Paradoxical themes of development: the case of developmental theory in Gestalt therapy

Abstract

"Abstract: John Morss has argued that Gestalt therapy is ‘properly anti-developmental’. He presents a deconstructionist challenge to the integration of developmental theory within Gestalt therapy. I explore the case for and against the integration of developmental theory. The paper teases out some paradoxical themes in Perls, Hefferline and Goodman’s original conception of Gestalt therapy and searches for a developmental theory that is consistent with Gestalt therapy. The process-based theory of self development proposed by Kegan provides one possibility for the resolution of these paradoxical themes. I also address the deconstruc- tionist challenge to the universality of such a developmental theory. Key words: developmental theory, self-development, disembedding, deconstructionist, uni- versality, Kegan, Piaget."