Alfred Korzybski and Gestalt Therapy Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski 1879-1950 Perhaps the most overlooked theoretical influence on Frederick Perls and Paul Goodman, who originally articulated Gestalt therapy theory, was Alfred Korzybski, the primary thinker behind the general semantics movement. Gestalt therapy's principle of the now and it's focus on experience and the precision of language ...