My take on: Fritz Perls

By Cruz
Philippines
June 26, 2020 11:46pm CST
Last time, I wrote about Niccolo Machiavelli. Now let me introduce you to Friedrich Salomon Perls! Or you could call him Mr. Fritz. Mr. Fritz was a man. And he had a wife. And with his wife, he made a form of therapy he named Gestalt Therapy. I remember in my senior college year, while waiting in between classes, I would read a book of his: Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, at a corner in the university library while looking like a ludicrous lobster as I tried to control my laugh. He was like a showman, you see. Once he tried to make his sample client drone on and on and on and write "when this happens, its okay to take a short nap and wake up after 30 minutes". Another time, he would make his other sample client flustered and mad at him. But you see, that was his point. He wanted his client to either realizr things on their own, or get really mad and he made them realize why they were mad. They weren't tricks that would normally work, but he made them work because, in the end, he knew how to make them work. But my favorite was the empty chair. He would make someone talk and ask questions to an imaginary person sitting on an empty chair in front of them. Then he would make the client sit on that chair and, believing they were now the said imaginary person, make a reply. The point was to teach them to make important conversations with themselves, and see things in other people's shoes. Mr. Fritz was not much different from many other neopsychoanalysts of the mid 20th century, shunning Freudian Psychoanalysis and making his own theories, but his influence stays with us as scientific progress builds on the shoulders of his and other giants. I guess that's why he wrote "the whole is more than the sum of its parts". Thanks for reading! I might try for non-persons next time but I'm not sure. What do you think? And if you've got feedback, I'd love to read them. I'll take on any constructive criticism so I could learn how to write better.
3 people like this
3 responses
@Deepizzaguy (104302)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
27 Jun 20
I like your story about Mr. Fritz and his methods.
2 people like this
• Philippines
27 Jun 20
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (104302)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
28 Jun 20
@Tierkreisze I like the empty chair method since I remember actor Clint Eastwood using that idea when he was a guest speaker at a convention in 2016 talking to an empty chair that was supposed to be then U S President Barack Obama.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
28 Jun 20
@Deepizzaguy that would have been funny! Did he also sit on the President's chair and mimic him?
1 person likes this
@SHOHANA (16093)
• Bangladesh
27 Jun 20
thanks for sharing about Mr. Fritz , why last time sharing about he ?
1 person likes this
@SHOHANA (16093)
• Bangladesh
27 Jun 20
@Tierkreisze yes you misunderstood, you said you are writing about he for the last time (1st line of your discussion) I want you to share more
1 person likes this
• Philippines
27 Jun 20
@SHOHANA Oh I see. I'm really sorry about that. I wrote about him in my previous post. Here's the link: I guess I should add hyperlinks next time so it won't be as confusing. But I wonder, would that work here?
Hi! It's been a really long while since I've been here. Anyways, I was thinking of sharing here the things I've learned while out of MyLot and practicing my...
1 person likes this
• Philippines
27 Jun 20
I'm sorry if I misunderstand, but do you mean why I shared about Machiavelli? Well, I just thought of him as quite interesting that time.
1 person likes this
@rhuenz (10643)
27 Jun 20
That's another great story,thanks for Sharing Mr.Fritz. Readers can relate . Takes time for me to analyze though haha. You like reading i guess and it's good that you are sharing this .
1 person likes this
• Philippines
28 Jun 20
I'm glad you liked it! But if it takes time for you to analyze, then that might mean I couldn't word it well. I'll try to make the next one easier to read. Could it have been the long sentences? And yes, I do love to read. And I'd also love to share authors or scientists whose work might interest you, too.
1 person likes this
@rhuenz (10643)
28 Jun 20
@Tierkreisze you made it well.
1 person likes this