Library of the Lodz Gestalt School

“If Gestalt therapy can continue to offer hope of providing a fresh perspective in this increasingly noisy therapeutic debate, it is because Gestalt theory has completely abandoned the use of the natural science model, and has done so without having to appeal to mysticism. The theoretical half of Perls, Hefferline and Goodman’s book, rather than attempting to describe health and pathology in terms drawn from sciences based on cause-and-effect relationships, presents a phenomenological understanding of these phenomena, relying on an observable and immediately describable experience of how a person creates and maintains a healthy or neurotic reality. This represents a radical departure from traditional psychotherapy paradigms, while at the same time ensuring that Gestalt therapy does not have to take sides in the current debate about which discipline better represents the actual science of human suffering.”

“This method enables an experiential learning process that can be described in three phases. The first begins with moderated practical exercises. These are followed by discussion, and only in the third step are the theoretical basics presented and discussed. The advantage of this form of teaching is that the student has the opportunity to assimilate knowledge in depth. Concepts become integrated with the body, emotions and thoughts.” (from the introduction)

“By dialogicality we mean a whole relational context in which the uniqueness of each person is valued, direct, mutual and open relations between people are emphasized, and the fullness and presence of the human spirit is respected and taken into account. This is a heart-flowing approach rather than a theory.”

“Anything you find reasonable or just a little unusual here comes directly from Professor Freud of Vienna and his disciples (and from Gestalt therapy theory). I, on the other hand, acknowledge the paternity of what you will think is completely crazy.

I will try, sticking to the basics, to describe Gestalt therapy through the sexual. I hope this attempt will enrich Gestalt practice and attitude on all issues – sexual and otherwise. Anyway – are there any others?”

“The author thus invites us to a phenomenological rereading of therapy in language that is at once clear and concise, but always rigorous and avoids oversimplification. Indeed, Gestalt therapy, sometimes forgetting its phenomenological foundations, has itself too often succumbed to the fascination of techniques, to the illusion of believing that its concepts are reality, which is more ultimate, and that it has the power to exorcise suffering and lead to happiness!”

“Drawing on insights from Gestalt psychology and psychotherapy, the authors show us how a truly phenomenological approach, based on clients’ own experiences, becomes the key to increased relational awareness and flexibility in couples’ lives. Fifteen engaging chapters demonstrate the application of this approach to issues of intimacy, power and abuse, ‘resistance,’ growth and shame – and to issues as diverse as partner relationship violence, couples and reconstituted families, patchwork families, lesbian couples, homosexual couples.”

“Catherine Rejniak’s book leads the reader towards understanding the beliefs and attitudes, and above all the feelings we have towards addicts. The journey gives us a fuller picture of the suffering of these people; we hear the deafening echo of the empty well of their childhood, and the adult relationships shaped by it. As we delve deeper into the Author’s thought, this sound becomes clearer and clearer. We discover how traumatic experiences determine our lives. We also recognize this in a broader, social perspective.”

“Reissued after 30 years, Stephen M. Johnson’s book does not lose its relevance. How does it differ from other books describing the problems of narcissistic style? There has not been and there is no author who more beautifully describes and understands what is arranged in our narcissistic sensitive structure.

The great value of this book is the extensive clinical material, which shows step-by-step ways of therapeutic work with patients with narcissistic style . The author draws on knowledge based on object relations theory, Gestalt therapy, body work, Ericksonian and behavioral therapy.”

“While the diagnosis of bipolar disorder was like a short dress, schizoaffective-
for years like an uncomfortable dress, the information about borderline personality disorder
finally turned out to be the one that fits best. As my husband, an engineer, stated: it may not be the theory that describes the entire universe, but it is the most accurate theory of the universe we have.”

“What do oculographic research, art, politics, neuroscience and phenomenology have in common? How do we look at images and how do they affect us? Do our beliefs influence the reception of images and what lies behind our aesthetic experience? These are just a few of the questions that the author and authors of the book, which combines reflections on the nature of our minds, remarks on research method and art, try to answer. The starting point for the research was the question of how much political attitudes and worldview affect the reception of contemporary art. It turned out to be just the beginning for a broader consideration of the phenomenon of reception.”

“The book, edited by Professor Zbigniew Lew-Starowicz, is the first publication on the Polish publishing market to discuss issues in psychosexualology in such a comprehensive manner. The authors – recognized experts in their field – present current diagnostic and therapeutic concepts and their application in clinical practice, citing the results of the latest scientific research. (…) The book is an invaluable source of knowledge for psychologists beginning specialization studies in psychosexualology and those in the process of specialization.”

Psychoanalysis Today is a new collection from MediPage Publishing House. Its second volume, The Child in Therapy, contains works on both child psychopathology and treatment modalities, presented from the point of view of various authors.

“Psychoanalysis […] cannot deal completely with the drive for aggression; however, it can – by reducing the anxiety that intensifies these drives – interrupt the process of mutual reinforcement of hatred and fear. In analytical work, we observe that working through early childhood fears not only weakens and modifies the child’s aggressive impulses, but also leads to the use and satisfaction of these impulses, which is more socially desirable. We also see how the child’s desire to love, be loved and live in harmony with the surrounding world develops, what pleasure and benefit the realization of this desire brings, and how much it weakens anxiety.”

“DESK REFERENCE publication DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteriaTM contains the fully revised diagnostic classification, as well as all DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria.

It is an indispensable tool in the clinical practice of all mental health professionals – providing quick access to the necessary information to establish the diagnosis of mental disorders, from the most common to the rarest.”

”The book Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders in ICD-10 is the first and basic derivative of Chapter V of the tenth version of the “International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Problems (ICD-10).” The Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders is a guide to Chapter V of the “Mental and Behavioral Disorders” (MCD-10) containing basic clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines useful for classifying mental disorders that a psychiatrist encounters in daily practice. It should be emphasized that the book Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders is not a textbook of clinical psychology, although it contains much valuable information on the clinical picture of mental and behavioral disorders.”

This book presents the Research Diagnostic Criteria, another in a family of tools developing the tenth version of the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders. They clarify and highlight many of the principles and solutions signaled in the Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines provided to the Polish reader a year ago. Although they are basically intended for research use, both the novice and the seasoned clinician can benefit a great deal from reading the diagnostic and classification solutions proposed here. The two books complement each other, and the Research Diagnostic Criteria, as published later, contain a number of new suggestions, partly resulting from their intended use and partly from the reception experience of the previously published Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines. We hope that both books will prove helpful to Polish psychiatrists in their clinical work and in solving research problems.