, in all situations
and at every moment of life, to the very last.*10+:216

Terminally-ill patients[edit]
In 1977, Terry Zuehlke and John Watkins conducted a study analyzing the effectiveness of logotherapy in
treating terminally-ill patients. The studys design used 20 male Veterans Administration volunteers who were
randomly assigned to one of two possible treatments (1) group that received 8-45 minute sessions over a 2
week period and (2) group used as control that received delayed treatment. Each group was tested on 5 scales
the MMPI K Scale, MMPI L Scale, Death Anxiety Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Purpose of Life
Test. The results showed an overall significant difference between the control and treatment groups. While
the univariate analyses showed that there were significant group differences in 3/5 of the dependent
measures. These results confirm the idea that terminally-ill patients can benefit from logotherapy in coping
with death.[14]

Criticism: Authoritarianism[edit]
Rollo May argued that logotherapy is, in essence, authoritarian. He suggested that Frankls therapy presents a
plain solution to all of lifes problems, an assertion that would seem to undermine the complexity of human
life itself. May contended that if a patient could not find his own meaning, Frankl would provide a goal for his
patient. In effect, this would negate the patients personal responsibility, thus diminish[ing] the patient as a
person.*15+ Frankl explicitly replied to Mays arguments through a written dialogue, sparked by Rabbi Reuven
Bulkas article Is Logotherapy Authoritarian?.*16+ Frankl responded that he combined the prescription of
medication, if necessary, with logotherapy, to deal with the person's psychological and emotional reaction to
the illness, and highlighted areas of freedom and responsibility, where the person is free to search and to find
meaning.[17]

Religiousness[edit]
Critical views of the life of Logotherapy's founder, and his work, assume that Frankls religious background
and experience of suffering guided his conception of meaning within the boundaries of the person[18] and
therefore that Logotherapy is founded on Viktor Frankls worldview.[19] To the extent that every area of
therapy is founded on the worldview(s) of its founder(s), however, the substantiveness of this line of criticism
remains opaque.

Frankl openly spoke and wrote on religion and psychiatry, throughout his life, and specifically in his last book,
Mans Search for Ultimate Meaning (1997). He asserted that every person has a spiritual unconscious,
independently of religious views or beliefs, yet Frankl's conception of the spiritual unconscious does not
necessarily entail religiosity. In Frankl's words: It is true, Logotherapy, deals with the Logos; it deals with
Meaning. Specifically I see Logotherapy in helping others to see meaning in life. But we cannot give meaning
to the life of others. And if this is true of meaning per se, how much does it hold for Ultimate Meaning?*20+
The American Psychiatric Association awarded Viktor Frankl the 1985 Oskar Pfister Award (for important
contributions to religion and psychiatry).[20]
Max Wertheimer (1880 - 1943)
Gestalt Learning Theory
Productive Thinking

Biography
Max Wertheimer was born in Prague, April 15, 1880. He studied law at the University of Prague from 1898-
1901, and became interested in psychology, philosophy, and physiology. From 1901 to 1904 he studied these
subjects and received a doctorate in 1905. He did further study in psychology in Prague, Frankfurt, and
Vienna.From 1910 - 1914 he worked with Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka developing the fundamental
concepts of Gestalt theory. The three conducted experiments to test their theories. In these early years he
met many influential people including Carl Jung and Albert Einstein. He served as professor of psychology at
the University of Frankfurt from 1929 - 1933, and migrated to the United States in 1933.He joined the faculty
of the New School for Social Research in New York City and remained there for ten years. In 1943 he finished
his work on "productive thinking" and died in New Rochelle, NY that same year.

Theory
Wertheimer was the core of the trio of early German Gestalt Theorists (with Koffka and Kohler). His ideas
featured the view that thinking proceeds from the whole to the parts, treating a problem as a whole, and
permitting the whole to command or dominate over the parts. This was a synthesis (up - chunking to more
inclusive concepts) approach rather than an analytical approach (down - chunking to details). Wertheimer
thought reductionism was a fundamental problem of his time; he was particularly interested in the nature of
problem solving.

Gestalt theory had a central idea of "grouping", or aspects of visual and other stimuli which cause the subject
to interpret a problem or perceptual event in a certain way. Grouping factors included (1) proximity, elements
that are close in space tend to be grouped together and perceived as one or a few objects, (2)similarity, items
that have some similar characteristics tend to be grouped, (3) closure, elements which appear to complete
some shape or object tend to be grouped, and (4) simplicity, the tendency to organize objects into simple
figures. These factors were called the "Laws of Organization".

Features of the productive thinking process included
1. Grouping and reorganizing components of a situation
2. Functioning in relation to characteristics of the whole rather than piecemeal
3. Avoids summing successions of parts or chance occurrences
4. Structural truth leads to sensible expectations and assumptions.
In Wertheimer's model, genuine thinking starts with a problem. The structural features and requirements of
the problem cause tension, the strain of which produces vectors that prompt the individual to modify the
situation in an improved direction. The process of resolving a problem is to proceed from a bad gestalt to a
better one.

Kohlers Contributions to Psychology

Khlers main contribution to the field, Gestalt psychology (Wolfgang Khler, n.d.; Zawidzki, 2004), has
made a lasting impact. Gestalt psychology was a rebellion against Wundt and Titcheners structuralism
theories of perception where experiences were reduced to individual parts, and against behaviorisms
reduction of experiences to simple stimulus-response reflexes (Schultz & Schultz, 2004; Wolfgang Khler,
n.d.). With roots in Husserls phenomenology and Kants philosophy, Gestalt psychology viewed the
perceptual process as the joining of perceptual elements together to form a holistic interpretation of a
stimulus, a synergistic collaboration where the parts were far less important than the whole (Wolfgang
Khler, n.d.). There was considerable excitement in the prospects of leaving behind the other German
psychologies (structuralism, functionalism, and psychoanalysis) for something new. A famous quote by Khler
during that time period reflected the energy that he and his colleagues experienced in the founding of Gestalt
psychology as it was a revolution in perceptual theories. Kohler and his colleagues felt that there was
something lacking in the field of psychology; that something was needed that was more applicable than
structuralism and functionalism. Khler was the right person at the right time to help to bring this about.

One Gestalt idea is perceptual constancy; the inclusiveness and perpetuation of an objects parts in a
perceptual experience (Schultz & Schultz, 2004). Other Gestalt ideas include the perceptual organization
principles of proximity, continuity, similarity, closure, simplicity, and figure/ground (Schultz & Schultz, 2004).
Proximity suggests that objects seen close together will be perceived as being part of a single object.
Similarity suggests that objects that have the same appearance will be perceived as a single object. Continuity
suggests that perceived patterns will be continued. Closure suggests that an automatic process will complete
gaps in an object to perceive a solid object. Pragnanz suggests that parts will be perceptually joined to make a
recognizable form with observer input. Figure/ground suggests that perception will separate an object from
its background (Schultz & Schultz, 2004). These principles are heuristics, or short cuts, that people employ
during perception to increase speed and efficiency in recognition of an object.

Many of these perceptual ideas have influenced the areas of cognitive, social, and clinical psychology. While
Gestalt ideas can now be found in the counseling approaches of Gestalt Therapy, they bare only a conceptual
relation to Kohlers original work. Additionally, his perceptual ideas have contributed to the understanding of
learning, memory, and the nature of associations (Kohler: In the beginning, n.d.). The premise of Gestalt
Therapy (created by Fritz Perls) is that mental health problems might be the result of a lack of integration of
personality parts into a whole by an individual (Rathus, 2000).

Khlers other significant contribution to psychology came through his animal research (Cook, 2001). He
began his work on The Mentality of Apes after his time as director of the Canary Island Anthropoid Station,
and it was later published in 1917 (Wolfgang Khler, n.d.). While at this research station during WWI, he
focused nearly all of his time on a group of nine chimpanzees caged there for research purposes. One of
which, named Sultan, exceeded in intelligence and was rumored to be his favorite subject (Cook, 2001;
Wolfgang Khler, n.d.; Zawidzki, 2004). Khler primarily tested the chimps with problem solving tasks
involving food as the motivation (Cook, 2001). In one instance, Sultan was observed joining together bamboo
polls, using them as tools, to retrieve fruit placed far outside of his cage (Kohler: In the beginning, n.d.). In
another situation, an ape was observed solving a problem of reaching bananas attached to the cage ceiling by
stacking and climbing up several crates (Kohler: In the beginning, n.d.). Kohler proposed that the apes used
insight, not trial and error or chance to accomplish these tasks, an idea that he would later develop into a
theory of learning (Cook, 2001). The amount of time he spent conducting animal research may not have been
as appealing to Kohler as one might think. In reference to the considerable amount of time that he had spent
studying chimpanzees, he related that he grew tired of being around them and that this negatively impacted
his ability to focus on the research. Interestingly, the majority of his important experiments were completed
in the first six months he was on the island despite being there for roughly seven years (Cook, 2001).

Kohler also experimented with chickens but to a lesser extent than with the apes. He trained chickens to peck
at a gray board when shown with a black board, then observed them peck at a white board when shown with
a gray board. He reasoned that they were able to see the relationship between the stimuli, instead of simply
learning a single task. Kohler called this process transposition, which can be seen in humans when one
transfers the knowledge from one situation to another (Zawidzki, 2004). His experiments were criticized as
less than rigorous and poorly controlled (Wolfgang Khler, n.d.). Nonetheless, the information he
generated proved useful in understanding animal and human learning (Cook, 2001; Schultz & Schultz, 2004).
Khler wrote extensively on his research, much of which was published through the journal that he co-
founded. He was a pioneer in understanding thought processes and the errors within, such as with judgments
and associations. His numerous contributions won him recognition from several psychological associations.
On June 11, 1967, Wolfgang Khler died in New Hampshire (Wolfgang Khler, n.d.; Zawidzki, 2004).

REBT

Albert Ellis, the father of cognitive-behavioral therapy and founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
(REBT), discovered that peoples beliefs strongly affected their emotional functioning. In particular certain
irrational beliefs made people feel depressed, anxious or angry and led to self-defeating behaviors.

When Ellis presented his theory in the mid-1950s (Ellis, 1962), the role of cognition in emotional disturbance
had not been fully addressed by the field of psychology. Ellis developed REB theory and therapy in reaction to
what he saw as the inadequate techniques of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. He attributed the deficiency in
the two camps techniques to their conceptualization of personality and emotional disturbance. Ellis felt that
by ignoring the role thinking played in emotional disturbance both psychoanalytic and behavior theory failed
to explain how humans originally became disturbed and how they remained disturbed.

The word belief means a conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something. So a belief is a thought
with an emotional component (conviction) and a factual component (truth, actuality or validity). Beliefs can
be either positive or negative. Having a negative belief is not necessarily a bad thing; however, when one
believes in something that is false, a negative belief tends to become what Ellis called an irrational belief.
Irrational beliefs are not friendly to happiness and contentment and are definitely unhelpful for getting ones
basic desires for love and approval, comfort and achievement or success met.

Core Irrational Beliefs
* Demandingness or Absolutism inflexible, dogmatic, extreme beliefs signaled by words such as should,
must, have to, and need to (e.g., I should not be in pain or I should be able to do what I used to do).
This is not the kind of should as in I should go to the store and get some milk, but rather a should with a
capital S, a demand.
* Demand for Love and Approval from nearly everyone one finds important
* Demand for Success or Achievement in things one finds important
* Demand for Comfort or nearly no frustration or discomfort.

When someone holds one of these irrational beliefs, they also tend to hold one or a combination of the
following irrational beliefs.
* Awfulization refers to 100% disasterizing beliefs signaled by such words as disaster, horrible or awful,
and catastrophe.
* Low Frustration Tolerance beliefs signaled by words such as intolerable, cant stand it, and too hard.
* Global-Rating beliefs in which you condemn or blame your entire selfhood or someone elses basic value
in some important way. Global rating is signaled by such words as loser, worthless, useless, idiot, stupid.

ABCDE Model of Emotional Disturbance
Albert Ellis thought people developed irrational beliefs in response to preferential goals being blocked. He set
this up in an ABCDE model (Ellis and Dryden, 1987). A stands for Activating Event or Adversity. This is any
event. It is just a fact. B refers to ones Irrational Belief about the event at A. That belief then leads to C,
the emotional and behavioral Consequences. D stands for disputes or arguments against irrational beliefs. E
stands for New Effect or the new, more effective emotions and behaviors that result from more reasonable
thinking about the original event.

Disputing Irrational Beliefs
It is important to use vigor or energy when disputing irrational beliefs. Disputing is not just a rational or
cognitive method but also an emotional method of changing irrational beliefs into rational ones.

Rational beliefs are flexible and are based on preferences, not extremist demands for comfort, success and
approval. A belief also develops an emotional component after it is practiced repeatedly. Unfortunately,
humans can rehearse untrue ideas and develop irrational beliefs. Typically, common sense tells us that an
irrational belief is false, but there is little emotion connected to that common-sense thought. In other words,
one can see the idea is wrong but it feels true. People tend to confuse this feeling, because it is so strong, with
the truth and then tend to engage in activities that support the irrational belief. Disputing irrational beliefs
involves asking oneself a few simple questions.

1. The Empirical or Scientific Dispute. Ask where is the proof that this belief is true? With this question,
one is looking for the scientific evidence of the irrational beliefs validity. For example, Johns irrational belief
is that his love interest, Jane, should not reject him. But John is feeling very sad and rejected because Jane
turned him down for a dinner date and he thinks that he cannot stand this rejection and that it is just awful!
Where is the proof that his belief that Jane should not reject him is true? There isnt any. In fact, she did reject
him, therefore, the irrational belief that she should not reject him is clearly false. If John did not hold his
irrational belief about Janet in the first place, he would not feel overly sad or rejected.
2. The Functional Dispute. Ask is my irrational belief helping me or does it make things worse for me? In
other words, does the belief work to help achieve basic goals? Is this belief helping happiness or hurting it? It
was clear that Johns irrational belief made him feel worse when his belief was confronted with the facts.
3. The Logical Dispute. Ask is this belief logical? Does it ring true to common sense? With this question,
one is looking for ways in which the belief does not stem from preferences for love and approval, comfort and
success or achievement. There may be overgeneralizing going on. Does it make sense that Janet should not
reject John because he believes that she should not? Humans three basic goals of love and approval, comfort
and success or achievement are desires. They are preferences or wants. When engaging in demanding
thinking or absolutist thinking those preferences become absolutes (Ellis and Dryden, 1987).

Preferences are not laws of nature. While it is true that humans have these basic desires or preferences for
their lives that does not mean that those preferences are necessarily achieved. Remember in the Declaration
of Independence Thomas Jefferson states that we have the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
We do not have the inherent right to happiness but only a right to pursue it. The reason why he does not say
we have the right to happiness is that happiness is not a law of nature. That we like happiness appears to be
law and that we pursue happiness appears to be law of our nature. That we like love and approval, comfort
and success is a fact. But because we like something or want something or prefer something does not make it
a law that we must have it. We definitely suffer if we dont have happiness or get our goals met; that is true. It
is not a law that we must have it. If it were a law of nature we would simply be happyour desires for love,
comfort and success would just exist for everybody as a fact. And there would be no reason for Jefferson to
state that we have the right to pursue happiness. He would have just said we have the right to happiness.

Any irrational belief stems from a core should, must, have to, need to statement. The illogical inferences
of low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and self or other downing (global rating) all flow from the demands
for comfort, love and approval, and success or achievement. In a logical dispute the first question to ask is,
Do my conclusions stem from my preferences or do they stem from some demand that I have made? Lets
take a look at how making a demand can lead to false conclusions.

The statement all dogs must have white hair followed by the presence of what appears to be a dog with
black hair leads us to incorrectly conclude that this dog-like creature with black hair is not a dog. When we say
I must have love and approval and we dont get it from someone we find important, we then tend to
conclude that it is awful, that it is intolerable, and that maybe we are unworthy.

We can also argue against these conclusions as being illogical. If it were a fact that not getting the love we
want was truly awful or intolerable we would just drop dead. We would not be able to survive. And if we
conclude that we are unworthy or unlovable because we do not get someones love we also make a false
statement. It is impossible for ones basic worth to be based on getting the love or approval of one particular
person. It is our judgment of ourselves that makes us feel bad or good. When we judge our self-worth on
external events we conclude that our value as a person is dependent on getting someones love or approval
and it clearly is not.

FRITZ PERLS

F.Perls (Frederick S. Perls, 1893 - 1970) developed and popularized Gestalt therapy, after his training as a
psychoanalyst in Berlin, then Austria. He moved to South Africa, establishing a training institute for
psychoanalysis there before developing his unique theoretical approach.

His work emphasized a phenomenological and subjective approach to therapy, noting that many of us split
off our experience (thoughts, sensations, emotions) that are uncomfortable. One goal of his work is to move
people into owning their experience and developing into a healthy gestalt (or whole). Perl's book Gestalt
therapy verbatim is an interesting description of this approach drawn from transcripts of his work.

Gestalt therapy was originated about fifty years ago by Frederick 'Fritz' Perls (1893-1970) in collaboration
with Paul Goodman.

Perls was born in Berlin and educated in medicine and psychoanalysis. But he later became interested in
ideas beyond Freud, partly due to his wife, Laura Posner, a psychologist who had contact with the early
Gestalt school of experimental psychology.

Influenced by neurologist Kurt Goldstein, Max Wertheimer, Martin Buber, and others, Perls began to
question orthodox psychoanalytic doctrine. His first book, Ego, Hunger and Aggression gives a penetrating
critique of Freudianism from the holistic and semantic viewpoints, such as his condemnation of the many
misleading abstractions in the analytic terminology.
Perls also borrowed from the academic work of the early Gestalt psychologists, who were mainly
concerned with lab experiments in perception. He applied their principles of perceptual organisation to
understanding the structure of the human personality as it functions within the organism/environment field.
This first book is significant because in addition to criticising Freud, it also lays the groundwork for a new
system of psychotherapy. This novel approach is tentatively called 'concentration therapy', aiming at
synthesis, not cold analysis, calling for a natural holistic approach to body and mind, and a fresh face-to-face
encounter between therapist and patient. (One of Perls' criticisms of Freud was that by putting the patient on
the couch, an artificial situation is created, one that brings the patient even further from good contact, and
the subsequent goal of personality integration.)
This short, but original book can serve as a valuable introduction for those interested in how Perls' work
developed out of his early analytic training.
The concreteness, the focus on the body, as for example in his discussion of oral and anal problems, and his
innovative concept of 'dental aggression' are some of the highlights of this initial study which later came to
fruition. Here Perls is trying to develop a new model for psychotherapeutic endeavour, using as a framework
holistic and organismic tenets, instead of mechanical association theory.
One of Perls' major contributions to the psychology of the second half of the 20th century is that he offers
an alternative to the domination of the Freudian juggernaut.
What is Gestaltian about it? Just as psychoanalysis is based on association theory (viz. 'free association')
and behaviour therapy rests on the stimulus-response learning model, it was the aim of Perls to construct a
new method based on Gestalt's psychological principles. Wertheimer and the academic Gestalt school had
made valuable contributions to perception and cognitive theory, but they neglected the broader realm of
personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. Perls, however, tried to carry their insights further into this
larger arena. Personality, thus conceived, is not organised according to the additive style of behaviourism, nor
in associative-symbolic Freudian terms, but instead can be construed as following a 'Gestalt' or configurational
pattern. The culmination of these efforts to construct a new system of therapy is reached in his second, and
major book, Gestalt Therapy.
Perls escaped from Hitler's regime in 1933, moving to South Africa. After the war, he emigrated to New
York, where he met New Yorker, Paul Goodman (1911-1972), a renaissance man who wrote poetry, novels
and studies of psychology and linguistics. An outspoken Bohemian character, Goodman had already been
dismissed from teaching posts because of his radical views by the time his meeting with Perls took place
(reputedly in an all-night Greenwich Village coffee house). (For a study of Goodman's contribution to Gestalt
Therapy, see Here Now Next by Taylor Stoehr.)
The first Gestalt institute was established in New York in the early 1950s. It was a small underground group
of radical therapists, going against the grain of American psychiatry and society. After all, the 1950s were a
time of conformism. Poet Robert Lowell called it the 'tranquilised decade'.
This collaboration of Perls and Goodman led to the compilation of a basic text for the theory and method of
Gestalt Therapy. This significant work gives the basic groundwork for a revolutionary new method of therapy.
It is a difficult book; it cannot be simply 'swallowed' as many popular psychology books are, but it is the
essential work for the serious student, and one to re-read, study, chew and digest. The first half contains a
series of awareness exercises. Some of these may seem quite lame today, but remember, these were written
nearly half a century ago. The second half, largely written by Goodman, supplies the theory.
In the 1960s, Perls became more widely known through his work at California's Esalen Institute. Here he
developed a more charismatic 'West Coast' style; the books from this period are superficial, mainly taped
from ongoing workshops. Now, over 70 years old, Perls became a 'guru' with his flowing white beard, lively
eyes, and theatrical style, he was described as a cross between Rasputin and Santa Claus! It is this later Fritz
that we see in Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, a best-selling but simplified version. But Perls never endorsed the
freaky carnival games associated with Esalen. In his last theoretical statement, he warns against the 'peddlers
of instant Joy, the turner-onners of the so-called easy road of sensory liberation'. It is not necessary to have
instant breakthroughs; in actuality, Gestalt therapy aims for small incremental changes in awareness.
One problem of any movement is the apotheosis of the leader, and this, unfortunately, has also plagued
Gestalt therapy. There are now numerous 'little Fritzes' trying to imitate the style of 'Guru Fritz', without his
substance. These absurd pseudo-gestaltists, many with no training except for a weekend workshop, are an
example of the introjection of an authority figure. It is not necessary that therapists be a reincarnation of
Perls; an authentic therapist develops his or her own personal identity based on his or her experience and
existence.