Relational Gestalt therapy as a potential psychology of liberation from oppressive social forces

Abstract: The essence of relational Gestalt therapy, according to Goodman, rests within political activism and social critique. Thus, a discussion of relational Gestalt therapy as a potential psychology of liberation invariably implies a critique of mainstream psychology. Essentially, an idea is clarified through differentiation with what it is not. Psychology embedded within a positivist paradigm, in attempting to understand universal human nature as distinct from the phenomenological field in which the individual is situated, makes a series of assumptions that are rarely questioned within the mainstream psychological literature. Consequently, a theory of human nature as ahistorical and apolitical becomes a form of oppression in service of those with power. Furthermore, the generally accepted theory of human nature has implications for ‘best practice’ in psychotherapy in treating deviations to such nature, with these deviations regarded as ‘mental disorders’. The article concludes that potentially establishing relational Gestalt therapy as an ‘evidence-based practice’ should not be the only direction the Gestalt community takes, but also focusing attention towards political activism and a critique of social theory in order to effect real change within the world. Keywords: relational Gestalt therapy, positivist psychology, evidence-base, power, political activism, critique of social theory.