Friedrich "Fritz" Perls

You have to encounter, face your difficulties, be in contact with what's going on with yourself and the other. And via a little bit of honesty, you can create a lot of happiness. ~Fritz Perls

Fritz Perls was a German-born psychiatrist and psychotherapist who, with Laura Perls and Paul Goodman, developed Gestalt Therapy—an experiential, present-centered approach that favors direct awareness over analysis. After early training in Europe, he emigrated to South Africa in the 1930s (publishing Ego, Hunger and Aggression), then to New York in the late 1940s, where the work took fuller shape.

In the mid-1960s Fritz became a resident teacher at Esalen Institute in Big Sur. His live “hot-seat” demonstrations and plainspoken style strongly influenced the culture there. Richard “Dick” Price worked closely with Fritz and evolved his own path, which he called gestalt practice—emphasizing awareness, contact, and consent.

Late in life Fritz moved to Vancouver Island, creating a training community near Lake Cowichan. Many sessions from that period were filmed and have become a key historical record of the work. He died in 1970, leaving a vivid legacy carried forward by students and colleagues at Esalen and beyond.