Cyndy Sheldon, MSW (20 September 1935 – 11 May 2021)

Former Director of Integral Counseling Center at California Institute of Integral Studies

Cyndy Sheldon has been a pioneer and teacher in the field of Gestalt training and therapy. As the co-founder of the original Gestalt Institute of San Francisco, she is committed to the Gestalt way of living and working. I have known her in several capacities and the one that stands out is her role as a mentor and teacher for those of us who were new in the field. She is gifted and talented!

Dean Emeritus, School of Psychology, National University, San Diego, CA.

Cyndy Sheldon is an unusually effective and inventive Gestalt therapist. If you have the opportunity to work with her, don't miss it! I have been a friend and colleague of hers for many years and always felt her to be a superb practitioner of the Gestalt method.

co-founder of Gestalt Educational Network International, and the German Association of Gestalt Therapy

Cyndy Sheldon is among the pioneers of Gestalt Therapy on the west coast of the United States. She is and has been an engaged and talented Gestalt Therapist, teacher, trainer and an advocate of the theory and practice of Gestalt Therapy in America and internationally. She continues to be devoted to the applications and attitude of Gestalt Therapy in professional practice and in everyday life. Her work of over more than 40 years has shown her wit and her wisdom, her joyousness and love, which continues to deepen and grow.

I am grateful for all she has done to further the development of hundreds of students and people in the practice of Gestalt Therapy. I am also grateful that I may count Cyndy as a dear and loving friend.

Cyndy holds a space where profound transformation can occur. She has a marvelous capacity to be present, working deftly and compassionately with whatever issues emerge. As a psychotherapist, I recognize her skill and experience in Gestalt therapy, and I highly recommend her work.

Founding member of Sustainable Bellingham

In 2008 Cyndy co-facilitated a Strategy Session for a follow up to a recent community-wide David Korten presentation in Bellingham. The purpose of this session was to bring community leaders working for sustainability, social justice and wisdom community together to experience envisioning and collaborating in an interactive workshop setting. Though the scope of this endeavor was expansive and diverse, there was a palpable energy and excitement generated by the processes Cyndy brought to this session. The small group reports were rich with ideas and possibilities for synchronizing and calibrating community projects. There was a desire expressed to follow up this follow up. It was a big step forward for community building in Bellingham.

I'm a fan of Gestalt and have taken many training workshops to broaden and deepen my professional presence and consulting practice. Your casual-seeming book has connected me more deeply and personally to my training. The practices are deceptively simple (a gestalt practitioner specialty) and a couple of those that I have tried were surprisingly deep in their effect(s) - also a gestalt specialty, at least for me. I have recommended it for the bookshelf where most of my training has occurred, and the reviewer gave it a "thumb's up." I have rated several of my purchases, but this one really called for a written recommendation. It's excellent.

North Carolina, 2015

I finished your book and I fully enjoyed it. As a practicing therapist, after reading your book, I'm finding myself rejuvenated and energized! Hungry to learn more :) Gestalt adds a dimension to therapy that's new territory for me and that's a good thing. A wholesome thing.... You have a beautiful spirit and depth of knowledge I admire. I thank you for sharing.

2017

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of your second book and can't wait to read it. I've been using your concepts and several of your exercises in our Graduate Group at the Gestalt Center of Long Island and a few people have gone on to order your book based on their experiences. I hope you are well and thank you so much for your contribution to Gestalt therapy and to our world.

AZ

You helped me see things from a new perspective—sort of outside the box I was in. Thank you!

I cannot thank you enough for all the tools you helped me realize I had within myself. It is a gift I will forever be grateful for. Thank you for everything you've done for me!

CA

My wife and I are indebted to you for helping us save our marriage. The framework you taught us helped immensely.

UK

“Gestalt as a Way of Life": I have only just started with the book, but hope to have a long and happy relationship with it. I have read many books, some to inform, some to inspire. This one does both. Thank you for writing it!