ABSTRACT
Possible applications of gestalt therapy beyond what we may consider to be ‘the clinical setting’ are wide ranging. If we embrace gestalt’s field perspective we need to pay greater attention to what interventions could be made to improve others’ situations. In the West we tend to deal with problem areas by splitting them off from the rest of society rather than seeing them as a part of our society. The so-called ‘mentally ill’ are actually or metaphorically institutionalized, as are the old and infirm, whilst offenders are locked away. With greater inclusion and the problem being viewed as a societal problem rather than an individual problem, more of these people could move to fit into a more accommodating society. Our society could also allow itself the opportunity of addressing an underlying societal condition that manifests in such symptoms. This may appear radical, simplistic and unrealistically idealistic but there will be small steps that we can make towards greater integration and inclusion. As we have seen, gestalt deals with wholes and implicit in its field approach is a systems perspective and co-creation.
