ABSTRACT
Gestalt therapy was originally developed as a modality for individual process. Although the focus on individuals remains the primary level of application today, a literature is developing having to do with applications to groups, couples, families, and organizations. Just as the most basic principles of Gestalt theory can be used as a basis for interventions and facilitation with groups, couples, families, and organizations, these same principles are applicable to the development of interactive environments for learning and healing. This is a specialized focus on a complex larger system that aims at impacting the interface of environmental system and individual development. Such a therapeutic environment can support the improvement of impaired functioning and the enhancement of natural growth and development of individuals. In this chapter, it is my intention to discuss some Gestalt principles as they apply to the social psychological climates of living settings, to the organizing and administrative aspects of such programs, and to the system as a totality, as well as to the interpersonal interactive transactions that take place in such settings.
