In a world where evidence is increasingly called for to support clinical practice, and in which clinical modalities seem to converge, cross-pollinate, and assimilate from one another, the historical contribution of gestalt therapy cannot be ignored. However, many believe gestalt therapy is nothing more than an anachronism, missing its continuing contributions to the field. In order for gestalt therapists to expand their contributions, and in order for the wider field to benefit from the continuing development of gestalt therapy theory, this book has been written. It represents gestalt therapy’s grappling with the evidence-based movement, while at the same time providing a concise description of the practice of gestalt therapy that might inform and interact with other modalities.
The major themes of the book align with its three-part structure. In part one we first outline the considerations supporting the activity of research in general, including a philosophical orientation, and we provide explicit contributions to the ongoing dialogue on research from a gestalt theoretical perspective. In part two we also provide a concise description of the practice of gestalt therapy that could serve as a guide for those interested in conducting formal research projects contributing to the evidence-based movement in psychotherapy. A final major emphasis of the book is a section describing the historical development of gestalt training institutes, a case study of one institute’s attempt to conduct research, and a final call for the development of gestalt research communities in various places in the world where such institutes might support the development of practice-based evidence. The book as a whole constitutes one of the beginning salvos in an effort to produce credible research at the level of the clinic, for most gestalt therapy training centers are post-graduate, stand-alone training centers not formally associated with academic programs; they constitute a hybrid between university and clinical practice.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One: A Ground By Which to Think About Research in Gestalt Therapy
Chapter One: Introduction and Purpose of the Handbook
Philip Brownell, M.Div., Psy.D., Alan Meara, B.Sc., B.Com. (Hons), M.G.T., and Anton Polák, Ph.D.
Chapter Two: The Need for Gestalt Therapy Research
Eva Gold, M.S.W., Psy.D. and Stephen Zahm, Ph.D.
Chapter Three: Qualitative Research
Paul Barber, Ph.D. and Philip Brownell, M.Div., Psy.D.
Chapter Four: Quantitative Research
Leslie Greenberg, Ph.D.
Chapter Five: Practice-Based Evidence
Philip Brownell, M.Div., Psy.D.
Chapter Six: Training of Therapists
Talia Levine Bar Yoseph, B.A., M.A. (hons), Peter Philippson, B.Sc. (hons), M.Sc., Brian O’Neill, B.A. (hons), MAPS, and Philip Brownell, M.Div., Psy.D.
Part Two: A Method Worth Investigating
Chapter Seven: A Unified Theory
Sylvia Fleming Crocker, M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Chapter Eight: Phenomenological Method
Todd Burley, Ph.D., A.B.P.P and Dan Bloom, J.D.; L.C.S.W.
Chapter Nine: Dialogical Relationship
Gary Yontef, Ph.D., A.B.P.P and Talia Levine Bar Yoseph, B.A., M.A. (hons)
Chapter Ten: Experimental Freedom
Jungkyu Kim, Ph.D. and Victor Daniels, Ph.D.
Chapter Eleven: Field-Theoretical Strategy
Brian O’Neill, B.A. (hons), MAPS, and Seán Gaffney, M.A.
Chapter Twelve: A Unified Practice
Gary Yontef, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., and Peter Philippson, B.Sc. (hons), M.Sc.
Part Three: Gestalt Therapy Research Communities
Chapter Thirteen: Gestalt Therapy Research Communities
Philip Brownell, M.Div., Pys.D., and Joseph Melnick, Ph.D.
Chapter Fourteen: Research Communities in Action
Sari Scheinberg, Anna Johannson, Ph.D., Christine Stevens, Ph.D., Siobhán Conway-Hicks, B.A. (hons.), M.A.
Chapter Fifteen: Conclusion
Philip Brownell, M.Div., Psy.D.
List of Contributors
Index of Subjects
Index of Persons
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