Praise for Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice

This is an incredibly important addition to the world of psychotherapy and Gestalt, in particular. This book will be very helpful for use with various courses of study, not just Gestalt institutes and special training programs, but also general graduate school classes in masters programs for mental health, social work, counseling, allied health professionals, psychiatry, and psychology. I highly recommend this book. I think it will make an excellent contribution.

-Norman Shub, Gestalt Associates, Columbus, Ohio & Gestalt Institute of Central Ohio

Ansel L. Woldt and Sarah M. Toman have put together a monumental text that fills a gap in the genre of serious Gestalt literature that has remained relatively empty since Perls, Hefferline, and Goodman's Gestalt Therapy was published in 1951. This is not to say that there haven't been extraordinary works in this field published since then; however, this is one of the most expansive books of the recent collection. Each of the chapter authors has written impressive selections that, taken one-by-one, are valuable additions for serious students and practitioners. What earns this book an evaluation as extraordinary is both the content and the structure.

-J. Edward Lynch, Southern Connecticut State University

Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice is an introductory text, written by major Gestalt theorists, that will engage those new to Gestalt therapy. Editors Ansel Woldt and Sarah M. Toman introduce the historical underpinnings and fundamental concepts of Gestalt therapy and illustrate applications of those concepts to therapeutic practice. The book is unique in that it is the first Gestalt text specifically designed for the academic and training institute settings. Gestalt Therapy takes both a conceptual and a practical approach to examining classic and cutting-edge constructs. In each chapter, understanding of concepts proceeds from content to case applications to experiential exercises.

Key Features

• Organized into two parts to provide the background, theory, and methodology first in Part I before examining the applications of Gestalt therapy in Part II
• Chapters are written by theorists and practitioners who are experts in various aspects of Gestalt therapy
• Chapters follow a consistent format-Introduction (with bios of chapter authors and dialogue respondents), Body/Content (with case study examples), Conclusion, Review Questions, and Experiential Applications and Activities
• Dialogue Boxes run alongside the content, thus mirroring a key Gestalt concept of valuing multiple perspectives and voices
• An Epilogue guides readers to training resources, Gestalt Internet resources, and Gestalt organizations

Gestalt Therapy is designed for graduate students studying mental health, as well as for trainees at the many Gestalt training institutes around the world.