Gestalt Therapy And Postmodern Approaches

The personality theory that I have chosen to focus on will be Identity Theory. It was developed by Erik Erikson in the nineteen hundreds. Erik Erikson believed that every individual goes through a certain number of stages to reach his or her full development or potential (Erikson, 1994). He theorized that a human being goes through eight different stages ranging from birth to death (Erikson, 1994). Identity Theory focuses on eight psychosocial stages of development, and an epigenetic principle of maturation (Schultz, 2008). The stages of development are

Gestalt therapy is a therapeutic approach in psychology that helped foster the humanistic theories of the 1950s and 1960s and that was, in turn, influenced by them. In Gestalt philosophy, the patient is seen as having better insight into himself or herself than the therapist does. Thus, the therapist guides the person on a self-directed path to awareness and refrains from interpreting the patient’s behaviors. Awareness comprises recognition of one’s responsibility for choices, self-knowledge, and ability to solve problems.

The third theory is the Trait-centred views, this is where they believe that people have certain traits which determines how someone should behave. They believe there are two main parts to your personality and these are an introversion-extroversion dimension and a stable-neurotic dimension. Introverts are people that will prefer to do a task that is not exciting meaning that they would rather do a task that is focused on concentration. Extroverts are people that like excitement, they get bored easily and cant focus for too long and like to switch it up a bit. Stable people are people who are always easy going where as neurotic people are restless and anxious.

I agree with Erikson’s theory the most when having to pick an individual theory, because it shows in all of the different stages throughout your life and how your environment effects your growth and personality from birth until death. Yet I feel that the eclectic theoretical orientation theory greatly summarized all of the theories picking out the most important parts and combining both nature and nurture, as both are very important for a person’s development.

Gestalt therapy is derived from a combination of Psychoanalysis and Existentialism. This therapy aims and fostering self-awareness in a client in order to offer enhanced control over their daily lives by concentrating on the source of a person’s feelings and actions (Lecture 4, 2016). The Gestalt Therapy Page is sponsored by The Gestalt Journal Press and is constantly altered with more resources added. This website provides materials that are copyrighted, but are able to be downloaded for one’s personal use and reference. However, if one desires to distribute, whether electronically or printed, the resources and graphics, one must first acquire permission from The Gestalt Therapy Page.

     When thinking about my personality in regard to different personality theories, I felt that I could most relate to the humanistic theory. Carl Rogers

I believe that every person develops a unique personality influenced by relationships and experiences established during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. For instance, parents, caregivers, and guardians are responsible to help a child develop a personality through the boundaries that are set, the communication that is established, and the social support received. What we are exposed to as children and throughout our life will influence our behavior and feelings as adults. For example, an abused child is likely to develop an inferiority complex and can acquire a self-concept of inadequacy. Psychodynamic theory focuses on childhood experiences to help understand the client and make sense of their relationships, experiences, and how they

The approaches that were used were Gestalt therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Reality Therapy, Flagging The Mind Field, and the Empty Chair technique. For the Empty Chair technique, Christina was asked to tell her mother what she desired to tell her. Christina got emotional and told her mother how mean she is to her when her mother was “playing mom and dad”. Christina reported how it was not fair to turn down her mother when she needs to talk about her troubles. When Christina was asked to be her mother, she told herself that her mother knew her to 28 years, how her father did not want her to work, how grateful she was to see her grow up as a child, how close Christina and her father were growing up, how she is scared of the future, and is always

Of all the personality theories, psychoanalytic theory fits best for me. In this theory, a personality develops early, and is influenced greatly by processes which we are unaware of, such as my aggression and anger. Perhaps my aggression was not just with her or the situation, maybe it is also some internal conflicts that I am dealing with of my unconscious self. My on-going anger towards my mother in law has made me less motivated to try to build a loving relationship. I much rather have a cordial

Gestalt therapy is very much focused on the present, however I think that Christian’s early life has led to unfinished business. Christian has remarked to me as a teenager he was very angry and had a lot of outbursts. He has stated that BDSM has taught him a way to control his emotions and anger into a positive direction. After I heard that comment I felt like he was using projection and he is trying to disown aspect of

All great therapies start out with one person or group of people who become discontent with the status quo, and avidly work to prove that what is widely accepted as the only way to accomplish things, may not at all be what is necessary in all circumstances. In the early 1930’s and 1940’s psychoanalysis was the rage, anyone in the field of psychology who did not ascribe to this style of psychology was a deviant, and in all likelihood would be shun from the psychological community. Additionally, this was a time period globally where many Jews in Europe were seeking to escape from the hands of Hitler, and the Second World War was being fought. Precisely from this background comes the birth of Gestalt Therapy. This paper will explore the emergence,

Protective mechanisms - these maneuvers and ways of thinking and behavior to which people unconsciously resorts to get rid of the painful emotional material. The concept of defense mechanisms in Gestalt therapy corresponds - interruption of contact with the environment (people, the surrounding reality, your body). Feel the experience - it's a holistic signal an urgent situation. But, unfortunately, the human body has the ability not only to self-regulation, but also to samomanipulyatsii.

When thinking about my personality in regard to different personality theories, I felt that I could most relate to the humanistic theory. Carl Rogers described

Erikson’s psychosocial stages my personality is based on experience with socializing with people. By reading and understanding this model I realized that the people that surrounds us has a great influence on our personality.

Unfinished business is generally the unresolved issues an individual might have towards someone who is either dead and/or dying. It can also be the unresolved regrets an individual might have while dying. I believe Gestalts Therapy handles unfinished business very exceptionally. By not allowing an individual to be a label such as "victim" and having them focus on the here and now being labeled as themselves as a human individual. Doing so makes the individual think of how these unfinished businesses might have an affect on the individual in their present life.