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The Application of Gestalt Principles in Classroom Teaching

luthiers — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 11:03:05 +0000

The Application of Gestalt Principles in Classroom Teaching luthiers Thu, 12/04/2025 - 12:03

Principles and techniques derived from Gestalt therapy are being applied in a variety of educational settings internationally. These pioneering efforts in applying Gestalt to education have been taking place through the Confluent Education Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and have focused on a number of broad objectives with respect to teacher personality, teacher skills, and written curriculum. Initial investigations of the results of these applications have noted significant increases in teachers' self-knowledge, sense of personal control, flexibility, and attention to the "here and now." Addi tionally, students in confluent classrooms have shown significant increases in a number of areas, including self-esteem and self-awareness.

English

Phillips, M. (1976). The Application of Gestalt Principles in Classroom Teaching. Group & Organization Studies, 1(1), 82-98. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/105960117600100108

Theory discussion

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Effects of two-chair dialogue and focusing on conflict resolution

luthiers — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:56:52 +0000

Effects of two-chair dialogue and focusing on conflict resolution luthiers Thu, 12/04/2025 - 11:56

English

Examined the effect of the Gestalt 2-chair method on conflict resolution by comparing it, in an analog study, with the focusing technique followed by emphatic reflection. Ss were 42 graduate students in counseling psychology. Results show that (a) the 2-chair dialog applied at a split produced significantly more depth of experiencing (Experiencing Scale) than did focusing plus emphatic reflection, and (b) both treatments produced significantly greater reported shifts in awareness and progress than the no-treatment controls.

English

Effects of two-chair dialogue and focusing on conflict resolution. (1980). Effects of two-chair dialogue and focusing on conflict resolution. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 27(3), 221–224. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.27.3.221

Research

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Non-randomized controlled trials or naturalistic study

Gestalt psychotherapy

Commentary III. Cultivating a Community of Practitioner/Researchers

luthiers — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:51:46 +0000

Commentary III. Cultivating a Community of Practitioner/Researchers luthiers Thu, 12/04/2025 - 11:51

English

O’Shea, L. (2014). Commentary III. Cultivating a Community of Practitioner/Researchers. Gestalt Review, 18(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5325/gestaltreview.18.1.0036

Theory discussion

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Gestalt-A Learning Theory for Graphic Design Education

luthiers — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:39:04 +0000

Gestalt-A Learning Theory for Graphic Design Education luthiers Thu, 12/04/2025 - 11:39

English

This article will begin by seeking to define the notion of learning by, through and from experience. A linkage will then be established between these notions of experiences and gestalt theory. This will be explored within a subject specific context of graphic design. Links will be highlighted between the inherent nature of graphic design and those of gestalt psychology. Although reference will be made to other learning theories, particularly behaviourism, this article will proceed into a discussion on how the pursuit of a gestaltist stance has had implications upon the learning experiences of a range of Higher National Diploma / Foundation Degree learners. The article concludes with a summary of its observations and a consideration of this upon future practical and theoretical practice within graphic design education.

English

Jackson, I. (2008). Gestalt-A Learning Theory for Graphic Design Education. International Journal Of Art & Design Education, 27(1), 63-69. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-8070.2008.00558.x

Theory discussion

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Aesthetic Relational Knowledge of the Field: A Revised Concept of Awareness in Gestalt Therapy and Contemporary Psychiatry

luthiers — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:35:19 +0000

Aesthetic Relational Knowledge of the Field: A Revised Concept of Awareness in Gestalt Therapy and Contemporary Psychiatry luthiers Wed, 11/12/2025 - 13:35

English

This article supports the need for psychotherapy and psychiatry to overcome the fragmentation of scientific knowledge. The author focuses briefly on the evolving relationship between psychotherapy and society, providing a brief overview of today's clinical needs. She then proposes a new development in the clinical concept of awareness from the optics of the field: aesthetic relational knowledge as a clinical tool that emerges from the phenomenological, aesthetic, relational, and process-oriented approach that is the Gestalt method. Therapeutic competence, in other words, is empathic and resonates with the client in a cocreated field. A clinical example will demonstrate how the concept of aesthetic relational knowledge can be used in a Gestalt therapy setting.

English

Spagnuolo Lobb, M. (2018). Aesthetic Relational Knowledge of the Field: A Revised Concept of Awareness in Gestalt Therapy and Contemporary Psychiatry. Gestalt Review, 22(1), 50–68. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5325/gestaltreview.22.1.0050

Theory discussion

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Gestalt psychotherapy

A measure for psychotherapist’s intuition: Construction, development, and pilot study of the Aesthetic Relational Knowledge Scale (ARKS)

luthiers — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:46:25 +0000

A measure for psychotherapist’s intuition: Construction, development, and pilot study of the Aesthetic Relational Knowledge Scale (ARKS) luthiers Wed, 11/12/2025 - 11:46

English

This study has explored the construct of aesthetic relational knowledge (ARK) as the intuitive experience of the therapist that emerges from the phenomenological field created in a meeting between therapist and client. A scale to measure this construct has been built and validated. The concept of ARK has been examined in literature and a questionnaire has been developed, composed of 58 items. A sample of 94 Italian Gestalt psychotherapists (Mage = 40.19, SD = 8.15) has completed an online protocol containing the Basic Empathy Scale, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, and a series of questions created ad hoc for the assessment of resonance. Two exploratory two- and three-latent-factor analyses were conducted to identify the variables that best explain ARK. The results have shown that ARK is described by three factors: empathy, resonance, and bodily awareness. They show the best saturation values and the best comparison with the theoretical reference model. Cronbach’s alpha is .844. The ARK can be defined as a three-dimensional construct that supports the positive use of counter-transferential feelings in terms of aesthetic knowledge of the phenomenological field of the therapeutic situation. The ARK can be measured by the Aesthetic Relational Knowledge Scale, suitable for training purposes, supervision, and research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

English

Spagnuolo Lobb, M., Sciacca, F., Iacono Isidoro, S., & Hichy, Z. (2023). A measure for psychotherapist’s intuition: Construction, development, and pilot study of the Aesthetic Relational Knowledge Scale (ARKS). The Humanistic Psychologist, 51((1), 36–55. https://doi.org/https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/hum0000278

Research

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Gestalt psychotherapy

Psychopathology of the Situation in Gestalt Therapy

luthiers — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:45:40 +0000

Psychopathology of the Situation in Gestalt Therapy luthiers Mon, 09/29/2025 - 13:45

English

This collection explores the impacts and new ways of treatment of difficult clinical situations, in the uncertainty of a world in crisis, through a phenomenological and aesthetic field-oriented lens.

Each author offers a Gestalt-centered perspective on clinical issues – a situational window, which includes the therapist and avails itself of tools configured to modify the entire experiential field. Through clinical case studies and theoretical reflections, the book examines the experience of children, difficult childhood situations (such as separations, abuse, neurodevelopmental disorders, adolescent social closure), the experience of dependency, couples and family therapy, the condition of the elderly and the end of life, interventions for degenerative diseases, and the trauma of loss and mourning, all of which are considered according to two cardinal points: first, the description of the relational ground experiences of patients, and second, the aesthetic relational knowing, a field perspective which allows the presence of the therapist to be modulated.

Psychopathology of the Situation in Gestalt Therapy: A Field-oriented Approach is essential reading for Gestalt therapists as well as all clinicians with an interest in phenomenological and aesthetic understanding of the complexity of clinical situations.

English

Spagnuolo Lobb, M., & Cavaleri, P. (2023). Psychopathology of the Situation in Gestalt Therapy: A Field-oriented Approach (1st Editionst ed., Vol. 1–1, p. 316). In (1st Editionst ed., Vol. 1–1, p. 316). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003313335

Theory discussion

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Gestalt psychotherapy

L'intuito del terapeuta: uno studio gestaltico sull'estetica della situazione terapeutica

luthiers — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:18:59 +0000

L'intuito del terapeuta: uno studio gestaltico sull'estetica della situazione terapeutica luthiers Mon, 09/29/2025 - 13:18

Italian

L'articolo presenta una serie di studi sull'intuito del terapeuta da una prospettiva fenomenologica, estetica e di campo. Sin dalla descrizione freudiana del contro-trasfert, il ruolo degli psicoterapeuti nel processo di gestione del campo emotivo relazionale è stato riconosciuto come fondamentale. Un'evoluzione contemporanea del concetto di sensibilità intersoggettiva, sviluppata all'interno dell'approccio terapeutico gestaltico, riguarda la Conoscenza Relazionale Estetica, qui definita come "la modalità attraverso cui il terapeuta utilizza i propri sensi per comprendere l'esperienza attuale del paziente attraverso l'empatia incarnata e la risonanza". Vengono descritti tre studi su questo costrutto, che hanno sviluppato e validato una scala per descrivere l'intuito del terapeuta in questa specifica prospettiva, i cui fattori chiave sono la risonanza, la consapevolezza corporea e l'empatia.

I risultati suggeriscono implicazioni significative per la formazione degli psicoterapeuti e per la supervisione, evidenziando l'importanza del lavoro sui processi corporei e della capacità relazionale estetica nel lavoro con i pazienti. [Testo dell'editore].

This article presents a series of studies on therapist intuition from a phenomenological, aesthetic and field perspective. Since the Freudian description of counter-transference, the role of psychotherapists in the process of managing the relational emotional field has been recognized as fundamental. A contemporary evolution of the concept of intersubjective sensitivity, developed within the gestalt therapeutic approach, concerns Aesthetic Relational Knowledge, defined here as "the way in which the therapist uses his or her senses to understand the patient's current experience through embodied empathy and resonance".

Three studies on this construct are described, which developed and validated a scale to describe the therapist's intuition from this specific perspective, the key factors of which are resonance, body awareness, and empathy. The results suggest significant implications for psychotherapist training and supervision, highlighting the importance of body process work and aesthetic relational skills in working with patients. [Publisher's text].

Italian

English

Spagnuolo Lobb, M., Sciacca, F., Guerrera, C. S., & Riggio, F. (2023). L'intuito del terapeuta: uno studio gestaltico sull'estetica della situazione terapeutica. Psicobiettivo, 3, 15. Retrieved de http://digital.casalini.it/110.3280/PSOB2023-003005

Research methodology

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Gestalt psychotherapy

Gestalt Therapy Research: Developing a Phenomenological, Aesthetic, Field-Oriented Approach

luthiers — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:12:20 +0000

Gestalt Therapy Research: Developing a Phenomenological, Aesthetic, Field-Oriented Approach luthiers Thu, 09/18/2025 - 19:12

English

The author proposes a frame of reference for Gestalt therapists who want to do research from a field perspective. She outlines fundamental aspects of phenomenological research that includes aesthetics of contact and the relational therapeutic approach. Ethical aspects of Gestalt therapy research, from the need of outcome research to the responsibility to show what we do in our practice, are described, in support of the discovery of new territories to advance our humanity. Two examples are offered: research on the construct of aesthetic relational knowing (ARK) to explore therapeutic intuition and responsiveness from a Gestalt viewpoint, and research to describe the process of change in the dyad therapist/client, seen as a “dance” of reciprocal, intentional movements that draws on attachment learnings.

English

Spagnuolo Lobb, M. (2024). Gestalt Therapy Research: Developing a Phenomenological, Aesthetic, Field-Oriented Approach. Gestalt Review, 28(1), 27. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5325/gestaltreview.28.1.0054

Research methodology

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La qualità della relazione precoce genitori-bambino: introduzione di una scheda/intervista psico-relazionale nei bilanci di salute in età pediatrica. Primi risultati per la fascia d’età 0-36 mesi

luthiers — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 16:54:54 +0000

La qualità della relazione precoce genitori-bambino: introduzione di una scheda/intervista psico-relazionale nei bilanci di salute in età pediatrica. Primi risultati per la fascia d’età 0-36 mesi luthiers Thu, 09/18/2025 - 18:54

Italian

L'obiettivo di questo lavoro promosso da un gruppo di ricerca SIPG (Società Italiana Psicoterapia Gestalt), SIP (Società Italiana Pediatri) e SINPIA (Società Italiana Neuropsichiatri Infanzia e Adolescenza), è stato quello di creare una scheda semplice e intuitiva (Scheda Psico-Relazionale), da somministrare nei bilanci di salute pediatrici, che valuti lo sviluppo psicologico del bambino e lo sviluppo relazionale genitori-bambino, finalizzata ad una valutazione finale su due parametri di allerta. Sono state raccolte 141 schede per la fascia d'età 0-36 mesi. I risultati sono in linea con le aspettative e con i contributi teorici precedenti. Vengono discussi i limiti dello studio e i suggerimenti per la ricerca futura. Il nostro gruppo di ricerca in futuro valuterà tutta l'età pediatrica 0-14 anni.

Italian

Righetti, P. L., Generali, I., & Spagnuolo Lobb, M. (2024). La qualità della relazione precoce genitori-bambino: introduzione di una scheda/intervista psico-relazionale nei bilanci di salute in età pediatrica. Primi risultati per la fascia d'età 0-36 mesi. Quaderni Di Gestalt, 2(2), 19. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3280/qg2024-2oa18206

Research methodology

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