gestalt case study_group 2

8/12/2019 Gestalt Case Study_Group 2

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GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY & GESTALT TH

Anexperiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, & that focuses upo

experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental & social co

life, & the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situat


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RECAP

Gestalt Therapy is another type of counselling that is based upon the existential framework

Key elements include:

A Phenomenological BasisYou are seeking to focus on the clients perception of reality

ExperientialThe client is being asked to come to understand about what & how they are

doing as they interact with the therapist & the other people in the world

ExistentialThe person is to take responsibility for their destiny & identity. The client is also

in the here & now, not in the there & then

AwarenessA key element in this theory is helping the client come to an awareness of wh

Experiencing. This involves dropping those behaviours & barriers that would stop so

AN OVERVIEW


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RECAP - CONTINUED

Playing the Projection

Client acts out the role of a projection

Therapist asks client if they see these qualities in themselves

Reversals

Client is directed to act out the opposite behaviour

For exampleSomeone who is motherly type who always cares for people would be asked to

person who is more reserved, distant & less emotionally available -> therapist would then as

explore the unusual role & what it feels like -> assists you in gaining access to aspects of your

hidden/disowned.

DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES USED BY THE COUNSELOR


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RECAP - CONTINUED

Working with Polarity

Therapist brings polarities to clients attention

Clients act out each end of polarity (strong/weak, dependant/responsible, love/hate, cruel/k

Body Work

Clients become more aware of physical sensations

Helps bring awareness to experiences that may have been blocked out

Client focuses on a body sensation (i.e. breathing, voice, gesture, etc.)



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RECAP - CONTINUED

Exaggeration Exercise

Counsellor exaggerates mannerism of client or asks client to exaggerate mannerism in order t

of true feelings

Client exaggerates a movement they may not have noticed as part of their experience

Therapist may also do this with a statement the client deflected

Gestalt Approach to Dream Work

Client acts out components of the dream

Each component has its own speech & experiences

Client plays all parts because they are symbolic of parts of clients self



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EXAGGERATION EXCERCISE

In this experiment, subtle body language movements are exaggerated to make the meanings the

clearer

By exaggerating the movement or gesture repeatedly, the person experiences more intensely thwith the behaviour & becomes more aware of its inner meaning

Designed to assist you in really feeling your feelings

For example, A person feeling angry

You mention that you are feeling angry -> Start saying I am angry -> Scream your messag

-> Stand on top of the table & yell about your anger -> How you are feeling & what new aw

experiencing -> e.g. standing on chair & yelling -> awareness of being angry at your school t

punished you -> therapist would explore this experience with you to assist you to integrate

(anger, shame, sadness) into the whole of you being


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GESTALT APPROACH TO DREAM WORK

In Gestalt therapy the meaning of the dream needs to surface from the client

Intention of the counsellor is to facilitate this process with the counselee to enrich their awarene

meaning of the dream images & not to interpret & analyse dreams Starting point to work is to invite the counsellee to tell the dream in the first person using here &

Some broad guidelines for working with the counsellee on a dream are:

Check out the immediate post-dream feeling

Give the counsellee the choice of where to start

Stay with the process of the dream & the telling of the dream rather than the content

Begin where there is most energy, but note where there are fluctuations in energy

Powerful material can be evoked, so it is important that adequate time is left at the end of th

the counselee & debrief


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EMPTY CHAIR TECHNIQUE

When you go see a Gestalt therapist, the office will usually have an extra chair--an empty chair.

When the client expresses a conflict with another person, through this technique, the client is dire

another person who is imagined to be sitting in an empty chair beside or across the client.

Outcomes

Cognitive changeThrough this process, client will come to an understanding about how the

be thinking about the same issues. He also learns that whether he was projecting any though

person.

Behavioral changeclient will come out with new behaviors in the supportive environment

then they expand their awareness. More than passively accepting the environment, he will st

critical issue and making choices that will result in getting what he wants.

Affective changethe client feels capable of dealing with surprises he encounters in everyda


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Role Play


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Fritz Perlz GloriaCounselling

CASE BACKGROUND


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CASE BACKGROUND

Gloria is a 30 year who was a Divorcee.

She Volunteered for American Psychologicals Association ThreeApproaches to Psychothe

She had Counselling sessions with Albert Eillis, Carl Rogers and Fritz Perls.

We are focusing on the Gloria being counselled by FritzPerlzbased on Gestalt Therapy.

CASE ANALYSIS GLORIA & PERLS 1965


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CASE ANALYSIS GLORIA & PERLS, 1965

Non-Verbal Behavior.

Exaggerating

Fantasy Exploration

Playing the projection.

Techniques Used

Confused her, Was aware, Focused on th

her expression 7:038:35(Non-Verbal Be

Short Interview Gloria was resistant

other emerging Gestalt. (Exaggerating)

Exploration away from here and now

on 4:106:10 (Fantasy Exploration)

Projects her own attributes to Fritz Empathizing (12:10 -14:00). (Playing the P

Process Followed

Being Present

Unfinished Business Experiments

Strengths

CASE ANALYSIS GLORIA & PERLS 1965


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CASE ANALYSIS GLORIA & PERLS, 1965

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectat

And you are not in this world to live up to min

You are you, and I am I,

and if by chance we find each other, it's beauti

If not, it can't be helped.


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Case Studies


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Case 1:

Trever and Doubt

CASE BACKGROUND


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CASE BACKGROUND

Trevor was in a relationship

and had even proposed marria

He felt that their values wthey loved each other, and

have a good life together

But he was still not completel

was the rightone

He kept trying to overcome

himself that this was n

reasonable, or helpful. He trie

the positives about her. But

surfacing, and undermining th

Was there someone out

there who might in fact

be an even better

match?

CASE ANALYSIS


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CASE ANALYSIS

Field Theory orientation of Gestalt.

Body Work

Working with polarities

Playing the projection.

Techniques Used

Trevers father had a lifelong affair with

So he grew up with this triangulatio

orientation)

Counsellor invites Trever to play a conv

father expressing his father how th

affected him as a child and how it co

him. (Unfinished Business)

The Counsellor also invited him to not

sadness, anger - as he spoke to them.(Bri

By inviting him to notice his experience

it allowed him to get some support in the

move his energy in his body. (Being in Pre

Process Followed

Being Present


Strengths

CASE ANALYSIS


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CASE ANALYSIS

Field Theory orientation of Gestalt.

Body Work


Empty chair-Cognitive outcome

Techniques Used

Process Followed

Being Present


Strengths

Working towards integration of pol

confidence/commitment, and dou

Imagine talking to a friend, and bei

a person -Externalizing and owning

the head.(Experiments)

Trever started doing the opposite

how she should in fact have more f

He was now speaking with thevoic

Thus whenever Trever hears thevo

be able to also listen to the voice

counter the undermining effect of d


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Case 2:

Bringing the devil andGod together

CASE BACKGROUND


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CASE BACKGROUND

Angelica was a gynaecologist ,had one child but was

afraid to have another child.

She helped deliver babies as well as perform abortio

At that time she didn't feel anything but now she co

the pain of performing those abortions the em

impact of aborting babies for over a decade.

She had a miscarriage recentlysaw it as a punishm

She said she felt like a devil and didntdeserve to h

more children.

She said that she felt her womb was black in colour.

CASE ANALYSIS


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CASE ANALYSIS


Body Work

Techniques Used

When counsellor asks her if she believed

didnthave any spiritual beliefs. He points

in a devil, there must be god somewhere.

Gestalt orientation towards holism)

Counsellor asks her to select two objects,

god. She held onto the devil saying that th

she wanted it to wake up. She kept bangin

it to wake up by itself. Counsellor comes

placed it upright.(Experiment)

Suddenly she felt tired. Counsellor sugges

sleep. He suggested that when she woke,

feel the life-force stirring on her womb. W

warmth in her body. She placed the devi

perfect symbol of integration. (Body Work)


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Case 3:

The Angry Rash

CASE BACKGROUND


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Lian had a skin rash on her face which she couldn't ge

She was young - early 20s,and already meditated.

She had tried many health treatments, but nothing h

of it.

She was a quiet person, and said people often did

her, except for her rash.

Counsellor asked about some contextual informationher stress levels, her healthy, diet, exercise, and fami

CASE ANALYSIS


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Playing the projection

Body Work

Techniques Used Counsellor asked her to imagine tha

describe herself. (Playing the projectio

She said things like:

I am red I canthide

I am sensitive

I wontgo away

I am pushing people away

I am ugly

I am inflamed

When she made the statements,

sensitive, hot, and uncomfortable.

CASE ANALYSIS


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Counsellor asks tellme about red,and helped her to explore what red meant in her life.

She describes about a sad memory of Chinese new year, with lots of red colour around, but

not return home.

Other statements also yielded stories.

When she talked about hiding, she expressed how she wanted to hide from her mother, who bea

When asked about pushing people away she explains- she was a very kind person, who alw

do things for other. But when explored deeper, it became apparent that she used being

relationship to not allow people close to her. To accept from others means to let them come clos

The one that yielded a lot of power was pushingpeople away.

Exploring the Statements

CASE ANALYSIS


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Counsellor asked her to say that to him directly: I want to push you away. This brought up

once she got over her shyness.

Counsellor also invited her to push against his hands, so she could embody the pushing aw

tentatively at first, and then more and more strongly. All her energy came through her hand

When asked how she felt, she said she felt anger.

So counsellor worked with her embodying her anger.

After couple of sessions, she reported that her rash had mostly cleared up, and that she

more assertive in her life and relationships.

Experiment


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Thank You!

Presented by,

Group 2

Aishwarya

Anand KV

Anand MS

Anand Nambiar

Ankur Baj

Karthick S

Ramyaa Ramesh

Surya Murali

Vijay Krishnan A

gestalt case study_group 2

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