Miriam Polster

Miriam Polster (July 7, 1924–December 19, 2001) was a clinical psychologist who was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.

Early life Miriam Polster was born Miriam Friedman on July 7, 1924, to Aaron Friedman and Minnie Rachbuch, a Jewish family in Cleveland, Ohio. Polster's family was consistently described as being loving and supportive of Polster's aspirations. Her husband, Erving Polster, was among the founding faculty members, and his involvement in workshops that trained individuals in new Gestalt therapeutic techniques piqued her interest in psychology. One aspect of therapy is establishing contact with the environment and self through our sensory organs which is essential to healthy development. Polster and her husband Erving Polster are responsible for furthering the development of the concept of contact-boundary. Boundaries function to help people to connect to their environment and withdraw from it when necessary. A disturbance of these boundaries can result in confluence, isolation, retroflection, introjection, projection, and deflection. Confluence refers to losing the boundary between self and others which is on the opposite spectrum of isolation in which the boundary becomes impermeable and connection to others is lost. Retroflection is restraining parts of your self from being expressed. Introjection is the passive acceptance of other people's ideas. Projection refers to attributing parts of self onto others and Deflection is the fear of conflict. All of these disturbances can fluctuate between healthy and unhealthy depending on your level of awareness.

Literature

1973: Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Contours of Theory and Practice Gestalt Therapy Integrated is the first book on Gestalt therapy theory written by Erving and Miriam Polster. The Polsters wanted their book to serve as an extensive overview of Gestalt theory and therapeutic techniques, a textbook on the practices of Gestalt.

1999: From the Radical Centre: The Heart of Gestalt Therapy

From the Radical Center: The Heart of Gestalt Therapy is a collection of essays written by Miriam and Erving Polster. It is a collection of their selected writings that covers the history of psychotherapy touching on theoretical and practical applications. The novel first sets the stage by describing the principles of Gestalt therapy, illustrating the application and transformation of the theories. They then discuss the role and implications of the community on the individual. Various aspects of theory and therapy are integrated in this novel to encompass the full spectrum of psychotherapy.

Legacy Miriam Polster and her husband Erving Polster started out by running couple and family workshops. They led groups together but did not do so in their own fields as much. Miriam and Erving Polster founded the Gestalt Training Centre in San Diego, California. They taught and trained many professionals in Gestalt therapy all around the world. Literature stated that they were known as some of the most influential Gestalt therapists, and their training inspired others to take on Gestalt therapy training themselves.

Polster was also a member of the faculty of the Gestalt Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. She was involved with the Institute before and after she was a graduate student and was present at many workshops.

Death In 1994, Polster was diagnosed with, and survived, both breast cancer and endometrial cancer; she died on December 19, 2001, at the age of 77 after a relapse in the endometrial cancer.