approach; individual development identifiers adventure therapy（冒险治疗方法;个人发展的标识）.pdf

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 424 057 RC 021 706 AUTHOR Gilsdorf, Rudiger TITLE Gestalt and Adventure Therapy: Parallels and Perspectives. PUB DATE 1998-00-00 NOTE 14p.; In: Exploring the Boundaries of Adventure Therapy: International Perspectives. Proceedings of the International Adventure Therapy Conference (1st, Perth, Australia, July 1997); see RC 021 699. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adventure Education; Educational Philosophy; *Experiential Learning; Foreign Countries; *Gestalt Therapy; *Holistic Approach; Individual Development IDENTIFIERS Adventure Therapy ABSTRACT This paper calls attention to parallels in the literature of adventure education and that of Gestalt therapy, demonstrating that both are rooted in an experiential tradition. The philosophies of adventure or experiential education and Gestalt therapy have the following areas in common: (1) emphasis on personal growth and the development of present potentials; (2) promoting growth through creation of disequilibrium and tension; (3) challenge in adventure education versus the creative experiment in Gestalt; (4) the impact on the learning or therapeutic process by experiences at the edge; (5) characteristics of process and flow (nonpredictability of experience, need for spontaneity and flexibility); (6) focus on the present and concrete examples; (7) holistic approach to learning or therapy; (8) Gestalt belief in self-organizing systems versus the educational concept of constructivism; (9) transparent goals and limits; (10) focus on inter