Gestalt Therapy
Frederick "Fritz" Perls
Goal
"Promoting attention, clarity, and awareness. Helping people live in the here and now. Improving people's sense of wholeness, integration, and balance"
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 209)
Goal
"Promoting attention, clarity, and awareness. Helping people live in the here and now. Improving people's sense of wholeness, integration, and balance"
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 209)
Theoretical Concepts
View of Human Kind
The main goal in life is to become self-actualized and that people are basically good with the ability to cope successfully
Example : A healthy person who is striving to fulfill his/her potential while successfully coping with the things that come up in his/her life
and showing growth.
Wholeness, Integration, and Balance
With this theory, people cannot be separated from their environments and are seen as a whole human entity rather than parts.
Murdock's Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: A case approach (as cited in Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014)
Example : Being "'stuck' in an unsatisfying marriage because they fear the alternative" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 204).
Integrating Polarities
People need to have homeostasis which therefore causes them to see the world in extremes. It's easier for people to understand if things are classified as good or bad. Because our extremes are defined by internal conflicts, people must be aware and integrate polarities so that we don't reject a polarity side. This would cause us to build barriers.
Example : "People who believe they must always be independent may deny the part of themselves that craves connections and intimacy,
whereas people who believe that their intellect is their gift may cut themselves off from their emotions and sensations"
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 204).
Field Theory : Integrating Figure and Ground
Our lives are always changing and we are trying to restore balance. The figure can be defined as the things the client is aware of; living life in the here and now making the best decisions based upon best judgement. On the other hand, the ground are the things that the client is unaware of, that come into the foreground, and the experiences that we cannot control.
Example : Empty chair technique
Ego Boundary
"The organisms definition in relation to its environment" Perl's Gestalt therapy verbatim (as cited in Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014) that have the two polarities of identification and alienation. These polarities create boundaries and we need to identify on which side of the boundary we are located.
Examples : A person deciding his/her stance on the idea of good and bad and right and wrong and if that stance falls inside or outside of his/
her boundaries.
Homeostasis vs. Flux
Since our lives are constantly changing, people cannot "freeze" when they reach homeostasis; instead, people need to be aware and identify with themselves. This will help to successfully deal with and manage the change to have a sense of wholeness.
Example : A person who is dealing with a lot of change prioritizes his/her needs so that the person can deal with the most pressing needs first while the others are moved to the background.
Awareness
Awareness is a key element in emotional health. Preoccupation and low self-esteem are two reasons that people may have limited awareness. When people are preoccupied, they can get "so caught up with our past, our fantasies, our perceived flaws or strengths, that we lose sight of the whole picture and become unaware" Perl's Gestalt therapy verbatim (as cited in Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014). On the other hand, low self-esteem causes people to not trust themselves and to not grow towards self-actualization.
Example : Someone who is in the here and now not preoccupied with the past
Environmental Contact to Promote Growth
This is the most important way to achieve awareness. Contact is important for growth and it not only teaches us about ourselves but also the environment and where we fit into the world. The seven functions of contact are: looking, listening, touching, talking, moving, smelling, and tasting.
The five levels of contact and growth:
1. The phony layer : People play games, assume roles, react in stereotyped and inauthentic ways, and are insincere.
Example : A colleague who think she's in charge of everyone even though she's not the boss
2. The phobic layer : People avoid pain, hide their real selves to prevent rejection, act out of fear, and feel vulnerable and helpless.
Example : A girl not dating a great guy because she is afraid of getting hurt
3. The impasse layer : Having passed through the first two layers, people feel confused, stuck, and powerless; they seek help from
others.
Example : When someone falls ill unexpectedly, "his or her usual methods of functioning are disrupted"
(http://www.gestaltnyc.org/uploads/Impasse-Death-Life-LENORE.pdf)
4. The implosive layer : People become aware that they have limited themselves and begin to experiment with change, to deal with
unfinished business, to lower defenses, and to move toward greater integration. People connect with their
possibilities and give up old layers. This implosion turns into an explosion in the fifth layer.
Example : We consider our daily life to be safe; however, it doesn't give our life any energy which makes us
"dead."
5. The explosive layer : People experience reintegration and wholeness, become their authentic selves, gain access to great energy, feel
and express emotions, and become more actualized.
Example : When we free ourselves from the previous four levels and we "explode" from anger or joy and move
on to a better and brighter future.
Perl's Gestalt therapy verbatim (as cited in Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014)
Here and Now
In order to be most aware, one must be present and conscious of the now. We cannot change the past nor can we control the future.
Example : Rather than focusing on the fight you had yesterday with your friends, you focus on what's going on and what's important today.
Responsibility
It's essential to take responsibility for one's life rather than blaming others. In addition, people need to make their own choices and not rely on others to do it for them.
Example : A student picking out his own classes and not taking what his parents or his friends want him to.
The Nature of Growth Disorders
Growth disorders, or neurosis, are another name for emotional problems. Emotional problems refer to people who are not self-actualized due to a lack of awareness, not being in the here and now, and/or don't make contact with others. "Avoidance and resistance, what Perls referred to as creative adjustment, keep people trapped in this unhealthy state" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 208). These people who are trapped and do not grow, have a lot of unfinished business.
Example : Someone who is not living in the present, denies being depressed, and avoids social interactions
Treatment
Four major emphases:
1. To pay attention to experience and become aware of and concentrate on the actual present situation
2. To maintain and promote the integrity and interrelationships of social, cultural, historical, physical, emotional, and other important
factors
3. To experiment
4. To encourage creativity
Perls et al's Gestalt therapy: Excitement and growth in the human personality (as cited in Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014)
Techniques
Therapeutic alliance : The I-thou relationship is used where therapist and client are known for who they truly are and being transparent
with one another. It's important that both people are genuine and are conscious and present in the here and now to
increase awareness.
Crocker's Phenomenology, existentialism, and Eastern thought in Gestalt therapy (as cited in Seligman &
Reichenberg, 2014)
Example : Both client and therapist are in the here and now, being themselves, and being aware
Experiments : Learning experiences for the client. "These are individually tailored to each client in order to accomplish a purpose relevant
to that person, usually to promote awareness and bring problems and unfinished business into the present where they can
be resolved" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 210). Enactments, role plays, and homework are a few examples of
experiments Polster & Polster's Gestalt therapy integrated (as cited in Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014) .
Example : "...A withdrawn and guarded woman who wanted to have closer relationships with people tell a friend
something about herself that would surprise and please the friend. Spending time thinking about what she would
tell the friend promoted the woman's self-awareness, and the eventual sharing increased the closeness between
the woman and her friend" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 210).
Use of Language
The language that the therapist uses plays an important part in therapy. Therapists need to choose their words carefully to ensure an environment that is encouraging change.
Emphasis on statements : Statements are preferred to questions in this approach because it promotes collaboration.
Example : "I am experiencing a loss of contact between us" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 210).
"What" and "How" Questions : When therapists asks questions, they start with what or how; they never start with why. These questions
help to keep the client in the here and now.
Example : How do you feel when you scream when you're angry?
"I" Statements : These type of statements allow the person to talk about his/her own feelings and experiences. In addition, it helps the
client to take responsibility for his/her actions.
Example : I feel sad.
The Present Tense : The use of the present tense is encouraged even when talking about the past. It's important to bring that past event
into the moment.
Example : "Rather than focusing on a client's perceptions of how his father abandoned him when he was a child, the
therapist might suggest the client describe how that early abandonment affects his feelings and behaviors
in the therapy session" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 211).
Encouraging Responsibility : Language and making the implicit explicit are other ways for the client to take responsibility for their actions.
Example : A client using statements like "I take responsibility for..."
Dreams
According to Perl, dreams helped towards integration rather than the unconscious. Dreams represent thoughts or aspects of the person having the dream and with dreams, awareness happens from enacting the dream in the present.
Example : "A man had a dream about a rabbit, which was being chased across a field by a fox, escaping into a burrow" (Seligman &
Reichenberg, 2014, p. 211). In order to analyze this dream in Gestalt Therapy, the client would enact the roles of the animals,
one at a time, from the dream. While the client is enacting the dream, he/she will also state the thoughts and feelings he felt
when he/she played each role.
Fantasy
Fantasies help the client to become more self-aware. In addition, fantasies represent aspects of the client and help to take clients on journeys into their imagination. Fantasies can also help to bring closure.
Examples : A therapist taking the client on an imaginary journey for a stroll on the beach. The client will be taking in and describing the
scene as well as who is with her and what she is doing.
"A woman who has undergone surgery was left with some angry feelings about her surgeon and the need to have her surgery
redone. When she called to express her feelings to the physician, he failed to return her telephone calls. To help her reach
closure, her clinician led her on a guided fantasy in which she expressed her feelings to the physician and affirmed her ability to
take care of herself and have the unsatisfactory surgery corrected" (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 212).
Role-Play Using Empty Chairs Method
The Two-Chair Method for Addressing Inner Conflict
This strategy is employed to resolve conflict, gain clarity, raise awareness of self-judgements and to foster compassion. To do this, there are two chairs that represent the two parts of the internal conflict. The client spends time in each chair in order to talk from the perspective of who the chair represents. Also in this method is the concept of top dog and underdog. The top dog is a kind of conscious that tells the underdog how to think and act. On the other hand, the underdog is submissive but has the control because it can refuse to listen to the top dog.
Example : The therapist identifies two opposing attitudes in the client. The therapist has the client role-play each attitude in order to
differentiate between the two and to identify the top dog and underdog.
The Empty Chair Method for Addressing Unfinished Business
Unlike using the model for inner conflict, the chair in the unfinished business approach represents a person in which the client has unfinished business. By having a conversation with this person, the client is expressing their thoughts and feelings with the hopes of resolution.
Example : "Sunjata...had unfinished business with her father. Constantly trying to earn his approval, she proudly called him with each
professional and academic achievement. His usual response was to ignore her information or ask when she was going to
produce another grandchild for him. When she finally earned her doctorate after many years of hard work and received the
same reply from her father, she became discouraged and devalued her accomplishments. Through an empty chair dialog with
her father, she came to understand the influence of his cultural background and the messages he had received from this parents.
This led her to become more tolerant and accepting of his values while maintaining pride in her own accomplishments"
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 213).
The Body as a Vehicle of Communication
This helps a person to understand his/her body to better understand thoughts, emotions, awareness, and physical sensations.
Strategies for focusing attention on the body
1. Identification : Therapists are looking for bodily messages based off reactive movements and drawing attention to those movements
Example : Therapist says "I notice that you start tapping your fingers every time we talk about work. What are your
fingers saying?"
2. Locating emotions in the body : Therapist helping client to locate feelings so that he/she can fully experience those feelings
Example : Therapist says "You have stated that you feel fear towards your father. Can you show me
where in your body you are experiencing that fear?"
3. Repetition and Exaggeration : This strategy helps the client to identify where energy is and successfully releasing it.
Example : Therapist says " I see that you are tapping your fingers. I would like you to repeat doing this
and exaggerate the tapping so that you are doing it as hard and as fast as you can. Then, I
want you to talk about the feelings that this conjures."