It is interesting that Gloria chose Perls out of the three, when he was doing things like calling her "a phony." His style is abrasive, but I agree with those who say this is not the essence of Gestalt, which can be a gentle, humanistic therapy just as much as Rogers person centered.
Rogers in his own way is infuriating, even though he seems like Mr. Rogers of the kids show. He refuses to give Gloria what she asks for just like old school psychoanalysis, which he was trained in and says that a therapist must avoid gratifying the patient's needs. If you watch it with that in mind, Rogers deflects Gloria almost every time she asks him for something, which would have a negative effect on many people and is now not considered a very helpful approach even in psychoanalytic circles.
Rogers did not break with psychoanalysis as much as he seems to think. In this tape, in its first version a section was cut out that reveals him doing what would be considered transference work/interpretation with Gloria, actively allowing her to project her feelings toward her father onto him and recognizing that as such. That part of the tape was missing for years and then reedited to be included along with a rather defensive sounding explanation of why that part of the encounter was not in fact transference. Me thinks thou doth protest too much!
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“Our knowledge is a little island in a great ocean of nonknowledge.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer
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