Vernon Dewayne Van De Riet

VAN DE RIET, Vernon Dwayne of Georgetown, TX died on September 21, 2013 at the age of 78. His daughter Jill Van De Riet Bartlow, son in law Scott Bartlow, grandson Garrett Bartlow, and brother Lowell survive him.

Vernon was born in Minnesota. He graduated from Calvin College in 1957 and received his doctoral degree in 1962 from Florida State University. He completed his clinical psychology internship at Harvard University Medical School in Boston in 1962. In September of 1962 he joined the faculty of the departments of psychology and clinical psychology at the University of Florida where he taught, conducted research, and
supervised clinical psychology interns for 19 years.


Vernon had a wide variety of interests during his life. The most pronounced were an untiring interest in cosmology, the religions of the world, how humans create meaning and experience as well as several other psychological topics. He also loved sports and had a continuing devotion to his family and close friends.
Vernon published a number of professional articles, several monographs, and is senior
author of Gestalt Therapy: An Introduction, published by Pergamon Press in 1980, and co-author of Gestalt Therapy: Practice and Theory, published by Allyn and Bacon in 1989. He is a pioneer in Gestalt Therapy training within a university setting. While at the
University of Florida he developed a Gestalt Therapy training program that he directed for ten years.


In 1979 Vernon moved to Southern California and began a private practice in clinical psychology. He also started a gestalt therapy-training program with Dr. Gary Brainerd in Pasadena. In 1991 he joined the faculty of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles
and was active in the institute in various roles until 2007 . His interests in the later part of his life included his family, enjoying life, traveling, exploring other academic issues, activities at the Sun City retirement community, and involvement in the San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in Georgetown, Texas.

Celebration of Life Services will be held 1:00 PM, Saturday, September 28, 2013, San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in Georgetown.