ABSTRACT
A gestalt refers to a perceived whole that cannot be broken down into smaller elements without loss of meaning. The principle of figure–ground formation and the other gestalt principles were discovered in a context of experimental perceptual psychology. The theoretical consequence of Gibson's approach in relation to the ongoing development of gestalt theory is that it offers a foundation for our understanding of the gestalt principles that the gestalt psychologists identified, which is compatible with an "of the field" perspective. The basic analytical work in Integrative Gestalt Practice is the phenomenological investigation of the person's gestalt processes as they unfold in connection with the formation and resolution of gestalts. Obsessive–compulsive disorder states will be associated with a clear figure formation, but the moment in the gestalt formation process when the self/environmental scan takes place, the clear figure is pushed out and replaced by other figures in the environment.
