Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy was largely developed by Fritz Perls and his wife, Laura. Together they created a theory that is based on the premise that individuals must be understood in the context of their ongoing relationship with the environment. To better understand that, one must review the key concepts, therapeutic process, and the techniques of application. The first key concept of Gestalt therapy is its view of human nature. Perls believed that genuine knowledge is the product of what is immediately evident in the experience of the perceiver. He believed that individuals have the capacity to self regulate in their environment if they are fully aware of what is happening in and around them. There are several basic
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Contact is made my seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving and it is made effectively by interacting with nature and other people without one losing their individuality. However, people often resist contact. Resistances to contact are defenses we develop to prevent us from experiencing the present. These defenses are called introjection, projection, retroflection, deflection, and confluence. The concern of Gestalt therapists is helping the client to become aware of how they are blocking their environment. The last key concept to talk about is energy and blocks to energy. Blocked energy is another form of resistance and it can be manifested by tension in some parts of the body such as posture, keeping one's body tight and closed, not breathing deeply, etc The therapist aims to make their client aware of their blocked energy and bring the sensations to the client's awareness. To further the understanding of Gestalt therapy, it is important to get a good idea of the therapeutic process. The basic goal of therapy is attaining awareness and with it, greater choice. Awareness emerges within the context of a genuine meeting between the client and therapist. The therapist's function is to assist the client in developing their own awareness and experiencing themselves how they are in the present. The therapists must also pay attention to their client's body language. These nonverbal cues can provide a lot of useful information
Constant assessment of the clients’ problems and cognitions is very important in evaluating if techniques are being effective. Often in the beginning there is an extensive interview process that can last several hours. This interview gives the therapist insight into the client’s past, what the current problems are, and client goals. The interview will allow the therapist to set up a structured plan for how the therapy will proceed.
The Gestalt approach to therapy emerged during the 1950’s and was developed by Frederick Perls (1893-1970). The aim of Gestalt therapy is to increase awareness, so that the client comes to resolution of unfinished business and the integration of the thinking, feeling and sensing processes. In Gestalt therapy the emphasis is placed on the present experience, the perception of the individual as a whole and the direct awareness of emotions and action. Gestalt therapists believe that the emotional problems and frustrations that are experienced by individuals are attributed to the lack of recognition and understanding of their own feelings. In addition to this Gestaltist believe that many individuals lose
Transference is often manifested as an erotic attraction towards a therapist, but can be seen in many other forms such as rage, hatred, mistrust, prettification, extreme dependence, or even placing the therapist in a god-like or guru status. When Freud initially encountered transference in his therapy with clients, he felt it was an obstacle to treatment success. But what he learned was that the analysis of the transference was actually the work that needed to be done. The focus in psychodynamic psychotherapy is, in large part, the therapist and client recognizing the transference relationship and exploring what the meaning of the relationship is. Because the transference between patient and therapist happens on an unconscious level, psychodynamic therapists who are largely concerned with a patient's unconscious material use the transference to reveal unresolved conflicts patients have with figures from their childhoods. Countertransference is defined as redirection of a therapist's feelings toward a client, or more generally as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client. A therapist's atonement to his own countertransference is nearly as critical as his understanding of the transference. Not only does this help the therapist regulate his or her own emotions in the therapeutic relationship, but it also gives the therapist valuable insight into
This paper will carry out a comparative analysis of the two most important psychological therapies, the Adlerian Therapy and the Gestalt Therapy.
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.
identifying the causes of the client feeling. Gestalts therapy focus on the here and now of the
All done within a serene setting, that is designed to be free of distractions, and whereas the therapist I will inspire all members to participate in the therapy, using the systemic processes will help to facilitate this goal. Using the Strategic Family therapy, I will use the two maps of human behavior, which is used to guide me during the healing session. The first is PUSH is the ellipsis, which will authorize my point of view as the therapist (M.U.S.E, 2010). .
In the 1890’s Sigmund Freud, a German neurologist developed a theory later to be called psychoanalysis, which allowed individuals to tell their problems to a ‘psychoanalyst’ an individual trained in interpreting the ‘subconscious’. He played an important part in the history of counselling but the actual word “counselling” did not come into everyday language until 1960’s.
Gestalt Therapy is a humanistic therapy technique established by Laura and Fritz Perls in the 1940-1950’s. This therapy focuses on acquiring awareness of emotions and behaviours that exists in the here and now rather than delving into the past. Instead of the therapist interpreting experiences for the client, the therapist works with the client to develop an understanding of the world through the client’s eyes, thereby helping the client to gain a deeper understanding of him/herself. Clients are encouraged to recognise their current needs, address them and then let these needs fade into the background. The well-adjusted person is seen as someone who recognises their ongoing flow of needs and has the ability satisfy those needs (Falex, 2008).
Fritz Perls demonstrates his Gestalt therapy style in Three Approaches to Psychotherapy: A Film Series (1975). Though this film has made a significant impact in the field of psychological education, many simply remember Fritz Perls as a brash and cocky showman. This is unfortunate as he has left very meaningful contributions to the field of
Psychology explores human behavior and the human mental process figuring ways to improve the thinking and attitude of an individual’s existence. Sometimes, different techniques are used and tried to properly resolve the problem within the multitude of possible behavioral issues. Moreover, Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, developed many theories, psychodynamic therapy, for clinically treating people with mental health problems through their unconscious mind; Then, Sigmund Freud’s theories or therapy, rather, diverged into other types of therapies such as Biological Psychology or Cognitive Psychology. No doubt, there are various perspectives, both strong and weak, in the field of Psychology using different techniques on different
Gestalt therapy, which was founded by Fritz and Laura Perls in the 1940s, teaches the therapists and their clients the phenomenological awareness method, where feeling, perceiving and acting are differentiated from interpreting and rearranging the pre-existing attitudes. Gestalt therapists and clients’ dialogue, thus communicating their phenomenological perspectives, and their differences in perceptions form the basis and focus of experimentation and continued dialogue. The desired outcome of the therapy process is for the client to become aware of their actions, how they are acting, and the ways they can change their actions and learn to accept and appreciate themselves. Here, the emphasis is mainly on the process rather
Looking for new and more effective ways to treat the issues of their clients, counselors and therapists may often begin to consider leading a group therapy session. Group therapy is a form of therapy in which a therapist either treats or provides psychoeducational skills to a small, carefully planned target group of individuals in an effort to ameliorate the issues and dysfunctions of each individual in that particular group of patients together (Scheidlinger, 2004). In this group, therapists often utilize some of the psychotherapy theories such as Gestalt, transactional analysis, psychotherapy or psychodrama which they often use to treat clients individually.
In order to become grounded, a therapist needs to be aware of his/her body and space sensations. This is known as somatic awareness. When we are hit by an unexpected or traumatic loss our autonomic nervous system (ANS) response can cause us to flight, flight, or freeze. Similarly, the bereaved individual faces these same ANS responses. Grievers can fight against the reality that their loved one is gone. They can escape into a world where their loved one still exists, or they can freeze and avoid pain, reality, including terror (Maria, 2015). Our ANS system activates whenever our emotions are highly aroused beyond our tolerance. Techniques such as grounding help to release the emotional build up and blockages. The removal of the blockages will
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which