Throughout her life, Laura Perls worked above all for the knowledge and wisdom of the body and mind: for sixty years she dedicated her energies to the development of her therapeutic abilities and the theory that accompanied them.
Although from the beginning the role of Laura Perls was decisive in the development of Gestalt therapy, it is her husband, Fritz Perls, who continues to be the most prominent figure in this type of therapy to this day, often not being recognized. contribution of this psychologist. Therefore, in this Psychology-Online article we will see Who is Laura Perls, her biography, her contributions to psychology and her most famous phrases.
Laura Perls Biography
Laura Perls, born Lore Posner in 1905, She was a psychologist and psychotherapist German naturalized American, known above all for her fundamental contribution to the birth and development of Gestalt psychotherapy.
His interest in psychology had begun at the age of 16 with reading “The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud.” In 1930 Laura married Fritz Perls: the two had met while working at the Frankfurt Institute of Psychology.
In 1933 both Perls emigrated from Germany during the Nazi rise and lived for ten years in South Africa. Here they wrote their first book “I, hunger, aggression”published in 1942. This work begins the new Gestalt psychotherapy.
In 1951, when they moved to New York, the Perls, along with Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline, published “Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality,” and from 1952, with the help of Paul Goodman, they created the “New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy”.
When, in the early 1960s, Frederick Perls began to travel more often due to his commitment to the “Esalen Institute” in California, Laura stayed in New York. Finally, Laura Perls died in 1990 at age 85.
If you don’t know what Gestalt therapy is or want to learn more about it, check out our article.
Contributions to the psychology of Laura Perls
To know who Laura Perls was and the importance of her figure in the history of Psychology, you should know that both she and her husband, Friedrich Perls, did not hesitate to introduce techniques derived directly from artistic disciplines or to use real artistic mediators within therapeutic sessions.
Laura Perls, in fact, declared that her knowledge of contemporary poetry helped her in the therapy of a young schizophrenic woman who, totally silent in the first sessions, began to communicate with her only through her poetic production.
The introduction of enactment, that is, dramatization, as a set of peculiarities of the gestalt model (the famous “empty chair”, the most famous of the gestalt techniques, is a form of dramatization), comes from the convinced and passionate frequentation of art by the Perls.
This is mainly due to the verification of the proven benefits of its application in the therapeutic context, especially with patients who have more difficulties verbalizing discomfort and discomfort. Not only the empty chair technique has been taken up by other theoretical approaches, but is one of the most studied techniques to date.
Influence of Laura Perls on Gestalt therapy
Fritz Perls’ work was carried on after his death, in 1970, by his wife Laura; and only upon Perls’s death did it become increasingly clear how significantly she contributed to Gestalt consultation and psychotherapy, especially after studying with Max Wertheimer. So, what were Perls’ contributions to Gestalt Therapy?
Gestalt therapist training
In collaboration with Fritz, Laura directs the Gestalt training institute in New York for almost 40 years, continuing her work even long after her husband’s death. Therefore, Laura Perls became an influential force in Gestalt therapy and in the training of Gestalt therapists.
“Maternal” dimension of Gestalt
Laura Perls carried out a very specific style that differs from that of her husband Fritz in terms of her professional procedure, applying a loving, empathetic care and customer support in a very simple job. That is, Laura Perls embodies the “maternal” dimension of Gestalt therapy, essential characteristics that make her Gestalt therapy so unique and effective.
Gestalt as a lifestyle
Body-soul unity was not an abstract demand of Laura Perls, but an expression of her positive attitude towards life. She conceived of Gestalt therapy as a lifestyle: movement, dance, a constant conversation with herself and the overcoming of all internal obstacles. Nevertheless,
Quotes from Laura Perls
Below I show you some of the most famous expressions from Laura Perls, one of the founders of Gestalt:
- The health indicator of human beings is imbalance, this keeps us alive. And it is through restoring balance that human beings live and grow.
- True creativity, in my experience, is inextricably linked with the awareness of mortality. The more acute this awareness, the greater the drive to produce something new, to engage in the infinitely continuous creativity in nature. This is what makes out of sex, love, the herd, society, wheat and fruit. , bread and wine, and sound, music. This is what makes life livable and incidentally makes therapy possible.
- Gestalt therapy, with its emphasis on immediate awareness and participation, offers a method for developing the support necessary for a self-contained creative adjustment that is the only way to cope with the experience of dying and, therefore, of living.
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Bibliography
- Nancy Amendt-Lyon (2017). Timeless experience: notebooks and unpublished literary texts of Laura Perls 1946-1985. CTP Books Cultural Association.
- Castanedo, C. (2004). Laura Perls: living on the limits. Plaza y Valdés Editorial.