Gestalt Therapy with Children and a Comparative Therapy

In this writing it will be discussing childhood development, as well as some vital issues that might come along during those stages of development. Child development consist of the stage where the child is developing physically, cognitively, socially and spiritually. During these stages of development a child is maturing from infancy to becoming a young adult. For many years theorist such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Lev Vygotsky’s have researched how children mature from infants to adulthood. Each of the theorist have profound facts to how children develop, but which of the three men are correct on their findings?

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

The purpose of this assignment is to closely observe the development of a child through an interview and apply the theories and concept of child development in his particular cultural and educational context. I selected the child who lives in my neighborhood for the interview and began with seeking the permission from his parents. The child’s name is ‘Abdullah’ and he is seven years old. He lives with his family in Terre Haute and his family consists of parents and two sisters. Abdullah goes to Sugar Grove Elementary School in the Terre Haute city along with his two sisters and he is in grade 2. The interview was conducted at his home and I ensured his convenience. He was cooperative and provided insightful responses to the questions and he provided significant detail in the interview. I was able to track his development stages and connect it to different theories of Developmental Psychology including psychoanalytical perspectives and Piaget’s stages of development. In the following paragraphs, I will explain my observations about Abdullah’s development in the light of developmental theories with special focus on cognitive, social, linguistic, and emotional development followed by making connections between his socioeconomic and cultural background and development. Lastly, I will conclude paper by highlighting that the observations during the interview can facilitate my future practice as a teacher.

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.

The theories/approaches established by historical and contemporary pioneers provide valuable insight, underpinning the understanding of how children develop, allowing teachers to enhance the holistic development of every child. This essay will analyse the: behaviourist theory; cognitive-developmental theory; and socio-cultural theory.

identifying the causes of the client feeling. Gestalts therapy focus on the here and now of the

Development of a child have been a thing that most of the parents have been neglecting without noticing that it is very important in the development of a child’s character and social

There are many different theories on child development but they are all related in some way. Jean Piaget theory focuses on the first twelve years of a child’s life. Erik Erikson’s theory focuses on a person complete life. In this paper I will be focusing on the differences between Piaget’s and Erikson’s theory on child development.

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).

Many factors influence children’s development as well as that massive amount of development theories that elaborate on why children do certain things, why children have developmental disorders, or even why some children have developmental delays. Although there are many theories regarding children development and how they are influences, theorist make some great points in the child development but with any theory come flaws such as developmental issues. Famous theorists Freud, Erikson, and Piaget all have different ideas on this topic. Freud was a psychiatrist who believed in unconscious activity of the mind. Erikson was a developmental psychologist who believed that the mind developed in a series of stages, and Piaget was a clinical psychologist who believed in cognitive development. Theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, and Erik Erikson discusses how their individual theory influences the make-up of the development of children.

Gestalt is a fascinating approach to therapy with many unique techniques, interventions and goals that set it apart from other approaches. "Self-acceptance, knowledge of the environment, responsibility for choices, and the ability to make contact...are important awareness processes and goals, all of which are based on a here-and-now experiencing that is always changing" (Corey, 2009, p. 200).

Theories of development are very important as these theories and frameworks can heavily influence current practice and help us to understand the complexities of children’s behaviours their reactions and can also help us figure out different and new ways of learning. Starting with the constructivist approach (piaget). Piaget worked

The aim of this assignment is to compare and contrast two theories or theorists of counselling from psychodynamic, humanistic or cognitive behavioural traditions and also to assess their strengths and weaknesses. This essay will focus on exploring the contrasting ideas and approaches of Carl Rogers who is a key figure associated with the person-centered approach and Fritz Perls who developed Gestalt therapy. Although they are both regarded as humanistic counsellors, they share a very different approach when working with clients. I have chosen to analyse these two theorists because of their contrasting styles, in particular my curiosity was sparked after viewing both Perls and Rogers sessions with Gloria. I found it fascinating how such different styles could still be successful in therapy. In particular fritz perls style really grabbed my attention as at first, I was really put off by his seemingly rude demeanour. However, after reading information on gestalt therapy and the ideas behind it I started to understand how it works.

Therapy is the treatment of people who are suffering from the psychological problem and that situation, the therapist works in collaboration with the patient, to determine the cause. This paper seeks to explore the two types of therapy which person-centered therapy and gestalt therapy. The paper will also go into details by comparing and contrasting the two therapies and how they work.