Gestalt and Somatics: The New Integration by Cynthia Cook AAGT Somatics Interest
Group Panel As envisioned by its founders, Gestalt therapy is the original holistic therapy. Teaching us that the neurotic interruption of our excitement involves our muscles as well as our minds, they insist that a "combined unitary approach" is necessary to restoring wholeness. This approach requires that we work experientially with breath and awareness, excitement and retroflection. At the same time that this Gestalt vision was being developed, pioneers in somatic therapies were developing the technologies that would allow us to flesh out the skeleton of our theory and create a truly embodied practice. In fact, Laura Perls studied with Else Gindler, considered the grandmother of somatic work, in Berlin in the 1930s. Since then we have witnessed an explosion of somatic therapies and theories, making this an exciting time of integration for body-based Gestalt therapists. It is now appropriate that we restore the place of Gestalt in the somatic tradition and give this developed area of Gestalt practice the recognition it deserves. This panel presentation from
the AAGT Gestalt and Somatics Interest Group presented an overview
of the current practice of somatically oriented Gestalt therapy. Moderated
by interest group chair Cynthia Cook, panelists Michael Clemmens,
Gail Feinstein, Ruella Frank, and Susan Gregory addressed the history
and development of somatic work and addressed issues ranging from
the use of touch in therapy to the requirements of training and ethical
concerns. Together we explored the theory and practice of this aspect
of Gestalt practice, defining the advantages and challenges that arise
at this creative edge. Readers may obtain
the complete article from Gestalt
Review where it appeared in the 1999 issue, Volume 3, Number 3. AAGT Somatics Interest Group
email Cynthia Cook: Cynthea3@aol.com
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