About the GTA

The Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA) is a scientific association established for the purpose of promoting the Gestalt-theoretical perspective in research and practice. It was founded in 1978, and since then has grown to include many members from European countries and throughout the world. Most of the members are psychologists and psychotherapists, but the membership also contains researchers from many other disciplines as well.

-> Read a discussion paper by G. Stemberger on "Does a Society for Gestalt Theory and Its Applications Still Fit in Our Time?"

-> Have also a look at the GTA Roll of Honor for the honorary members of the GTA.

The head office of the GTA is currently situated in Germany (address: see contact ).

Members of the board of directors of the GTA are:

  • Marianne Soff (Karlsruhe, Germany) - president
  • Hellmuth Metz-Göckel ( Dortmund, Germany ) - vice president
  • Angelika Böhm (Mistelbach and Vienna, Austria) - treasurer
  • Silvia Bonacchi (Warsaw, Poland)
  • Thomas Fuchs (Bonn/Germany)


Extended board sessions of the GTA include the following members of the advisory board:

  • Tiziano Agostini (Trieste, Italy) - Executive editor of Gestalt Theory
  • Silvia Bonacchi ( Warsaw, Poland ) - Executive editor of Gestalt Theory; language, literature
  • Jagna Brudzinska (Cologne/Germany)
  • Serena Cattaruzza (Trieste, Italy) - philosophy
  • Walter Coppola (Trieste, Italy) - music
  • Herbert Fitzek (Potsdam, Germany) - co-editor of Gestalt Theory
  • Gisela Kubon-Gilke (Darmstadt, Germany) - economics
  • Jürgen Kriz ( Osnabrück, Germany ) - former editor of Gestalt Theory
  • Jurgis Skilters (Riga, Latvia) - linguistics
  • Gerhard Stemberger (Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany) – former editor of Gestalt Theory; international coordinator
  • Katharina Sternek (Vienna/Austria) - psychotherapy
  • Fiorenza Toccafondi (Firenze, Italy) - former editor of Gestalt Theory
  • Bettina Turi-Ostheim ( Vienna, Austria ) – theater and arts
  • Jaana Vainio-Utriainen (Helsinki, Finland) - music, arts education, musicology
  • Rosamaria Valdevit ( Munich, Germany ) - coordinator for Italy