Experiential Therapies

Experiential therapies

therapeutic approach that use hands‑on, expressive, and activity‑based methods—such as art, music, role‑play, movement, or guided imagery—to help clients directly access, feel, and process emotions in real time

Gestalt therapy

a humanistic form of psychotherapy that emphasizes present‑moment awareness, personal responsibility, and understanding experience as a whole, developed in the 1940s–1950s by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman.

end-goals; daily goals

based on biological needs such as hunger, thirst, survival, sex, shelter, etc

Organismic need

the essential conditions or resources required for an organism’s survival, well‑being, and personal fulfillment, which, when absent, create a state of tension or deprivation that motivates behavior

Impasse

a psychological block or stalemate in which a person’s habitual ways of seeing themselves, others, and the world no longer fit with their direct experience

catastrophic expectations

a maladaptive, overblown mental configuration in which the whole experience is perceived as overwhelmingly negative, rather than as a balanced or realistic pattern

frustration

a tension in the “field” caused by internal or external resistance that blocks the satisfaction of a need, and it can be a catalyst for awareness, responsibility, and growth when experienced in a safe, trust‑based context

5 layers of gestalt psychotherapy

1) the phony

2) the phobic

3) the impasse

4) the implosive

5) the explosive

Phony layer

fake, inauthentic, or stereotypical way people present themselves to others — an act

maya

the fantasy life we create for ourselves — an illusion

polarities

a pair of seemingly opposite qualities, traits, or states that exist within a person and can coexist as complementary parts of a whole

Top dog

famous gestalt polarity that refers to our conscience —- the part that insists on being right

Under dog

famous gestalt polarity

phobic layer

we are phobic about the pain that come from being dissatisfied with ourselves

Impasse layer

point where we are stuck in our own maturation

implosive layer

experience deadness of the parts of ourselves that we disowned. comparative to a state of catatonia

explosive layer

a persons emotions overcome them resulting in an explosive display of that emotions, whether it be anger, happiness, sadness, etc.

Treatment of experiental therapies

aims to assist in obtaining awareness of choices, expand the ability to make choices, foster integration of the self, and support in taking responsibility for themselves.

Playing the projection

client plays role of who rejection is expected

reversals

client act out the opposite of their usual behavior

rehearsals

client reveals thinking or rehearsal they usually engage in

may I feed you this sentence?

therapist repeats and “tries on” a statement perceived as significant about the client

Gestalt therapeutic relationship

has a genuine I & you relationship, dialogic, present centered, non-judgmental, and supportive