Uncommon Ground
Harmonizing Psychotherapy & Community To Enhance Everyday Living
by Erving Polster
Type: Softcover
Uncommon Ground invites readers to consider the psychotherapy of the future, not just in broad philosophical ways, but in specific, application-oriented ways. Erving Polster, whose decades of distinguished contributions have made him a preeminent voice in the field, urges his colleagues to step out of the status quo to think creatively about how psychotherapy might be made more accessible to greater numbers of people over longer periods of time.
“Full of wisdom and humor, Erving Polster gives us a book about the future of psychotherapy as well as about what is important in the human experience. Brilliant! From the man who contributed so much to Encounter Groups of the 1960s, comes the development of a new kind of group therapy for the 21st century. A must read for every therapist – and for everyone interested in relationships and community.”
–Cloe Madanes, President The Robbins-Madanes Center for Strategic Intervention, La Jolla, CA
“What Dr. Polster has done in his groundbreaking new book is first tie together and give meaning and coherence to the disparate groupings that already exist in our lives, whether newcomers to welcoming committees, cancer survivors, book clubs, seniors’ associations, or other groups focusing on specific interests of various kinds. Then Polster proposes that everyone should have the opportunity to join a group in which he or she could feel connected and thus avoid alienation. On some level, it is what religion or therapy attempts, but Polster’s ‘life-focus communities’ would function outside of these dimensions. I believe that such groups would reduce the crime rate and promote emotional balance in participants. I, for one, would be ready to join.”
–Natahsa Josefowitz, Ph.D. Professor of management (retired). Author of 17 books, including “Retirement: Making it the Next Great Adventure.”
Erving Polster is Director of the Gestalt Training Center – San Diego. Established by him and his wife, Miriam Polster, in 1973, the center has attracted international attention. Dr. Polster is also Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Widely published, he coauthored with Miriam the essential Gestalt Therapy Integrated (Vintage, 1974)
