The time is ripe, more than fifty years after the publication of the
magnum opus by Perls, Hefferline & Goodman, to publish a book on the
topic of cre- ativity in Gestalt therapy. The idea for this book was
conceived in March 2001, on the island of Sicily, at the very first
European Conference of Gestalt Therapy Writers of the European
Association [or Gestalt Therapy. Our start- ing point was an article on
art and creativity in Gestalt therapy, which was presented there by one
of the editors, and illuminated by a vision, held by the other editor,
of bringing together colleagues from around the world to contribute to a
qualified volume on the subject of creativity within the realm of
Gestalt therapy. We wanted to continue the professional discourse inter-
nationally and capture the synergetic effects of experienced colleagues'
re- flections on various aspects of our chosen subject. Moreover, we
intended to explore how the theoretical reflection of one's practice can
inspire effective interventions and, vice versa, how the discussion of
practical experiences can shape new theoretical directions. Hence, our
aim in this book is to create a forum on the concept of creativ- ity in
Gestalt therapy.