Enchantment and Gestalt Therapy is a personal exploration of Erving Polster’s remarkable career, the value of the Gestalt approach, and the power of enchantment in psychotherapy.Polster points ahead to a vision of a psychotherapy that includes the population as a whole rather than focusing on individuals, highlights common aspects of living, and focuses on creating an ethos for a shared understanding. The book outlines the six Gestalt therapy concepts that have formed the basis of ...

This remarkable collection traces central themes in the work of Erving and Miriam Polster, two of the best-known and best loved Gestalt therapists in the world. The writings herein span 4 decades in the history of psychotherapy, bringing together practical, theoretical and aesthetic dimensions of the Polsters' work in a single book. Ranging across diverse subjects and distinct historical periods, the work collected in this volume will educate, provoke, inspire and nourish Gestalt therapist...

In Beyond Therapy, Erving Polster examines the role of "life focus" in three of society's most familiar activities: ordinary conversation, the arts, and religion. He shows the life focus movement to be an indivisible complement to just simply living. In proposing a paradigm shift from psychotherapy's priority for changing people's troubled lives into the complementary purpose of illuminating their lives, the author invites the participation of many people who do not seek remedial ...

Reassurance, inpiration, and guidance for adults in midlife and beyondWhat does it really mean to be a grown up in today’s world? We assume that once we get the right job, marry the right person, have children, and buy a home, all is settled and well. But adulthood presents varying levels of growth, and it's rarely the respite of stability we expected. Turbulent emotional shifts can take place anywhere between the age of thirty-five and seventy when we question the...

How do you define “growing up”? Does it mean you achieve certain cultural benchmarks—a steady income, paying taxes, marriage, and children? Or does it mean leaving behind the expectations of others and growing into the person you were meant to be? If you find yourself in a career, place, relationship, or crisis you never foresaw and that seems at odds with your beliefs about who you are, it means your soul is calling on you to reexamine your path.With Living an Examined Life

"This book will last and last, because it contains the wisdom of two wonderfully knowing observers of our human destiny."—Robert ColesFor decades Erik H. Erikson's concept of the stages of human development has deeply influenced the field of contemporary psychology. Here, with new material by Joan M. Erikson, is an expanded edition of his final work. The Life Cycle Completed eloquently closes the circle of Erikson's theories, outlining the unique rewards a...

"A beautiful and brilliant reexamination of love and its perils."—Barbara Fisher, Boston GlobeCommon wisdom has it that love is fragile, but leading psychoanalyst Stephen A. Mitchell argues that romance doesn't actually diminish in long-term relationships—it becomes increasingly dangerous. What we regard as the transience of love is really risk management. Mitchell shows that love can endure, if only we become aware of our self-destructive efforts to protect ourselves from...

Being sane has long been defined simply as that bland and nebulous state of not being mentally ill. While writings on madness fill entire libraries, until now no one has thought to engage exclusively with the idea of sanity.In a society governed by indulgence and excess, madness is the state of mind we identify with most keenly. Though ultimately destructive, it is often credited as the wellspring of genius, individuality, and self-expression. Sanity, on the other hand, confounds u...

Maslow argues that human beings have an innate drive to reach their fullest potential, a state he calls self-actualization. Drawing on his famous hierarchy of needs, he explains that individuals must first satisfy basic physiological and safety needs before addressing higher-level desires such as love, esteem, and self-fulfillment. The book also discusses Being-values (or B-values) like truth, beauty, and wholeness, which are central to the experiences of self-actualized individuals.The te...

A Clinician's Journey from Complex Trauma to Thriving is an anthology of articles by Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW. Written for survivors and clinicians this collection was inspired by Rev. Heller's unrelenting struggle with recovering from complex ptsd rooted in systemic and generational child abuse, and her commitment to devoting her life to helping others similarly afflicted. Spanning the trajectory from abuse, complex trauma, addictions, the relational quest, recovery and treatment, and ulti...

Should we feel inadequate when we fail to be healthy, balanced, and well-adjusted? Is it realistic or even desirable to strive for such an existential equilibrium? Condemning our current cultural obsession with cheerfulness and "positive thinking," Mari Ruti calls for a resurrection of character that honors our more eccentric frequencies and argues that sometimes a tormented and anxiety-ridden life can also be rewarding.Ruti critiques the search for personal meaning and pragmatic a...

In Our Inner Conflicts: A Constructive Theory of Neurosis, Karen Horney delves into the psychological conflicts that underlie neurotic behavior. Building on her critical reassessment of Freudian theories, Horney presents an innovative perspective that emphasizes the role of cultural and social factors alongside internal psychic dynamics. The book outlines three main neurotic orientations people adopt to cope with anxiety: moving toward others (compliance and dependence), moving against oth...