Mexican Association for Gestalt Therapy
Video interview with Ruella Frank:
Interview by Heather Keyes
English with Spanish subtitles. September 2014
Somatic Perspectives in Psychotherapy
Audio Interview with Ruella Frank:
A somatic and developmental approach to psychotherapy
Link to the audio interview page on somaticperspectives.com (opens in new window)
British Gestalt Journal 2009, Vol. 18, No.1, 50-55
Katy Wakelin interviewing Ruella Frank:
In her own voice
This interview has a history. Ruella and I met in my hotel room at the AAGT conference in Manchester to do the interview straight after Ruella’s presentation. Initially, I forgot to put the recorder on, and then I put it on but put it back off by mistake when checking it. Although I tried to write up the interview from memory we did not feel that the subsequent dialogue did the interview justice. As a result, we decided to do the interview by phone later in the summer. The interview has turned out very differently this time. Perhaps because we have some shared experience, the interview is less personal and more about Ruella’s work.
How did you get involved in Gestalt?
I had a friend whose sister was a Gestalt therapist. I was in my very early twenties and I was experiencing some distress in my life, she said ‘go to my sister’s group’ so then I went to her Gestalt therapy group for a number of years. My therapist was working with someone in the group who didn’t feel the earth – she couldn’t ground herself. My therapist knew I was a professional dancer so she said ‘Ruella, can you help?’ so I did a few experiments with this person… read the whole interview (as a pdf).
Studies in Gestalt Therapy 2(2), Dialogic Bridges, 11-39
Michael Clemmens, Ruella Frank, Edward Smith
Somatic Experience and Emergent Dysfunction: Gestalt Therapists in Dialogue and in Response to Questions from the Editors and from Eugene Gendlin
Three experienced gestalt therapists engage in a dialogue in response to questions from the editors and Eugene T. Gendlin on the journal theme, “Somatic Experience and Emergent Dysfunction.” The discussion addresses issues of theory, practice, and the training of gestalt therapists. Keywords: Gestalt therapy, contact, somatic experiences, gender, mind/body, dialogue, relationship, relational field, creative-adjustment, gestalt therapy training, bodywork, self.
Editor’s Note
This discussion was stimulated by questions from our editors and from Gene Gendlin, this issue’s guest editor. Dr. Gendlin is internationally recognized as a major American psychologist. He was honored on 3 occasions by the American Psychological Society for his development of Experiential Psychotherapy. He is innovator of his own modality, “Focusing.” His presence in our journal expands our dialogue to an important figure in contemporary psychotherapy.
Our dialogue participants are accomplished gestalt therapists who have expertise in the somatic dimensions of their work: Michael Clemmens, Ruella Frank, and Edward Smith.