Fritz Perls (1893–1970) was the founder of Gestalt therapy, the man who transformed psychotherapy from a desk analysis into a living, dramatic experience "here and now." His charismatic, provocative, and at the same time deeply human approach forever changed the understanding of how to work with the soul.

In this episode, you will learn:

How a childhood in bohemian Berlin, his service as a doctor on the front lines of two world wars, and his escape from Nazism shaped his rebellious character and aversion to conformity.

Why a brief and frosty encounter with Freud in 1936 became a breaking point and the impetus for creating his own method.

How, in collaboration with his wife Laura Perls, Paul Goodman, and Ralph Hefferline, the book "Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Personality Growth" (1951)—a manifesto for a new direction—was born.

What is the essence of Gestalt therapy: the "here and now" principle, working with awareness, the "empty chair" technique, and completing unfinished Gestalts.

How Perls's legendary group sessions at the Esalen Institute in California in the 1960s, with his "hot seat" method, shocked and delighted his contemporaries, balancing between therapeutic breakthrough and "therapeutic bullying."

How his famous "Gestalt Prayer"—"I do my job, and you do yours. I am not here to live up to your expectations..."—became a motto of personal responsibility and the freedom to be oneself.

What role did his wife, Laura Perls, play in the creation and development of Gestalt therapy?

What legacy did Perls leave behind: how Gestalt therapy evolved from a fringe movement into one of the key areas of humanistic psychology, influencing modern practices of mindfulness and body therapy.

"Stop thinking—feel"—his main message remains relevant today.

Podcast "History of Psychology":
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Telegram channel of the author Alena Abanina "Family Psychology of Relationships": https://t.me/abaninapsy

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