Isomorphism: A bridge to connect gestalt therapy, gestalt theory and neurosciences

The author highlights an epistemological turning point in the way to approach diagnosis and treatment shared by Gestalt therapy, Gestalt theory and Neurosciences. All three disciplines choose to deal with the phenomenal field, although with different accents, and the concept of isomorphism is, in a sense, the expression of this. The concept of isomorphism, the discovery of mirror neurons and the theory of contact of Gestalt therapy endorse the fact that what "resides" in the brain is the capability to creatively adjust to what is sensed at the contact boundary with the other/environment. Starting from Gestalt therapy’s renewed interest in the study of phenomenology, this article speculates on a more grounded connection between Gestalt theory and Gestalt therapy. Clinical consequences of this change of perspective are shown through a live session that the author held in the presence of Vittorio Gallese, and on which he later commented.