Summary
Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy, in the broader sense of the term, has developed in various forms on both sides of the Atlantic since the 1920s. Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy, in the narrower sense of the term, came into being in the second half of the 1970s in German-speaking countries. In Austria, it is a state-approved, independent scientific psychotherapy method since 1995, and an integrative psychotherapeutic approach based on the Gestalt theory of the Berlin School. With reference to this comprehensive, consistent, scientific theory, this article presents the basic concepts of therapeutic practice in the field of Gestalt psychotherapy. Starting from the overarching whole to the parts, the paper first examines the concept of therapeutic relationship and therapeutic attitude, and then describes the basic principles of the practical design of the therapeutic process.
The concept of Creative Freedom was passed on by Gestalt psychology, where it still serves as the basis for a scientific approach to clarifying the conditions for creative processes in human beings. It is not essentially about promoting, forming, or even training any abilities, but about supporting, and providing conditions under which such abilities can unfold in living processes, as they are given in psychotherapy and supervision. In this article this concept will be explained in more detail, its conditions will be described and for the first time applied to the special situation of supervision. A close examination of the application of this concept to the field of supervision has shown that its implementation can be quite fruitful.
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