Sketches

Book excerpt: To all of those familiar with the Gestalt model and its many creative extensions and applications, the name Joseph Zinker needs no introduction. A master Gestalt therapist and a cofounder of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, Joseph trained with Fritz Perls in the 1960's and has been influential in the growth and development of Gestalt theory and methodology for over three decades. His groundbreaking 1976 book, Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy, remains a best-seller and classic. It eloquently presents his unique contributions to the Gestalt method including dreamwork as theater, the choreography of expressive movement, experiment, and application of the arts to psychotherapy. In his most recent book, In Search of Good Form: Gestalt Therapy with Couples and Families, (Analytic Press, 1998) Joseph inspires a return to Gestalt therapy with couples and families, Joseph inspires a return to Gestalt therapy's roots in humanism, holism, and faith in the creative power of growth and integration that resides in each of us. Aside from his books, he has published many articles on psychotherapy, the arts, and the phenomenology of love. In recent years his focus has been on the development of couple and family therapy. He now leads workshops around the world and is well know as an engaging teacher, helping and inspiring therapists and lay people alike. Joseph has experienced drama and struggle in his rich life, resulting in a deep compassion for his fellow man. He is seen as lively and creative, at times funny, at others deeply moving as he lovingly reaches out to workshop participants.