Learn about Gestalt

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What is Gestalt Therapy?

Gestalt therapy is an experiential, holistic approach to psychotherapy that views people as integrated wholes—mind, body, emotions, and relationships inseparable from one another. Developed in the 1940s by Drs. Frederick (Fritz) and Laura Perls, Gestalt therapy emphasizes awareness, presence, and personal responsibility as pathways to change.


Contemporary Gestalt therapy draws from humanistic psychology, existential philosophy, and Eastern thought. It is a collaborative, non-authoritarian approach that focuses on what is happening here and now in the client’s lived experience. Through creative and experiential methods, Gestalt therapy supports individuals in uncovering and releasing habitual patterns, freeing energy for new choices, and developing greater vitality, self-support, and meaningful connection with others and the world.

  • DescriptiGestalt therapy is experiential and relational. Rather than analyzing the past or interpreting behavior, the therapist works collaboratively with the client to explore present-moment experience—sensations, emotions, thoughts, and interactions—as they unfold. Awareness itself is seen as a powerful agent of change.

    Gestalt therapy strongly influenced many widely practiced modalities today, including mindfulness-based therapies, Somatic Experiencing, and Internal Family Systems (IFS)—all of which emphasize present-moment awareness, embodied experience, and compassionate attention to inner processes.

  • Wholeness – honoring the integration of mind, body, emotion, and environment

    Awareness – trusting awareness as the foundation of change

    Relationship – valuing genuine, respectful therapeutic connection

    Choice & Responsibility – supporting agency and self-direction

    Creativity & Experimentation – meeting each person where they are

    • Greater self-awareness and emotional clarity

    • Increased vitality, presence, and confidence

    • Relief from stuck patterns and repetitive struggles

    • Deeper, more authentic relationships

    • A stronger sense of meaning, agency, and wholeness

Introduction to Gestalt

If you're interested in learning more about gestalt therapy, or in finding out about our training programs, workshops and intensives for mental health professionals, this introductory class is for you. We'll answer your questions about Gestalt therapy, our Center and how to find a gestalt therapist.

Introduction to Gestalt Theory and Practice

Next Intro:
Saturday, April 11, 2026
1–4 pm (ET)
IN-PERSON ONLY
at the Gestalt Center

The class is free, but registration is required.
*No CE hours are offered for this class.

Click here to Register

In this class you will

 

  • Witness a live demonstration of a Gestalt therapy session, followed by discussion.

  • Obtain a beginning understanding of Gestalt theory and practice.

  • Learn about our post-graduate training programs, including our Licensed Psychoanalytic program.

  • Learn about upcoming workshops

  • Meet one or more members of our faculty, as well as students or alums of our training programs.