Field Theory: Overview
By Shea Stevens, last edited 6/25/23
Introduction
This post is based primarily on the writing of Gary Yontef and Dave Mann, whose works are cited at the end. First, I want to offer a very short summary of field theory: “the person’s experience is explored in the context of their situation or field” (Dave Mann). Gestalt is a holistic theory of the person and the world because it values attention to the field. Holism is inseparable from field theory.
The very first founding principle of Gestalt theory, tracing back all the way to Max Wertheimer, is how he conceptualized the concept of a “gestalt,” meaning (to crudely condense a very nuanced German concept in a nutshell) a whole figure. All of gestalt theory, and in turn gestalt therapy, is based on the philosophical idea that the world is a plurality of wholes, and “parts” should be considered in light of their “whole,” which may also be called the “situation,” or field.
I wrote a blog post on holism here which I highly recommend you read to complement to this post. In that post I only briefly mention Kurt Lewin, who was not the exclusive figure who introduced field theory into psychology, but who was a major contributor to the dissemination of gestalt ideas about the field, into the field of psychology and social science. In that post I briefly review important figures in the Western history of holism and the gestalt psychologists. In this post I offer a very brief overview of what field theory means, mainly from the perspective of Gary Yontef; I recommend you check out the references listed at the bottom of this post to read more on this topic in depth. This post deals with ideas that came originally from the founders of gestalt theory and/or gestalt psychology, which were developed in a major way by Kurt Lewin. I have a post about Kurt Lewin with specifics about his life and major works here. His work can be dense and difficult to summarize, and so in this post I rely heavily on the work of Gary Yontef who I think distills the ideas of this theory in a way that it can be effectively, if still roughly, summarized.
What is a Theory?
A theory is not an authority or proof in itself, but rather a guiding framework, a way of viewing things that people find useful.
According to Gary Yontef, field theory is “the kind of scientific thinking that works best with the rest of the Gestalt therapy theoretical system. There is a close fit between field theory and Gestalt therapy’s phenomenology, dialogic existentialism, eclecticism, flexible attitude toward clinical options, and so forth.” Yontef also says that field theory is the approach that best encompasses the broad social, political issues that Gestalt theory addresses, especially the work by Perls, Hefferline and Goodman in 1951 (see Vol 2, Part 2, Ch. 8).
A Connected Field
Gary Yontef offers this condensed overview of field theory, which is perhaps the best way to summarize it:
“The scientific worldview that underlies Gestalt phenomenological perspective is Field Theory. Field theory is a method of exploring that describes the whole field of which the event is currently a part rather than analyzing the event in terms of a class to which it belongs by its nature… or a unilinear, historical, cause-effect sequence.” “The field is a whole in which the parts are in immediate relationship and responsive to each other and no part is uninfluenced by what goes on elsewhere in the field. The field replaces the notion of discrete, isolated particles. The person in his or her life space constitutes a field.” -Gary Yontef, Dialogue Awareness and Process, Chapter 5, p 130.
Field theory can be very abstract and very difficult to talk about. Field theory originated in other areas of science (physics) before being applied to human behavior by thinkers like Kurt Lewin. Yontef writes:
“There are numerous field theories, and there is no absolute way of saying any are more right than others. Everything in field theory is relative to the time, space and phenomenological awareness of the observer. Field theory is a framework for studying any event, experience, object, organism or system. It emphasizes the totality of forces that together form an integrated whole and determine the parts of the field.”
Field theory can be used to think about how everything is connected, and it also relates to how we perceive reality. Field theory overlaps with the epistemology of holism. When we think, or have awareness, what part of the whole situation are we more clearly aware of (which part is figural) and what is out of focus, unexamined, or out of our view (which parts are the background)?
Gestalt theory, from its first origins in gestalt psychology, is fundamentally about acknowledging all the parts in a system, “figure” and “ground,” and considering how different parts work together. It is impossible to do this perfectly, but as a theory it calls us to be mindful of the bigger picture— to think about how parts in a whole are related. It is hard to separate the work and ideas of the gestalt psychologists from field theory.
Field Theory and “Self”
Field theory informs the gestalt concept of the self. When you consider the deep interconnection of the parts of a whole field, you see that the individual person is constantly impacted by, and responding to, their field (situation). Self is always in process, because it is in constant contact with its boundary.
A person is not a simple, stable and unaffected island that can be understood apart from from their context. Human functioning and health must be considered within its context, rather than as if the person lives in a vacuum. (I wrote more about the gestalt concept of self here.)
Field Theory and Case Conceptualization
To use a field theoretical approach in conceptualizing a person, is to hold for the simultaneous effect of many factors at once, versus seeing things through a more simple linear, cause-effect sequence which was typical of the psychodynamic approach in the past.
To illustrate this difference, Yontef uses an example of a woman who experiences difficulty at work. He contrasts the difference between seeing “simple causality between the woman’s childhood and her present difficulty” versus taking into account simultaneously all the factors involved in her situation, such as the woman’s treatment by others as a Black woman, the structure of her workplace as an institution, her personal history, her individual characteristics and those of the other people involved in the situation.
Field Characteristics and Attitudes
I won’t go into each of the characteristics of field theory, but here is Gary Yontef’s list below. His essay, “Introduction to Field Theory” is an ideal resource to read about these:
Characteristics of Fields:
A field is a systematic web of relationships.
A field is continuous in space and time.
Everything is of-a-field.
Phenomena are determined by the whole field.
The field is a unitary whole: everything affects everything else in the field.
Field Theory Attitudes:
Perceived reality is configured by the relationship between the observer and the observed.
The Principle of Contemporaneity.
Process: everything is becoming.
Insight into genotypic invariants.
References:
Mann, Dave. Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques, pp 4, 91.
Yontef, Gary. Awareness, Dialogue & Process: Essays on Gestalt Therapy, Chapter 5: Gestalt Therapy (essay from 1981), and Chapter 10: Introduction to Field Theory (essay from 1991).