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Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy. Counseling Theory & Techniques. Defining Gestalt: The German Foundation. German word meaning pattern, whole or configuration… In German it ’ s also used as a verb… To “ gestalt ” something is to endeavor to grasp it as a whole Painting Social Event Etc.

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Gestalt Therapy

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  1. Gestalt Therapy Counseling Theory & Techniques

  2. Defining Gestalt: The German Foundation • German word meaning pattern, whole or configuration… • In German it’s also used as a verb… • To “gestalt” something is to endeavor to grasp it as a whole • Painting • Social Event • Etc.

  3. Definitions continued… “A unified physical, psychological, or symbolic configuration having properties that cannot be derived from its parts” (American Heritage Dictionary) In essence, gestalt refers to the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts.”

  4. Definitions through the eyes of Perls… • Perls described his view of human nature by noting that the person or organism always works as a whole: We have not a liver or a heart. We are liver and heart and brain and yet, even theis is wrong ---- we are not a summation of parts but a coordination of the whole. We do not have a body, we are a body, we are somebody” • “Gestalt counseling is being in touch with the obvious, the human being, the wholeness of his/her frailties, strengths, weaknesses, joys, and sorrows. • “Reality is nothing but the sum of all awareness as you experience the here and now.”

  5. Fritz Perls 1893 - 1970 • Berlin-Jewish-lower middle class • Problem child, failed 7th grade twice & expelled • MD in Psychiatry • After WWI-worked in hospital for Brain Damaged Soldiers-realized view humans as a whole rather than sum of discreet parts • Analysis with Reich-Body work model • 1946-came to USA • Big Sur, California – Esalen Institute • Married Laura Perls in 1930 • Founded New York Institute of Gestalt Therapy

  6. Perls Working with GLORIA • Click on picture to start video.

  7. Other names associated with GT “The Berlin Three” • Max Wertheimer (1880-1943): focus on client awareness • Kurt Koffka (1886-1941): concerned with definition of gestalt • Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967): focused on humanness

  8. Twenty Principles for Understanding Gestalt Therapy • Deals with the Whole Person in his or her life situation • It pays equal attention to • Theory • Attitude • Method (three legs to the stool of effective work)

  9. 3. It is an existential approach… • It assists the client in experiencing his or her existence and way of being in the world more fully • Asserts that the client must assume full responsibility

  10. 4. It is a phenomenological approach… • It helps the client personally discover and experience what he/she is doing • Counselor does NOT offer interpretation • Does NOT tell the client what is going on with them • Focuses on the client’s perception of reality

  11. 5. It is a depth approach • Based on exploration and discovery rather than a program for change • Change emerges from the work, often in unexpected ways

  12. 6. Paying attention to the “obvious” is a central working principle. • Rather than attending primarily to the verbal content, the counselor constantly scans for postures, mannerisms, tiny facial twitches, changes in tone of voice and other cues

  13. 7. Promotes developing a capacity for awareness in the present • If the client becomes aware of what he/she is doing NOW, also increases the capacity to do something else instead.

  14. 8. Addresses unfinished business • Neurosis involves acting NOW in ways that fit old situations in the past • As those situations are re-experienced in the present, the person becomes free to respond appropriately NOW

  15. 9. It is enactive • Problems are not just “talked about” but described or enacted in the present • Parallel to psychodrama and social skills training

  16. 10. Attention to “Holes in the Personality” • Holes are places where the client has hang-ups and does not allow life energy to flow • By recovering those parts, previously disowned parts of the self are reintegrated

  17. 11. Attention to assisting client in developing underdeveloped capacities • An essential part of work is exploring disowned sources of power or emotional expressions the client previously learned were unacceptable

  18. 12. Focus on the client’s experience of being “disembodied” • Assists client in regaining full-body experience • Perls drew from his previous studies (Reich and Goldstein), his background in theater, and his wife’s experiences in modern dance

  19. 13. Discovery of how contact boundaries are violated • Good contact = recognizing, honoring, and respecting where I leave off and you begin, and visa versa • Defense mechanisms include projection, introjection, retroflection, confluence, deflection and minimization

  20. 14. The dominant need will emerge in the foreground and become “figure” • When the need is sufficiently resolved, it will fade into the background • Another important need will then move into the foreground as the figure

  21. 15. Dialogue is a central working principle • Examples include • Client and “Another person” • Two conflicting sides of the self • Using “hot seat” and “empty chair”

  22. 16. “Neon arrows” will point to matters of central importance • May be either verbal or nonverbal • Facial twitch • A tear • A voice change • Quick verbal reference to a family situation (called hit-and-run)

  23. 17. Every dream contains one or more messages • Identifying each element of the dream can unveil some dimension of the dreamer • Gestalt dream work often “shuttles” back and forth between dream and current realities and dilemmas

  24. 18. Suppressive, expressive and integrative techniques • Suppressive: methods of the stopping the client from engaging in avoidances & distractions • Expressive: making thinking, feeling, acting or using the body more visible • Integrative: bringing together sides of the self that have been fragmented

  25. 19. Letting go of “shoulds” • Rather than trying to live out other people’s programs for the client, discover his/her true reactions and preferences

  26. 20. The goal is organismic self-regulation • Responding appropriately to all the messages the client’s mind/emotions/body is giving about what he/she wants to do now within the context of the situation

  27. Techniques • The Internal Dialogue Exercise • Making the Rounds • The Reversal Exercise • The Rehearsal Exercise • The Exaggeration Exercise • Staying with the Feeling • Dream Work

  28. Multicultural Considerations • Approach can be implemented in a culturally-aware manner • Difficult to use with clients culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved • Important to consider cultural ramifications of directly addressing parents and people of power

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