Situation, Field Perspective and Formation of Forms in Gestalt Therapy
Social Change Begins with Two
2nd Edition
Published on 17. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
250 pages
978-1-032-84948-5 (ISBN)
Description
This volume contains a collection of published and unpublished essays and conference lectures prepared by Jean-Marie Robine. Following the author in his line of thought, readers can learn how Robine has explored some of the topics most dear to him, in which his insights have become key contributions over the last ten years in the international Gestalt community.
Robine is one of the most prominent theorists on the contemporary gestalt therapy scene, and this book is a precious contribution to the gestalt therapy community not only for the contents it conveys, but as an example of a paradigmatic model of inquiry - of how to develop gestalt therapy theory and practice by drawing from various grounds and like-minded disciplines and channelling it into the practice of psychotherapy and stimulating new thought, without ever losing the rigor of our foundational epistemology. This new edition features five new chapters covering topics such as the concept of self, establishing a clinical approach to the "situation" in gestalt therapy and the therapeutic relationship.
Readers will be taken on a tour of Robine's unique perspectives in areas ranging from philosophical issues to social concerns, clinical insights to political perspectives, without ever losing focus of gestalt therapy. It will be of great value to therapists and students of gestalt therapy.
Robine is one of the most prominent theorists on the contemporary gestalt therapy scene, and this book is a precious contribution to the gestalt therapy community not only for the contents it conveys, but as an example of a paradigmatic model of inquiry - of how to develop gestalt therapy theory and practice by drawing from various grounds and like-minded disciplines and channelling it into the practice of psychotherapy and stimulating new thought, without ever losing the rigor of our foundational epistemology. This new edition features five new chapters covering topics such as the concept of self, establishing a clinical approach to the "situation" in gestalt therapy and the therapeutic relationship.
Readers will be taken on a tour of Robine's unique perspectives in areas ranging from philosophical issues to social concerns, clinical insights to political perspectives, without ever losing focus of gestalt therapy. It will be of great value to therapists and students of gestalt therapy.
Reviews / Votes
"Jean-Marie Robine has for many years been the most important creative voice in Gestalt therapy. His writings and teaching have carried Gestalt therapy forward beyond its origins into the contemporary world. Robine is an innovator in the best sense: He has preserved the history of the discipline even as he has expanded it into new territory. This collection of his writings is indispensable reading for anyone interested not only in Gestalt therapy but also in the evolution since Freud of psychological theory and the practice of psychotherapy."Michael Vincent Miller, PhD, former president of the New York Institute of Gestalt Therapy and author of Intimate Terrorism
"In this fine second edition, Robine gifts us with another series of published and unpublished essays faithfully illuminating the rich roots of Gestalt therapy, while making cutting-edge contributions to the field. He brings together many threads, including phenomenology, psychopathology, aesthetics, gestalt psychology, making such complex concepts vital and comprehensible. Psychotherapists interested in the relational dimensions of practice, the essential proposition of his theses, will profit from this series of teachings from a master theorist and clinician."
Ruella Frank, PhD, Founder and Director of Center for Somatic Studies. Author of The Bodily Roots of Experience in Psychotherapy (Routledge)
"This is a revised and expanded edition of an already indispensable classic. Situation, field perspective and formation of forms in gestalt therapy represents Jean-Marie Robine's current contribution to the field. His essays build from gestalt therapy's central theory/practice and expands its horizon to reflect the insights he gained from decades of experience in clinical practice, teaching, and scholarship. This is a must-read book for seasoned practitioners and trainees of every modality who want to deepen their knowledge of gestalt therapy."
Dan Bloom, New York City-based psychotherapist. He trains and supervises psychotherapists worldwide, and is current president and a fellow of the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy
"This book brings together a wealth of key writings by Jean-Marie Robine, undeniably one of the most pre-eminent voices in Gestalt therapy, who has contributed enormously to its development. With erudition and poetry, the author moves fluidly through philosophy and aesthetics to offer us an avant-garde theory with the field perspective as its cross-cutting axis. This must-read book builds a solid foundation for all of us committed to addressing Gestalt therapy from this revolutionary perspective, embracing subjectivity as a relational phenomenon that emerges from the field as forms."
Monica Botelho Alvim, PhD, former Professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
"Reminiscent of Laura Perls, Robine's approach to Gestalt therapy is philosophical and aesthetic, and his new publication is indeed 'true to form'. In his eloquent and deeply inspiring manner, Robine tempts readers to expand their horizons, explore unfamiliar places, and allow fresh impressions to linger. Whether revisiting familiar concepts or casting light on novel ones, Robine's focus on language is an invitation to rethink our convictions, deconstruct our conceptualizations, concentrate on contacting the Other, and embrace the situation we experience."
Nancy Amendt-Lyon, Austrian Association for Gestalt Therapy and NYIGT
More details
Series
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Professional Practice & Development and Professional Reference
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
415 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-84948-5 (9781032849485)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jean-Marie Robine
Situation, Field Perspective and Formation of Forms in Gestalt Therapy
Social Change Begins with Two
Book
07/2025
2nd Edition
Routledge
€187.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Jean-Marie Robine
Situation, Field Perspective and Formation of Forms in Gestalt Therapy
Social Change Begins with Two
E-Book
07/2025
2nd Edition
Routledge
€45.99
Available for download
Jean-Marie Robine
Situation, Field Perspective and Formation of Forms in Gestalt Therapy
Social Change Begins with Two
E-Book
07/2025
2nd Edition
Routledge
€45.99
Available for download
Person
Jean-Marie Robine, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist since 1967 and gestalt therapist since 1976. After more than 15 years as a psychologist, then director, in a public health service for children, adolescents and their families, he created in 1980 the Institut Francais de Gestalt-therapie (IFGT), the first Gestalt-therapy institute created in France which, to date, has trained hundreds or maybe thousands of gestalt therapists not only in France but also in Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, USA and Latin America. He is a Fellow Member of the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy. He is the author and editor of nine books on gestalt therapy and lives in the countryside, near Bordeaux, France.
Content
How Situations Create Self 1. The Self of the Situation 2. Self, Artist of Contact 3. A Therapy of Forms of Experience 4. Contact, at the Source of Experience 5. Does the Now Have a Future? 6. A Background to "The Field" 7. Towards a Clinical Approach of the Situation How Situations Create Pathology 8. Gestalt Therapy "AND" Psychopathology: Nine Proposals for Approaching This "AND" 9. Shame 10. Shame in Supervision 11. On the Good Use of Incoherence How Situations Create Forms 12. Gestalt Therapy as Aesthetics 13. Therapy of Forms and Forms of Therapy 14. "Structions" 15. The Language of Experience 16. Ex-Pression In-Sists, Im-Pression Ex-Ists: A Topic of Experience 17. Psychotherapy as a Situation and Contacting as Its Aesthetic Focus How Situations Create Encounters 18. Self-Reference, Self-Disclosure, Self-Implication of the Gestalt Therapist 19. Social Change Begins with Two 20. Some Social Implications of Gestalt Therapy 21. What I Believe ... and What I Believe I Believe 22. Intimacy, Encounter, Tenderness ...