Definition excerpted with permission from Ginger, Serge International Glossary of Gestalt Psychotherapy (Seven languages including English. Order from FORGE at 183 rue Lecourbe; 75015 Paris, France) Paperback 1995.
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catharsis (Gestalt)
-the sometimes spectacular expression of an emotion, (anger, shouts, sobs), enabling a possible abreaction, release or dedramatisation. In Gestalt, catharsis is not pursued as an end in itself, but often occurs as a result of amplification. It is almost always followed by a verbal account.