Title Details

During her career, Professor Eleanor O'Leary has authored a number of innovative books including New Approaches to Integration in Psychotherapy in 2006.The outcome ofher research has also been published in a number of leading academic journals. She was Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Ireland and Visiting Professor at Stanford University, USA. She is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Malaga, Spain. She is also accreditations officer of the European Institute of Integrative Psychotherapy, and Honorary Life Chairperson of the Irish Gestalt Society. A practicing psychotherapist and supervisor, Professor O’Leary is also a Fellow of the Psychological Society of Ireland and in 2000 received its Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Psychology. Her varied career has given her a unique insight into the development and application of gestalt therapy.

Preface xvii

Acknowledgments xxi

Part One: Gestalt Therapy: Its Beginning, Theory, and Techniques 1

1 Fritz Perls and Gestalt Therapy: The Beginnings 3
Eleanor O’Leary

2 Key Concepts of Gestalt Therapy and Processing 15
Eleanor O’Leary

3 Dialogue and Contact 37
Eleanor O’Leary

4 Techniques, Experiments, and Dreams 61
Eleanor O’Leary

Part Two: Gestalt Therapy Around the World 93

Europe 94

5 Gestalt Therapy in Austria 95
Nancy Amendt-Lyon

6 Gestalt Therapy in Britain 113
Peter Philippson

7 History of Gestalt Therapy in Denmark 127
Jan Tønnesvang, Mikael Sonne, and James Hammink

8 Gestalt Therapy in Finland 135
Walter Arnold

9 Dawn of Gestalt Therapy in France 141
Serge Ginger

10 Gestalt Therapy in Germany 151
Almut Ladisich-Raine

11 Gestalt Therapy in Greece 165
Despina Balliou, Katia Hatzilakou, Antonia Konstantinidou, and YiannaYiamarelou

12 Gestalt Therapy in the Republic of Ireland 177
Eleanor O’Leary

13 Gestalt Therapy in Italy 195
Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb

The Middle East 211

14 Gestalt Therapy in Israel 213
Nurith Levi and Shraga Serok

Asia 220

15 Gestalt Therapy in Japan 221
Yoshiya Kurato

Australasia 233

16 Gestalt Therapy in Australia 235
Brian O’Neill

17 Gestalt Development in New Zealand: An Antipodean Approach 251
Anne Maclean

The Americas 265

18 Gestalt Therapy in the Province of Quebec, Canada: From its Flourishing Days to its Phase of Questioning and its Perspective of Challenges for the Future 267
Janine Corbeil

19 Gestalt Therapy in the United States of America 289
Joseph Melnick

20 Gestalt Therapy in Argentina 305
Myriam Sas Guiter

21 Gestalt Therapy in Chile 317
Francisco Huneeus

Part Three: Reviewing the Past and Moving Onwards 325

22 The Present and Future of International Gestalt Therapy 327
Eleanor O’Leary

Conclusion 333
Eleanor O’Leary

Appendix 1. Worldwide Gestalt Associations, Institutes, and Professional Societies 335
Denis O’Sullivan

Index 365

“Even though a nuanced discussion of the impact of culture on the practice of Gestalt psychotherapy is not present, this book presents an intriguing array of postcards from around the world describing the successes and challenges of Gestalt.”  (PsycCRITIQUES, 23 June 2014)

Gestalt Therapy Around The World, edited by Eleanor O’Leary, represents a major contribution to the professional literature on psychological therapies.  It is an excellent explanation of the theory and practice of Gestalt Therapy as well as how this therapy is practiced in several countries. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in or practices Gestalt Therapy.—Richard C. Page, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, University of Georgia, Athens, USA.

Eleanor O’Leary in this textbook accomplishes an extraordinary difficult task. She proposes an integrative Gestalt approach of the whole person (be it cognitive, affective, behavioral, or bodily) which is well based on the integration of  the history, key concepts, dialogue and contact, techniques, experiment and dreams of  Gestalt therapy. Furthermore she integrates the Gestalt contributions from 17 different countries from all around the globe!—Joannis N. Nestoros, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Crete, Greece.