Paul Rebillot

Paul Rebillot 1931-2010 Paul Rebillot, who died in San Francisco at the age of 78, was a leader in the human potential movement and a major creative force in international psychotherapy and experiential education. Eugene Paul Rebillot was born May 19, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan, the third of four sons born to Conrad and Rose Rebillot. He graduated from the University of Detroit with a Ph. B. in philosophy and education and from the University of Michigan with a Master's in Communication Arts, specializing in drama. Drafted into the Army, he served for a year in Japan where he became interested in the ritual Noh theatre of Japan, which was to have a lasting influence on his work. Following his discharge from the Army, Rebillot moved to San Francisco where he developed an experimental theatre department at San Francisco State College. From there he went to Stanford University's theatre department for a year before leaving academia to found the Gestalt Fool Theater Family of San Francisco. An existential crisis led him in 1971 to Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, to his studies of contemporary experiential therapies, principally with Richard Price; and to his subsequent work in the human potential movement. He was inspired to return to the healing origins of drama and began to develop a series of therapeutic structures which eventually integrated ritual, drama, art, movement, music, meditation and Gestalt process in a creative, profoundly powerful way to produce a hybrid therapeutic process which he called 'hyperGestalt'. While continuing to lead workshops and Gestalt trainings at Esalen Institute, he began in 1974 to offer his therapeutic structures in Europe, leading workshops at various centres including the Boyesen Institute in France, and the late Jacob Stattman's Institute of Unitive Psychology in Holland. After some years Europe gradually became the location of most of Paul's work. In July 1988 he inaugurated his School of Gestalt and Experiential Teaching in Switzerland. A North American training program began in August 1993. With Ilse Schmidt-Zimmermann in May of 1996, he inaugurated a 'Rites of Passage' training program in Germany to enable others to become guides in the educational/therapeutic structures he had created. He went on to establish additional advanced training programs in Ireland, England, Germany and Austria. Paul Rebillot published articles in numerous journals and in 1987 he was awarded a grant by Laurence S. Rockefeller to work on a book about The Hero's Journey. The book, The Call to Adventure: Bringing the Hero's Journey to Daily Life, was published in July 1993 by Harper San Francisco, a division of HarperCollins. He continued to work throughout Europe well into his 70s, despite increasing health difficulties. He was motivated by a constant sense of service, convinced of everyone's capacity to awaken to their own creative genius. He lived modestly and did not seek high fees or strive for superstar status. After struggling for eight months to overcome the effects of serious respiratory failure suffered in June 2009, Paul died at home in the presence of loving friends on February 11, 2010. His life partner, Stanford Cates, had died in 1988. Paul is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Rebillot of Petosky, Michigan; Melissa Kay, his assistant and companion of 32 years, and by devoted friends and students throughout Europe and the United States. A memorial service will be held on May 22nd 2:00pm at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.