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His work in groups was essentially working with individuals in front of a group. This became known as the "hot-seat" approach. Thus there was little, if any, focus on the interactions and relationships with group members or on group themes or process.
Perls was very energetic in publicizing Gestalt. He was a charismatic figure who enjoyed the limelight. He travelled widely in the United States giving appearances and interviews to television, radio and newspaper. He was creative in developing short witty sayings that popularized the gestalt emphasis on the individual for the layperson.

Thus Gestalt therapy is mostly known for its emphasis on the individual. Clarkson and McKewn (1993 p.173)call it the "…polarity of extreme individualism while an American Gestalt therapist Raymond Saner (1989) refers to "…Gestalt therapy made-in USA," when commenting on the Gestalt focus on the individual taking care of himself.

From Individual to Relationship

Gestalt therapy was first formally presented in 1951 with the publication of the book Gestalt therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality by Fritz Perls, Ralph Hefferline and Paul Goodman. As Parlett and Hemming (1996) suggest “…the book included the basic philosophical outlook which characterized – and still does – the Gestalt approach; holistic, phenomenological, experimental and field theoretical”. In their 1951 publication Perls, Hefferline and Goodman place a strong emphasis on the interrelationship/interconnectedness between the person and the environment, between self and others. “You and your environment are not separate entities but together you constitute a functioning mutually influencing, total system” (p.104).

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