GESTALT THERAPY

Gestalt Therapy

existential, phenomenological, and process-based approach created on the premise that individuals must be understood in the context of their ongoing relationship with the environment

Awareness, Choice, and Responsibility

cornerstones of practice

Awareness

the initial goal for clients; __________ of what they are experiencing in the present moment; through this, change automatically occurs

Phenomenological

focuses on the client’s perceptions of reality and existential because it is grounded in the notion that people are always in the process of becoming, remaking, and rediscovering themselves

Existential Approach

gives special attention to existence and affirms the human capacity for growth and healing through interpersonal contact and insight

Relational Gestalt Therapy

AKA Contemporary Gestalt Therapy, stresses dialogue and relationship between client and therapist

Field

a dynamic system of interrelationships; differentiates into a foreground (figure) and a background (ground)

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EET)

developed by Leslie Greenberg (2011), is related to Gestalt Therapy; entails the practice of therapy being informed by understanding the role of emotion in psychotherapeutic change

Paradoxical Theory of Change

Fritz’s good friend and psychiatrist colleague Arnie Beisser (1970) suggested that authentic change occurs more from being who we are than from trying to be who we are not

Holism

Gestalt is a German word meaning a whore or completion; practice attends to a client’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body, memories, and dreams

Figure (foreground)

aspects of the individual’s experience that are most salient at any moment

Ground (background)

aspects of the client’s presentation that are often out of his or her awareness

Field Theory

Gestalt therapy is based on this; asserts that the organism must be seen in its environment, or in its context, as part of the constantly changing field

The Figure-Formation Process

describes how the individual organizes experience from moment to moment

Figure-Formation Process

tracks how some aspect of the environmental field emerges from the background and becomes the focal point of the individual’s attention and interest

Organismic Self-Regulation

the figure-formation process is intertwined with the principle of organismic self-regulation; a process by which equilibrium is “distributed“ by the emergence of a need, a sensation, or an interest

The Now

One of the main contributions of the Gestalt approach is its emphasis on learning to appreciate and fully experience the present moment.

Phenomenological Inquiry

involves paying attention to what is occurring now

Unfinished Business

When figures emerge from the background but are not completed and resolved, individuals are left with __________ ________, which can be manifested in unexpressed feelings such as resentment, rage, hatred, pain, anxiety, grief, guilt, and abandonment.

Impasse

the stuck point; the time when external support is not available or the customary way of being does not work

Contact and Resistances to Contact

In Gestalt therapy, contact is necessary if change and growth are to occur.

Contact

is made by seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving

Effective Contact

means interacting with nature and with other people without losing one’s sense of individuality

Prerequisites for Good Contact

• clear awareness

• full energy

  • ability to express oneself

Introjection

the tendency to uncritically accept others’ beliefs and standards without assimilating them to make them congruent with who we are

Projection

reverse of introjection; we disown certain aspects of ourselves by assigning them to the environment

Retroflection

consists of turning back onto ourselves what we would like to do to someone else or doing to ourselves what we would like someone else to do to or for us

Deflection

process of distraction or veering off, so that it is difficult to maintain a sustained sense of contact

Confluence

involves blurring the differentiation between self and the environment

Energy and Blocks to Energy

Special attention is given to where energy is located, how it is used, and how it can be blocked.

Blocked Energy

another form of defensive behavior; can be manifested by tension in some part of the body

Aspects of language that Gestalt therapist might focus on

• “It“ talk

• “You“ talk

• Questions

• Language that denies power

• Listening to client’s metaphors

• Listening for language that uncovers a story

“It“ Talk

When clients say “it“ instead of “I,“ they are using depersonalizing language.

“You“ Talk

Global and impersonal language tends to keep the person hidden and unknown.

Questions

Questions have a tendency to keep the questioner hidden, safe, and unknown.

Language that denies power

Some clients have a tendency to deny their personal power by adding qualifiers or disclaimers to their statements

Listening to clients’ metaphors

In his workshops, Erv Polster (1995) emphasizes the importance of a therapist learning how to listen to the metaphors of the clients; by tuning into metaphors the therapist gets rich clues to clients’ internal struggles.

Listening for language that uncovers a story

Polster (1995) also teachers the value of what he calls “fleshing out a flash“. He reports that clients often use language that is elusive yet gives significant clues to a story that illustrates their life struggles.

Exercises

ready-made techniques that are sometimes used to make something happen in a therapy session or to achieve a goal

Experiments

in contrast, grow out of the interaction between client and therapist, and they emerge within this dialogic process

Confrontation

can be done in such a way that clients cooperate, especially when they are invited to examine their behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts

The Internal Dialogue Exercise

One of the goal of Gestalt therapy is to bring about integrated functioning and acceptance of aspects of one’s personality that have been disowned and denied; A main division is between the “top dog“ and the “underdog“ and therapy often focuses on the way between the two.

Empty-Chair Technique

is one way of getting the client to externalize the introject, a technique Perls used a great deal; using two chairs, the therapist asks the client to sit in one chair and be fully the top dog and then shift to the other chair and become the underdog

Making the Rounds

a Gestalt exercise that involves asking a person in a group to go up to others in the group and either speak to or do something with each person; the purpose is to confront, to risk, to disclose the self, to experiment with new behavior, and to grow and change

The Reversal Exercise

certain symptoms and behaviors often represent reversals of underlying or latent impulses; the therapist could ask a person who claims to suffer from severe inhibitions and excessive timidity to play the role of an exhibitionist

The Rehearsal Exercise

When clients share their rehearsals out loud with a therapist, they become more aware of the many preparatory means they use in bolstering their social roles; they also become increasingly aware of how they try to meet the expectation of others

The Exaggeration Exercise

for clients to become more aware of the subtle signals and cues they are sending through body language; the person is asked to exaggerate the movement or gesture repeatedly, which usually intensifies the feeling attached to the behavior and makes the inner meaning clearer

Staying with the Feeling

the therapist may urge clients to stay with their feeling and encourage them to go deeper into the feeling or behavior they wish to avoid

The Gestalt Approach to Dream Work

the intent is to bring dreams back to life and relive them as though they were happening now; the dream is acted out in the present, and the dreamer becomes a part of his or her dream