It may be said, at surface level, that the book A Journey to the Soul: Exploring Presence at the Heart of Gestalt Therapy and Salesian Education is the fruit of empirical research that was conducted for a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Professional Doctorate in Gestalt Psychotherapy (EAPTI-GPTIM).
However, at a deeper level, its story is linked intimately to the author Fr Paul Formosa’s own personal story.
In his introduction,” Formosa writes: “One word can summarise my story: relationships. […] Throughout the journey that brings me to who I am now, both the relationships that nurtured me and those that challenged my development were, and still are, the makings of who I am.
“Looking closer at the different moments of this adventure, one essential element that made all the difference is the quality of the presence of other people in my life, and vice-versa. The more I understand how I live my life, the more I realise that the way people are present in my life, the way I am present to them and to myself, makes me fully alive. This is the reason why, in this research, I wanted to focus on presence.”
In this book, published by Pubblikazzjoni Salesjana, the new name of the previous Salesians of Don Bosco Publications – Malta, the author brings together, in a harmonious way, his long experience in pastoral work as a Salesian with his experience as a warranted Gestalt psychotherapist.
The book is addressed to all those wanting to be a meaningful presence to those around them.
The way people are present in my life, the way I am present to them and to myself, makes me fully alive
Although it was originally a doctoral thesis, the book seeks to limit itself neither to professionals in psychotherapy nor to Salesians.
In fact, it goes an extra step to explain all jargon belonging to Gestalt or to the Salesian world and does not take anything for granted. In this way, it is accessible to all.
An important feature of the book (although it was already present in the thesis) is that it shows a two-way flow between Gestalt and Salesian education: both can be enriched by the other.
A Journey to the Soul is an important reading for Salesians today as it touches on the heart of Don Bosco’s uniqueness among the charisms in the church: “For you I study, for you I work, for you I live, for you I am ready even to give my life”.
This is the type of presence that Formosa writes of. Simultaneously, according to the time we are living in, which is not that of Don Bosco, just as the Church razes its bastions, this book moves beyond strictly Salesian spaces and reaches out – in a Salesian style – to all those who have education at heart.
The book may be acquired by sending an e-mail to donboscofoundation@sdb.org.mt.