Gestalt Therapy
What is Gestalt Therapy: Humanistic therapy technique used that focues on gaining awareness of emotions and behaviors in the present rather than the past. The therapist does not interpret experiences for the patient but rather the therapist and patient work together to help patient understand him/herself. ("Gestalt therapy," 2004)
Key Individuals:
Fritz Perls
Laura Perls
Ralf Hefferline
Paul Goodman
Max Werthheimer ("Gestalt therapy," 2004)
The Goal of Gestalt Therapy: The major goal is self-awareness. Patients work on uncovering and resolving interpersonal issues during therapy. ("Gestalt therapy," 2004)
Technique: Gestalt Therapy works by engaging in dialogue rather than by encouraging or manipulating a patient toward a therapeutic goal. The contact is done in a caring, warm, and accepting manner. The therapist says what he/she means and encourages the patient to do the same. (Yontef, 1993)
Four characteristics of Gestalt dialogue:
- Inclusion - Putting onself as much as possible without judging or analyzing while still obtaining an autonomous presence.
- Presence - The therapist expresses him/herself to the patient with discrimination indicating feelings, experiences, preferences, etc.
- Commitment to dialogue - Allowing contact to happen rather than manipulating it.
- Dialogue is lived - Dialogue is done, not talked about. Can be done through dance, song, words, etc. (Yontef, 1993)
Risks: Individuals with severe mental illness may not be good candidates for Gestalt Therapy.
Results: There is limited scientific documentation regarding the effectiveness of Gestalt Therapy. For this reason evidence suggests this type of therapy may not be reliably effective. The approach can be anti-intellectual and discount beliefs and thought patterns.
Fritz and Laura Perls - Their Life
The Perls originated and developed Gestalt Therapy. Fritz gained much of his knowledge from working as a doctor in World War 1 with soldiers who suffered from brain damage. Although Fritz had worked on psychoanalytic theory he had difficulty believing in repression influences which came from early childhood influences as well as the so called "mechanistic" theory of Freud. Fritz believed that individuals split off from their experiences that are uncomfortable which creates a somewhat fragmentation of their personality. Fritz focus became more on assisting people in owning their experiences and having/developing a healthy wholeness. Laura shared in Fritz's beliefs and together they founded Gestalt Therapy in the early 1940's.
My Choice as Favorite and/or Most interesting -
When I began researching Gestalt I began to not only see much of myself but also recognize characteristics that many of individuals exhibit throughout their lives. Too often individuals tend to place blame on others instead of taking responsibility. I believe that is important to think of today, the present. Many individuals would relate or say yes as to whether their are issues from our past that have not been dealt with (unfinished) but it is not always a simple matter. I think that Gestalt is a great way to break away from those issues to that hold us back providing an almost since of independence.
References
Yontef, G. (1993). Gestalt therapy: an introduction. Retrieved from
Gestalt therapt. (2004). Retrieved from http://medical-/
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Gestalttherapy
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