Like many of the early family therapy theorists, psychoanalytic training was also the starting point for Walter Kempler; he later became interested in existential issues and family therapy.
Kempler called his form of treatment, variously, Experiential or Gestalt family therapy.
His focus was on the immediate, on feelings and desires that lie behind verbal and nonverbal messages, and on their clear and complete delivery.
In 1979, the Kempler Institute was founded in Denmark by the American psychiatrist and family therapist Walter Kempler, MD, in collaboration with child psychiatrist Morgens A. Lund, Proff.
The general office was situated in Odense, and the Institute owns educational facilities in Odder, Copenhagen, and a conference center on Hjarnø, Denmark.