7 Gestalt Psychology: History and Modern-Day Practices

Introduction (Hailey)

The theory of Gestalt psychology is mostly associated with psychologists of the Berlin school of thought such as Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, however, it has philosophical roots in Austrian and German schools of thought (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). This paper will examine the historical roots of Gestalt psychology, the gaps in knowledge as well as how Gestalt therapy emerged from Gestalt theory, including the development of Gestalt therapy interventions, contact and resistance to contact, the paradoxical theory of change, and the power in the present moment. Overall it has been found that the key historical figures of Gestalt theory have significantly influenced how Gestalt therapy emerged and how it is used in application to the modern-day approach to Gestalt therapy.

Historical Overview 1 (Hailey)

In 1912, Max Wertheimer published his article on the “phi phenomenon”, which is widely viewed as being the item that in effect “founded” the Gestalt school of psychology (Green, 2000). In the same article, Wertheimer proposed a physiological model described in terms of a short circuit and a flooding back of current flow (“transverse functions of a special kind”), which produced what he called “a unitary continuous whole-process” (Wagemans et al., 2012). Wertheimer then extended this theory to the psychology of pure simultaneity (for the perception of form or shape) and of pure succession (for the perception of rhythm or melody), and these extensions were decisive for the emergence of Gestalt psychology (Wagemans et al., 2012). From this phenomenon, Wertheimer concluded that structured wholes or Gestalten, rather than sensations, are the primary units of mental life (Wagemans et al., 2012). Gestalt psychology became popularized in the first half of the 20th century, yet psychologists argue about its present status (Wagemans et al., 2012). Some psychologists argue that Gestalt psychology died when its founding fathers, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler, died in the 1940s (Wagemans et al., 2012). Others argue Gestalt psychology declined because of stronger theoretical and experimental frameworks, which arose in the 1960s and 1970s that have dominated the field ever since including cognitive science and neuroscience (Wagemans et al., 2012). On the other hand, gestalt psychology is still very much relevant today in the understanding and emergence of perception, continuing to inspire contemporary scientific research and maintain the pursuit of concurring challenges that arise from vision science and cognitive neuroscience (Wagemans et al., 2012). Gestalt psychology is remembered in terms of its contributions to the study of visual perception and problem-solving, yet there were extensive contributions in other not well-known areas such as social psychology (Lewin, 1935, 1936), developmental psychology (Koffka, 1921/1924), and abnormal psychology (Silverstein & Uhlhaas, 2004). Gestalt theory evolved further in the hands of Wertheimer’s colleagues Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler who successfully combined two major themes that were salient among Europeans in the late 19th century and early 20th century, which were holistic thought and total allegiance to scientific rigour and objectivity psychology (King & Wertheimer, 2009). What made this school of thought so popular was its consistent use of scientific methods in research for generating evidence in support of its principles or laws without being atomistic or reductionistic (King & Wertheimer, 2009). All three key figures, Wertheimer, Koffka, and Köhler studied at various times with Carl Stumpf, a general psychologist at the University of Berlin, who championed objective and experimental rigor in psychological research (King & Wertheimer, 2009). Stumpf also advocated for the “phenomenological method” in psychology: the unbiased description of experience as it comes, without preconception and predetermined categories, and a theory of mind that goes beyond inert associations among discrete mental elements (King & Wertheimer, 2009). The three Gestalt psychologists-to-be absorbed Stumpf’s three main ideals and from there constructed the influential new school of Gestalt psychology (King & Wertheimer, 2009).

Historical Overview 2 (Hailey)

Two major developments are generally considered as highlights in the history of Gestalt psychology: Köhler’s discussion of “physical Gestalten” (1920/1938) and Max Wertheimer’s proposal of “Gestalt laws of perceptual organization” (1923/1938) (Wagemans et al., 2012). Wertheimer’s follow-up paper was an attempt to further explain the fundamental principles of organization as he called Prägnanz, stating, in its general sense that the perceptual field and objects within it will take on the simplest and most encompassing structure permitted by the given conditions (Wagemans et al., 2012). Köhler extended the Gestalt concept from perception and behaviour to the physical world and natural sciences as well as attempted to construct a specific testable theory of brain processes that could account for perceived Gestalten (perceptual groups) in vision (Wagemans et al., 2012). Köhler also argued that brain states are not merely the summation of independent physiological processes but exhibit Gestalt characteristics similar to those of the visual field (Silverstein & Uhlhaas, 2004). In essence, he postulated a correspondence between an organization in the visual field and the organization of underlying physiological processes in the brain and called this isomorphism (Silverstein & Uhlhaas, 2004). In 1935, Koffka published his Principles of Gestalt Psychology, the book in which he reformed the basic question of perception research under Gestalt principles and a holistic approach that a person must always question why things look the way they do (Green, 2000). He claimed that science would not only have to swallow quantitative facts of the physical sciences but also two other scientific categories as well (Green, 2000). The first category he termed order which was said to be a category of facts evident in living things, but one that does not exist at the non-biological level (Green, 2000). The second category to be incorporated by science he termed Sinn, a German word which is translated as significance, value, and meaning (Green, 2000). According to Koffka, without the meaning of experience and behaviour science would doom itself to trivialities in its investigation of human beings (Green, 2000). Gestalt theory seemed to develop rather consistently, from studying the fundamental laws of psychology first under the simplest conditions, before including complex sets of conditions, and turning to other domains such as memory, thinking, emotions, aesthetics, and so forth (Wagemans et al., 2012). The Gestalt principle or laws were introduced through the multiple works of Wertheimer (1923/1938) and were further developed by Köhler (1929), and Koffka (1935) to provide rules for the organization of perceptual senses (Todorovic, 2008). These principles aim to formulate the regularities according to which the perceptual input is organized into unitary forms, also referred to as (sub)wholes, groups, groupings, or Gestalten (Todorovic, 2008).

Gaps in Knowledge (Hailey)

Wertheimer, Koffka, and Köhler are highly regarded as the founders of Gestalt theory (Wagemans et al., 2012), but many of their teachers/mentors provided the foundational ideas which these three key figures built and these individuals are not widely known. One of the biggest influences on Gestalt theory was Christian von Ehrenfels, an Austrian philosopher, who published his essay “On the Qualities of Form” in 1890 (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). Ehrenfels was a professor at the German University of Prague and one of his regular attendees to his lectures was no other than Max Wertheimer (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). The Austrian conception that our experience is structured is a matter of certain special “Gestalt qualities” of complexes of data in a given experience, meaning each quality is determined by and is essentially dependent on the constituent elements of the complex with which it is associated (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). On the contrary, according to later Berlin conception, a collection of data (or any other psychological formation) does not have a Gestalt: it is a Gestalt, a whole whose parts are themselves determined as being such that they can exist only as parts of a whole of this given kind (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). Ehrenfels had quite a specific theoretical generalization in terms of the mind, between a complex of experienced elements on one hand and some associated unitary experience of a single invariant structure on the other, which this later structure is known as Gestalt (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). He also recognized that concepts compared to spatial shape might be applied not merely to complex objects of perception in other sensory modalities but also to objects with a complexity that is extended in time (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). Ehrenfels generalized this further to include complex objects of experience founded on inner perceptions, such as moods, emotions, and complex feelings (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). Ernst Mach was also a very important figure who influenced Ehrenfels and Albert Einstein through his investigations, both systematically and historically, in physics and psychology, and this contributed in turn to the further development of his thinking in these areas (Mulligan & Smith, 1988). The transition from the Austrian theory of Gestalt of quality to the Berlin theory of Gestalt as a whole had significant ramifications in how the theory was applied to objects (Mulligan & Smith, 1988).

Major Point #1: Gestalt Therapy: Therapeutic Intervention (Hannah)

Frederick (Friz) Perls and Laura Perls are known for taking Gestalt psychology and transforming it into what they referred to as Gestalt Therapy. The Perlses studied psychology under the influence of Freud, where Freud would marginalize his students for going against the classical analysis styles (Woldt & Toman, 2005). However, both Friz and Laura were unconvinced by Freud’s analytic theory and other psychological therapies of their time, so they decided to form a new psychological school of thought; Gestalt therapy (Woldt & Toman, 2005). Although the therapeutic approach is called Gestalt therapy, this approach builds on many different psychological schools of thought and philosophies of the time, other than just Gestalt psychology (Barlow, 1981). It incorporates ideas from psychoanalysis, humanistic and existential philosophies, Zen Buddhism, as well as Gestalt psychology (Woldt & Toman, 2005). Perls viewed this Gestalt therapy to be different from Gestalt psychology as it goes further than Gestalt laws and dynamics created by the founders of Gestalt psychology.

Fritz Perls worked alongside Wilhelm Reich to build the therapy off the concept of organismic self-regulation (Woldt & Toman, 2005). This concept states that organisms possess a natural drive to adapt according to their needs to fulfill homeostasis (Stevens, 2022). For example, when organisms feel hungry, they eat to no longer feel hungry, or, when organisms feel tired, they sleep. This goes against Freud’s beliefs of sex and aggression as being the foundational drives of human nature (Stevens, 2022). Perls and Reich brought on Paul Goodman to contribute to the development of the therapy. Goodman made connections between Aristotelian ideas and Gestalt Therapy. Another foundational principle of Gestalt Therapy is the concept of holism; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Barlow, 1981). Perls believed that the self cannot be viewed in individual components, rather all factors need to be considered – the physical, mental, and emotional events come together to form the unified being (Barlow, 1981).

Gestalt therapy started taking form in 1951 following World War II due to the high demand for psychological treatments following the traumatic events of the war (Woldt & Tolman, 2005). The Perlses’ conducted Gestalt experiments and practices out of their home, which later came to be the first New York Gestalt Institute in 1952 (Woldt & Tolman, 2005). Gestalt therapy gained traction, and many joined as they were intrigued by the idea of learning new psychotherapy practices aside from the traditional training at the time (Woldt & Tolman, 2005). A three-year intensive training program was created on Gestalt therapy, which later spread to being taught all over the world as well as many training institutions became devoted specifically to Gestalt therapy (Woldt & Tolman, 2005).

Friz Perls, Ralph Hefferline, and Paul Goodman wrote the book Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality, which is often referred to as the founding book or the “bible” of Gestalt therapy (Woldt & Tolman, 2005). This book laid out the theoretical groundwork of the therapy, mainly constructed by Goodman based on the original ideas of the Perlses (Woldt & Tolman, 2005). The book focused on the theories surrounding the organism and its environment, the self, contact, resistance to contact, the self not functioning, and the aim of psychotherapy (Woldt & Tolman, 2005). The book also explains the different aspects of the therapeutic approach and how this therapeutic intervention works to help a client who is struggling (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015).

According to Goodman and Perls, Gestalt therapy sessions should take place in an environment that encourages clients to become their true authentic, and creative selves (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015). To do so, the client must challenge their desires, emotions, and values which were often passed down through society (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015). The therapist must act as a non-judgemental neutral expert, fully engaging in their client’s therapeutic process (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015). This means that the therapist does not provide the “right” answers to their client’s struggles but guides the client in discovering the “right” answers themselves (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015). The therapist encourages the client to step away from the rigid lessons learned from society and create an authentic agenda, which will lead the client toward personal freedom (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015). The therapist is encouraged to create authentic connections encouraging the client to be open about difficult topics, which helps to build a trusting relationship. The ultimate goal of Goodman and Perls’ approach to Gestalt therapy is to create a complex version of the self, that can acknowledge that growth is a lifelong process, that can be tackled through connection and communication (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015).

Major Point 2: The Concept of Contact and Resistance to Contact (Hailey)

According to Jacobs (2007), contact disturbances are defined as the developmental process of personality (as cited in Tagay et al., 2023). Voltan-Acar (2003, 2014) suggests that relationship distortions that occur when coming into contact with oneself and others or the change in the direction of contact are defined as contact disturbances (as cited in Tagay et al., 2023). Effective contact means interacting with nature and with other people without losing one’s sense of individuality as well as clear awareness, full energy, and the ability to express oneself (Corey, 2016). Gestalt therapists talk about the two functions of boundaries: to connect and to separate; both contact and withdrawal are necessary and important to healthy functioning (Corey, 2016) They also focus on interruptions, disturbances, and resistances to contact, which were developed as coping processes but often end up preventing us from experiencing the present in a full and real way (Corey, 2016). This is partly due to ruminative thoughts, which are repetitive and uncontrollable and is a condition associated with depressive mood (Tagay et al., 2023). In addition, ruminative thoughts were found to be positively correlated with childhood traumas and depressive symptoms (Tagay et al., 2023). Polster and Polster (1973) suggest that there are five different kinds of boundary disturbances: introjection, projection, retroflection, deflection, and confluence (as cited in Corey, 2016). Introjection is the tendency to uncritically accept others’ beliefs and standards without assimilating them to make them congruent with who we are, which remain alien to us because we have not analyzed and restructured them (Corey, 2016) When we introject we absorb what the environment provides us rather than our own needs, which if stuck in this stage our energy is bound up in other people’s opinions of our needs, not our own (Corey, 2016). Projection contact disturbances involve the individual not accepting his/her feelings and thoughts but directing them to other people and reflecting these feelings and thoughts as if they belonged to other people (Tagay et al., 2023). In essence, the individual avoids taking responsibility by attributing aspects that he/she cannot accept in himself/herself to others and blaming others (Tagay et al., 2023). Retroflection consists of turning back on ourselves and what we would like to do to someone else or doing to ourselves what we would like someone else to do to or for us (Corey, 2016). Those who rely on retroflection often inhibit themselves from taking action out of fear of embarrassment, guilt, and resentment; which causes a fair amount of anxiety (Corey, 2016). Deflection is the process of distraction or veering off so that it is difficult to maintain a sustained sense of contact (Corey, 2016). According to Frew (1986), individuals attempt to do so by diffusing contact through the overuse of humour, abstract generalization, and questions rather than statements (as cited in Corey, 2016). Lastly, confluence involves blurring the differentiation between the self and the environment as one strives to fit in with those around, which creates a struggle of division between internal experience and outer reality (Corey, 2016). This style of contact is characterized by individuals who have a high need to be accepted and liked, thus finding enmeshment comfortable (Corey, 2016).

Major Point #3: Power in the Present (Hannah)

One of the main underlying principles of Gestalt therapy is the focus on the paradoxical theory of change, which was created by Fritz Perls’ student Arnold Beisser (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). Beisser believed that change only occurs when the person accepts who and what they are, someone will not notice a change if they are constantly trying to be someone whom they are not (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). Beisser believed that the client must put in the effort to discover and be accepting of who they are and what is going on around them. It also means that the client must realize any biases they have adopted from society and accept that they may be different from the status quo (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). This theory does not mean that the person must change who they are, rather it is about discovering who they truly are (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). To notice “change” does not come through an individual trying to change something, rather it comes when the individual abandons what they want to be and starts becoming who they are and gaining self-acceptance (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970).

This theory was built on the theory of contact or self-other regulation (Mackewn, 1997). Once an individual has encountered a challenge and taken risks and can let go of their self-image by being in the present, they will experience change (Mackewn, 1997). The theories of change before Gestalt therapy believed the opposite – change was important to fit in with society and different cultures (Mackewn, 1997). For example, when something is not working for an individual, the individual is expected to make changes and adapt to improve the conflict. Therefore, when Perls’ and Bessier proposed the idea of self-acceptance leading to change, it brought a unique and intriguing perspective to the time (Mackewn, 1997).

Many times, clients come to see a therapist or are struggling with psychological distress because they are desiring change – whether that be in their life, behaviour, or thought patterns (Mackewn, 1997). With Gestalt therapy, the therapist will inform the individual that they are their own expert, and through encouragement and support the individual will be able to accept who and what they are (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). This is not an easy task for a client and often leads people to feel an internal conflict with themselves as many believe that through controlling a situation change will occur, rather than just sitting with it and accepting how it is (Mackewn, 1997).

Perls, Hefferline, and Goodman believed that the therapist must have a neutral stance when a client first comes in with a problem (Mackewn, 1997). This prevents the therapist from getting involved with creating a solution for the problem at hand, rather, the neutral stance enables the therapist to share their view on the client aiding them in gaining self-awareness on areas they were unaware of (Mackewn, 1997).

In practice, this paradoxical theory of change in Gestalt therapy is often referred to as the “power in the present” or the “here and now” experiments (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). Gestalt experiments with a client are different from other therapeutic exercises or techniques which are focused on an activity with specific goals (Corey, 2007). In Gestalt therapy, experiments should be collaborative and client-centred fitting to the client as needed (Corey, 2016). This approach encourages exploration of the self and individual views, where one gains new understandings of their perspectives in the process. Therapists will often ask clients “What are you experiencing right now?” or “What do you need at the moment” to help the client gain self-awareness, interrupting the client’s ability to instantly jump to interpreting the situation at hand (Yontef, 2007). These experiments with the clients encouraged clients to step outside of trying to change what is going on, and instead sit with what is going on and become grounded (Yontef, 2007).

Conclusion (Hannah)

Gestalt therapy in the 21st century incorporates many of the ideas (insert names Wilhelm etc..) from Gestalt psychology. Combining these ideas, Fritz Perls being the founding father of Gestalt therapy created a new and unique psychoanalytical approach of his time. The Gestalt therapeutic approach emphasizes the use of contact and resistance to contact, the present moment, and self-acceptance as the main focuses to help a client through a challenging time. With the collaboration of many other influential Gestalt theorists, Gestalt therapy was able to gain traction and became a therapeutic approach used all over the world. Today in the 21st century, many of the original ideas of Gestalt theory are used in practice to help clients struggling with challenges and those who are in psychological distress.

References

Barlow, A. R. (1981). Gestalt-Antecedent Influence or Historical Accident. The Gestalt Journal, IV (2).

Corey, G. (2021). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Cengage.

Fagan, J., & Shepherd, I. L. (1970). Gestalt therapy now: Theory, techniques, applications. Science & Behavior Books.

Green, C. D. (2000). Classics in the History of Psychology. Classics in the History of Psychology — Introduction to Koffka (1922) by C.D. Green. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Koffka/Perception/intro.htm

King, D. B., & Wertheimer, M. (2009). Max Wertheimer and gestalt theory. Transaction.

Mackewn, J. (1997). Developing Gestalt counselling: a field theoretical and relational model of contemporary Gestalt counselling and psychotherapy. SAGE.

Mulligan, K., & Smith, B. (1988, January 1). Kevin Mulligan & Barry Smith, Mach and Ehrenfels: The Foundations of Gestalt theory. PhilArchive. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://philarchive.org/rec/MULMAE

Silverstein, S. M., & Uhlhaas, P. J. (2004). Gestalt psychology: The forgotten paradigm in abnormal psychology. The American Journal of Psychology, 117(2), 259–277. https://doi.org/10.2307/4149026

Stevens, S. (2022, December 31). On change and self-regulation. Gestalt Therapy Blog. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://www.gestalttherapyblog.com/blog/the-nature-of-change-and-self-regulation

Tagay, Ö., Voltan Acar, N., & Circir, O. (2023, February 8). The relationships among ruminative thoughts, gestalt contact disturbances and unfinished business – current psychology. SpringerLink. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-023-04335-4

Todorovic, D. (2008). Gestalt Principles. Scholarpedia. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Gestalt_principles

Votsmeier, A. (1996). Kurt Goldstein and Holism. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from http://www.gestaltpsychotherapie.de/LAgo1_ho.pdf

Wheeler, G., & Axelsson, L. (2015). Gestalt therapy (First edition.). American Psychological Association.

Yontef, G. (2007). The Power of the Immediate Moment in Gestalt Therapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy: On the Cutting Edge of Modern Developments in Psychotherapy, 37(1), 17–23. https://doi-org.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/10.1007/s10879-006-9030-0