Wagner Moore
Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training
2004, Vol. 41, No. 2, 180–189
Copyright 2004 by the Educational Publishing Foundation
0033-3204/04/$12.00 DOI 10.1037/0033-3204.41.2.180
GESTALT THERAPY: PAST, PRESENT, THEORY,
AND RESEARCH
LAURA E. WAGNER-MOORE
University of Massachusetts at Boston
Orthodox gestalt therapy suffered a rather unfortunate fate; gestalt theory has been poorly articulated, and gestalt techniques have received minimal empirical validation. These weaknesses are, in part, a consequence of F.
Perls’s biographical history, which led to an integration of disparate theoretical models that were exacerbated by F. Perls’s haphazard, idiosyncratic personal style. However, recent empirical research suggests that the 2-chair technique is superior to other therapeutic interventions for conflict splits, decisional conflict, marital conflict, and unfinished business and that the 2-chair technique is as effective as Rogerian and cognitive–behavioral therapies.
Although F. Perls’s techniques may have been generated largely from his idiosyncratic personality characteristics, these techniques have some validity for very specific psychological dilemmas.
Laura E. Wagner-Moore, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Boston.
This article represents a modified paper written for a graduate school requirement at the University of Massachusetts at
Boston. Assistance was provided by Joan Liem, Ester Shapiro, and Don Kalick, University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Laura E. Wagner-Moore, PhD, who is now at the Center for
Child and Family Health, Duke University Medical Center,
3518 Westgate Drive, Suite 100, Durham, NC 27707. E-mail: wagne032@mc.duke.edu 180
Classical Gestalt Theory and
Perls’s Eccentricities
Fritz Perls has been simultaneously praised for his creative exuberance and criticized for aspects of his style that simply defy the term scientifically derived. The “Perlsian”
2004, Vol. 41, No. 2, 180–189
Copyright 2004 by the Educational Publishing Foundation
0033-3204/04/$12.00 DOI 10.1037/0033-3204.41.2.180
GESTALT THERAPY: PAST, PRESENT, THEORY,
AND RESEARCH
LAURA E. WAGNER-MOORE
University of Massachusetts at Boston
Orthodox gestalt therapy suffered a rather unfortunate fate; gestalt theory has been poorly articulated, and gestalt techniques have received minimal empirical validation. These weaknesses are, in part, a consequence of F.
Perls’s biographical history, which led to an integration of disparate theoretical models that were exacerbated by F. Perls’s haphazard, idiosyncratic personal style. However, recent empirical research suggests that the 2-chair technique is superior to other therapeutic interventions for conflict splits, decisional conflict, marital conflict, and unfinished business and that the 2-chair technique is as effective as Rogerian and cognitive–behavioral therapies.
Although F. Perls’s techniques may have been generated largely from his idiosyncratic personality characteristics, these techniques have some validity for very specific psychological dilemmas.
Laura E. Wagner-Moore, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Boston.
This article represents a modified paper written for a graduate school requirement at the University of Massachusetts at
Boston. Assistance was provided by Joan Liem, Ester Shapiro, and Don Kalick, University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Laura E. Wagner-Moore, PhD, who is now at the Center for
Child and Family Health, Duke University Medical Center,
3518 Westgate Drive, Suite 100, Durham, NC 27707. E-mail: wagne032@mc.duke.edu 180
Classical Gestalt Theory and
Perls’s Eccentricities
Fritz Perls has been simultaneously praised for his creative exuberance and criticized for aspects of his style that simply defy the term scientifically derived. The “Perlsian”