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Therapists of the traditional health paradigm aim to attain a pre-established result, and to do so as quickly as possible: relieve suffering, re-establish a sense of balance and restore natural capacities, resolve problems... The practice of certain Gestalt therapists is based on a paradigm that is radically different. This article specifies, in a synthetic way, its anthropological bases, specifically the characteristics of psychic development, the basic ethical choice to care for the patient by accompanying et encouraging development rather than by relieving suffering. The author discusses the methods used by the Gestalt therapists to achieve this goal.