Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Contours of Theory & Practice [Mass Market Paperback]

Erving Polster (Author), Miriam Polster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 1974

Explains the fundamentals of the behavioral theory that is based on an integrated view of the personality. For the student and the professional.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Explains the fundamentals of the behavioral theory that is based on an integrated view of the personality. For the student and the professional.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 12, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394710061
• ISBN-13: 978-0394710068
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Behavioral Sciences > Behavioral Psychology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The writing is dated but the content is good., September 6, 2006

By 

Stewart Kiritz "bookish" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Contours of Theory & Practice (Mass Market Paperback)

Erv and Miriam Polster were two major stars in the pantheon of psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy in particular. They were strongly influenced by the ideas of Isadore From and Lore Perls, with whom they studied at the Cleveland Institute of Gestalt Therapy and in New York City. For many years they trained practitioners in the methods of Gestalt therapy through their training center in La Jolla. They also did workshops across the US and abroad. This book is written in the 1970's and shows it, with its somewhat flowerly and gushy style. However it is probably the best book around for someone who wants to know a bit about the theory and practice of this approach first-hand, from two people who really knew what they were doing.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An easy introduction, December 22, 2003

By 

Quotidian "quotidian" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Contours of Theory & Practice (Mass Market Paperback)

This basic introduction to gestalt therapy, first published thirty years ago, is relatively easy to read and covers quite a lot of concepts and practices. It also provides many anecdotal accounts of example cases to help illustrate its themes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This IS the Gestalt of Psychotherapy, March 21, 2008

By 

J. Paige "paige me" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Contours of Theory & Practice (Mass Market Paperback)

I agree with another reviewer that this text is somewhat dated, but it is still one of the "must reads" for a gestalt-literate therapist. Perhaps not as purely practiced as some of the major schools of psychotherapy, and unfortunately more often misunderstood to be a group of therapeutic techniques, the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of the Gestalt model will continue to form the gestalt of all good clinical practice!