ABSTRACT
In its fundamental form, a need can be understood as an expression of a state of imbalance or deficiency in the organism. The key concepts in the gestalt approach concerning organismic self-regulation and organismic phenomenology pertain to the non-dualist view of organism–environment in the Integrative Gestalt Practice (IGP) approach. Organismic self-regulation refers to the idea that, based on the given circumstances, the organism will seek its own optimal regulation in the organism–environment field with a view to achieving self-preservation, sociality, and growth. Self-determination theory is anchored in a basic organismic–dialectic meta theory which corresponds to our understanding within IGP of the relationship between assimilation and organismic self-regulation. In healthy organismic self-regulation, the subtle energy flow will be flexible and free flowing, resonating with the psychological and physical aspects of the organism as a whole.
