Gestalt is an amalgam of certain philosophies, theories, and techniques that add up to a remarkably coherent and effective approach to psychotherapy. For example:

• The emphasis on the "Here and Now" and the nature of experience--from Phenomenology;
• A sense of one's personal responsibility--from Existentialism;
• Body work--from Wilhelm Reich;
• Learning theory and the nature of perception--from Gestalt Psychology;
• The possibilities of dramatic enactment--from Jacob Moreno;
• A commitment to a wellness model instead of a disease model--from Humanistic Psychology;
• And some, but by no means all, of Sigmund Freud.

Wrapping this up and adding their own unique contributions were Fritz and Laura Perls, Ralph Hefferline, and Paul Goodman. A growing number of training institutions and practitioners have continued to develop the theory and practice of Gestalt therapy.

• The most productive focus of psychotherapy is the quality and nature of the present moment.
• We can only know ourselves in relation to other things, and we are inexorably in a web of relationship with all things.
• It is possible to learn an undistorted, natural approach to life.
• One's relationship to the natural world affects the health and growth process of both ourselves and the planetary systems upon which we depend.

The Center expands the theory and practice of Gestalt therapy by intending the meaning of the word "environment"; to include the natural world.

Hypothesis: one's relationship to the natural world affects the healing and growth process of both ourselves and the planetary systems upon which we depend.