Who Could We Ask?

Book excerpt: Leading gestalt therapist Michael Kriegsfeld led therapy groups around the world. Gestalt therapy focuses on conflicts between aspects of the self, and the attempt by patients to avoid responsibility for their choices and behavior. When Kriegsfeld died suddenly in 1992, he left 170 three-hour-long videotapes of his work with groups in the United States and Europe. Through excerpts from these tapes, author Lee Kassan provides examples of Kriegsfeld's methods that will be of use to every therapist regardless of his or her field. Divided into five main sections, Who Could We Ask? The Gestalt Therapy of Michael Kriegsfeld delivers a revealing, personal portrait of Kriegsfeld. Kassan explains Kriegsfeld's theory of the gestalt model as an alternative to the medical model that dominates the therapy field today. Kassan brilliantly illustrates and explains the procedures that Kriegsfeld used in gestalt therapy. Informative and intimate, Who Could We Ask? is a rare glimpse of a master therapist at work.