a humorous reference to a method of psychotherapy called Gestalt therapy, created by German-born psychiatristFrederick S. Perls (1893-1970). Perls advocated that modern civilization forced people to hold back their natural desires and thus frustrated their attempt to "adjust" to their environment. In an attempt to "treat" this socalled condition, he developed "exercises" to supposedly bring the person's unfulfilled needs back into their awareness. (Gestalt is a Germanword meaning pattern, form or shape.)