[Development through encounter-Kurt Goldstein's contributions to psychotherapy]

Abstract

The life and works of neurologist and psychiatrist Kurt Goldstein (1878-1965) were almost forgotten for decades but have aroused increasing interest in recent years. Studies on Goldstein generally focus on his groundbreaking contributions to a holistic neurology, neuropsychology and neurorehabilitation; however, his contributions to the development of psychotherapy have received less attention. The present article reviews Goldstein's substantial input to the development of psychotherapy, and especially of humanistic psychotherapies. It is further shown how these contributions are rooted in Goldstein's observations on brain-damaged World War I veterans. From these observations Goldstein derived a holistic view of the organism as a system that embodies and constantly re-establishes an identity, thereby also defining the meaning of anxiety for human existence and drawing conclusions for the therapeutic relationship. It can therefore be argued that brain research impinged on the development of psychotherapy at an early stage, even though its research paradigm differed profoundly from that of present day reductionism.

Keywords: Brain research; Holistic approach; Humanistic psychotherapy; Neurology; Neuropyschology.