Fritz Perls | |
|---|---|
 Perls in 1923 | |
| Born | July 8, 1893 Berlin, German Empire |
| Died | March 14, 1970 (aged 76) |
| Known for | Coining term: Gestalt Therapy |
| Spouse | Laura Perls |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychiatry, psychotherapy |
Friedrich Salomon Perls (July 8, 1893 – March 14, 1970), better known as Fritz Perls, was a German-born psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and psychotherapist. Perls coined the term "Gestalt therapy" to identify the form of psychotherapy that he developed with his wife, Laura Perls, in the 1940s and 1950s. Perls became associated with the Esalen Institute in 1964 and lived there until 1969.
The core of the Gestalt therapy process is enhanced awareness of sensation, perception, bodily feelings, emotion, and behavior, in the present moment. Relationship is emphasized, along with contact between the self, its environment, and the other.