Sheldon Litt gives a fascinating insight here into the life and work of Laura Perls, one of the co-founders of Gestalt Therapy.

Sheldon Litt describes the basics of Laura Perls' background: her teachers at Frankfurt/Main University, how she met her husband-to-be, Fritz Perls and her subsequent practice as a psychoanalyst. Then the war years, when the couple first fled to Amsterdam and when, having been denied immigration papers to America, were helped by the English psychoanalyst, Ernest Jones, to obtain passage to South Africa.

The couple settled in New York after the war. They established the first Gestalt Therapy Institute at their home, which became a focus for many psychologists, philosophers, etc. Fritz, however, grew restless, travelling around the country to give lectures and only returning briefly and infrequently to New York before moving to the Pacific Coast.

The couple had two diverse styles of therapy. Fritz adopted a more flamboyant, theatrical style, holding workshops for professionals in which one person would be in the 'hot seat', while the rest of the group would be a 'chorus' in the background. Laura, however, concentrated on a more egalitarian group approach, where every member of the group would be encouraged to participate, and she also undertook more individual work with patients.

Laura Perls continued her work, leading long-term training groups until the mid-1980s.