ABSTRACT
In gestalt therapy the terms 'situation', 'field', 'lifespace' and 'lifeworld' have been used interchangeably and this has led to confusion and misunderstandings not least because probably the most commonly used term, 'field' as in 'field theory', has multiple meanings and has been used indiscriminately and inaccurately. Gestalt therapy integrated Kurt Lewin’s theory of the organism-environmental field into its approach. His theory, central to contemporary gestalt therapy, contends that behaviour is a function of the person and the environment together. Lewin stated that the person and the environment have to be considered as one constellation of independent factors. Parlett built upon and integrated the work of Lewin in recasting field theory into five principles. He identified these interrelated aspects of a field theoretical approach as: the principle of organisation, the principle of contemporaneity, the principle of singularity, the principle of changing process, and the principle of possible relevance.
