1. Friedrich Salomon Perls, better known as Fritz Perls, was a German-born psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and psychotherapist.
21 Facts About Fritz Perls
1. 2.
Fritz Perls became associated with the Esalen Institute in 1964 and lived there until 1969.
3.
Fritz Perls grew up in the bohemian scene in Berlin, participated in Expressionism and Dadaism, and experienced the turning of the artistic avant-garde toward the revolutionary left.
4.
Fritz Perls was expected to practice law, following his distinguished uncle Herman Staub, but instead he studied medicine.
5.
Fritz Perls joined the German Army during World War I and spent time in the trenches.
6.
In 1927, Fritz Perls became a member of Wilhelm Reich's technical seminars in Vienna.
7.
In 1942, Fritz Perls joined the South African army, and he served as an army psychiatrist with the rank of captain until 1946.
8.
Laura Fritz Perls wrote two chapters of the book, although when it was re-published in the United States she was not given any recognition for her work.
9.
Fritz and Laura Perls left South Africa in 1946 and ended up in New York City, where Fritz Perls worked briefly with Karen Horney, and Wilhelm Reich.
10.
Fritz Perls wrote his second book with the assistance of New York intellectual and author, Paul Goodman, who drafted the theoretical second part of the book based upon Fritz Perls' hand-written notes.
11.
Fritz Perls began traveling throughout the United States in order to conduct Gestalt workshops and training.
12.
In 1960 Fritz Perls left Laura Perls behind in Manhattan and moved to Los Angeles, where he practiced in conjunction with Jim Simkin.
13.
Fritz Perls started to offer workshops at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, in 1963.
14.
Fritz Perls became interested in Zen during this period, and incorporated the idea of mini-satori into his practice.
15.
Fritz Perls traveled to Japan, where he stayed in a Zen monastery.
16.
At Esalen, Fritz Perls collaborated with Ida Rolf, founder of Rolfing, to address the relationship between the mind and the body.
17.
Fritz Perls has been widely cited outside the realm of psychotherapy for a quotation often described as the "Gestalt prayer":.
18.
In 1969 Fritz Perls left Esalen and started a Gestalt community at Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, Canada.
19.
Fritz Perls died of heart failure in Chicago, on March 14,1970, after heart surgery at the Louis A Weiss Memorial Hospital.
20.
Fritz Perls was a heavy smoker, first experiencing cigarettes at the age of eight but then becoming a chain smoker due to his experiences in the Second World War, Fritz Perls used LSD recreationally during the 1960's.
21.
Fritz Perls nodded and went on to someone or something else.