Laura Perls facts for kids

Laura Perls (born Lore Posner; August 15, 1905 – July 13, 1990) was an important German-born psychologist and psychotherapist. She helped create a type of therapy called Gestalt therapy. She was married to Friedrich (Frederick) Perls, who was also a well-known psychotherapist.

Early Life and Education

Laura Posner was born in 1905 into a wealthy family. When she was five, she started playing the piano. By age 18, she was very skilled, almost like a professional. Later, she used music and dance in her therapy work.

She became interested in psychology when she was 16. She read Freud's book The Interpretation of Dreams. Laura studied with famous thinkers like Paul Tillich and Martin Buber. She also studied the work of psychologists who were forming the Gestalt school of thought. She earned a degree in Gestalt psychology and a doctorate in science from Frankfurt University in Germany.

Family and Moving from Germany

In 1930, Laura married Friedrich (Fritz) Perls. They met while working at the Frankfurt Psychological Institute. They had two children, a daughter named Renate and a son named Stephen. Stephen also became a psychologist. Laura later moved back to her hometown, Pforzheim, to be closer to her daughter.

In 1933, the Perlses had to leave Germany because of the rise of Nazism. They lived in South Africa for thirteen years. While there, they wrote their first book together, Ego, Hunger and Aggression, published in 1942. This book was the start of their new therapy idea, Gestalt therapy. This therapy focused on helping clients notice their body language and actions.

Developing Gestalt Therapy

In South Africa, Laura and Fritz Perls worked together to develop Gestalt therapy. This new approach combined ideas from Freud and Wilhelm Reich's psychodrama. They also started the South African Institute for Psychoanalysis in 1935.

In 1951, the Perlses moved to New York. There, with Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline, they published another important book: Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. By 1952, they had opened The New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy. Laura was a key person in running the institute in New York City. Even though she was a major contributor, her work was not always fully recognized in the books.

Later Years and Legacy

In the early 1960s, Fritz Perls moved to California. Laura, however, stayed in New York. She continued to manage the original institute for almost 30 more years, even after Fritz passed away.

Laura Perls died in Pforzheim, West Germany, in 1990. She was almost 85 years old. Her only book, Living at the Boundary, was published after her death in 1992.

See also

In Spanish: Laura Perls para niños