Lessons from the Legend of Gloria - Were we duped by the world's most influential counseling session http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:38:09 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc131 I think the article had valid points and questions. For example, one theory as to why Gloria chose Perls was the possibility of her connection with Dr. Shostrom as his patient for four years. I wonder if it could also be possible that Perls reminded her of her father and she may have wanted to try to \"fix\" that part of their relationship by choosing someone who reminded her of that parent. The article is thought provoking. Marie Tupper Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:12:31 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc163 Anyone knows what happen to Gloria, did she continue her therapy with Dr. Shostrom? Or she turn to Dr. Roger? kek Mon, 19 May 2008 04:23:14 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc166 Although Rogers made the greatest connection, Ellis made the greatest therapeutic impact in my opinion. I can see what Perls was doing, but it does take stamina to stick with that kind of stuff. Quirky Wed, 21 May 2008 04:22:09 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc167 ........Maybe Perls represented the critical parent and Gloria wanted to re-examine or felt that she had a lesson \"to be learnt\" from a controlling kind of personality. \"oh this authority figure must be good for me, even though hes treating me like sh*t.\" Of course, REBT would give Gloria the skills to think for herself and allow her the headroom to make her own informed choices, rather than shock her into realisation, which I think can be untimely. Ellis all the way. quirky Wed, 21 May 2008 04:25:28 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc198 Perhaps Fritzs refusal to pander to her, to succumb to her flirting, was, in a way, the most respectful response of the 3 men. His attacking was understood by her to be recognition of her as a worthy opponent. Perhaps for this reason she couldnt betray the respect of the man from whom it counted most. WP Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:19:13 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc439 There was a comment with these clips on youtube that Gloria committed suicide after encountering Perls on a sidewalk. Does anyone know if that is true? RB Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:40:08 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc840 I have only recently been privy to these tapes but my over-riding first impresion of Gloria was that she was used to existing in a world where she was able to get self worth and validation from \'flirting\' or manipulating the male ego no matter how clever they thought themselves to be. This became almost as important as the therapy, the fact that these wise men had acknowledged her as a sexual being.Perls is the only character she cannot do this with, there are acouple of times when she tries but he imediately tells her she is trying to\' butter\' him up. Even when describing his physical appearance, and he encourages her to describe himself as ugly; she choosed to call him distinguished. The woman can\'t help herself! I think it would have been interesting to see how Gloria reacted to a female counsellor as there could be no flirtatious interaction or idealising the counsellor as a surragte father figure. G S Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:49:37 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc910 Hello - Gloria\'s daughter, Pamela Burry, has just published a book, \"Living With \'The Gloria Films\'\" Google the title and you\'ll see brief excerpts from UK reviewers where it has just come out. I look forward to the book becoming available here in the US. We know Pamela from when she lived her in Santa Barbara and were well aware the films had quite an impact on her family. Pamela is a professional writer so I expect the book to be insightful and well written. Certainly the representation that Gloria \"preferred\" Perls was hard to understand after seeing the tapes. As this article suggests, that was not an accurate portrayal. Gloria did stay in correspondence with Rogers for the rest of her life. There are various rumors that emerged of course, that Gloria married Ellis and that she killed herself. Both entirely false. Andrew Teton Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:07:07 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc941 :? what happened to gloria after all this?? i am using all this text and the gloria tapes in my counselling course but i would really love to knw wot happened to gloria ?? have heard she married ellis!! commited suicide that her daughter pammy wrote a book about it all??????which is true i am dieing to find out lol???? nicola hodgkinson Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:32:32 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc942 Nicola - My post, which preceded yours, points out that your remarks cite common myths ? Gloria did NOT marry Ellis, Gloria did NOT commit suicide. Gloria died about 15 years after the sessions were film from cancer. She maintained a warm and friendly mail correspondence with Carl Rogers for the rest of her life. Her daughter, Pamela Burry has had her book ?Living With The Gloria Films,? published in England earlier this year. Regards, Andrew Andrew Teton Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:00:47 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc1088 I am glad my article sparked so much curiosity! When we were grad students nearly all of us just accepted the film as the ultimate psychotherapeutic truth. The above responses suggesting that Gloria died of cancer at an early age are indeed correct. As far as we know she never had an affair with Rogers or Ellis nor did she get married to either of them. I highly recommend her daughter Pamela Burry\'s book LVIING WITH THE GLORIA FILMS that surfaced after I wrote this article. The work chronicles her tremendous respect for Carl R. Rogers and his wife. I do have another article that I am working on that should appear in a future book that will NOT contradict anything in this current piece. Dr. Howard Rosenthal Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:36:06 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc1092 Perls was the only one offering Gloria the opportunity to change. jonobe Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:47:54 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc1093 I also had personal verbal communications with Albert Ellis about the Gloria sessions. He told me that Shostrom was \"in love with [the work and ideas of] Perls and that he coaxed Gloria at the end to say that he was helpful to her when, actually, she was crying after the session and she was was upset by him.\" Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:36:01 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc1094 I think Gloria was looking for proof of her sexual attraction to men, her whole demeanour is of little girl lost, coquettish and flirtatious, I feel Rogers enabled her by saying he felt \"close\" to her.Perls wasn\'t so accomodating and restisted her womanly wiles, he held up a mirror to her forcing her to become less \"phony\", and more authentic in her responses. I\'ve yet to see Ellis interview, have found the whole process fascinating and a big thank you to Gloria for revealing so much of herself Geraldine Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:26:08 +0100 http://www.readingetc.com/counselormagazine/component/content/53?task=view#josc1095 I too was presented with these films in graduate school. At the time, I was the one person, or one of few, who thought they perceived greater movement in Gloria through her session with Perls. Although I admittedly felt that he was overly harsh with her. This is where my thoughts may diverge from your thinking. I believe that confrontation is appropriate in many styles of treatment and it does not have to come in the negative and harsh form that Perls presented. I also think that caring and conscientious clinicians have the wherewithal to discriminate confrontation from brutality. I am a certified addictions counselor as well and I have experienced the harshness associated with some forms of substance abuse treatment. In the therapeutic community approach clients are often made to do demeaning and degrading things, some so far as to have them wear a diaper and sit in a high chair. However, I have personally known people who graduated from those programs and went on to successful productive lives. They have the deepest appreciation for their treatment you will see. Those people are the very ones that would tell you that anything less would have been like pitting a pussy cat (the therapy) against a raging lion (the addiction) and expecting it to win. Although I would not tout that any means are justified by the ends, I would assert that without the ends, there is no purpose for the means. Cynthia Sarmiento Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:10:10 +0100