GESTALT THERAPY

Katherine Hassett, LeAnne Rozner, & Jamila Voltaire

History & Background

Fritz Perls – founder 1893 Born to a Jewish family near Berlin Began his career as a neuropsychiatrist 1926 Began studying Gestalt psychology 1928-1933 Practiced psychoanalysis in

Berlin 1929 Married Laura & had 2 children 1933 Family fled Berlin when Hitler

became Chancellor of Germany

History & Background cont. Founded South African Institute for

Psychoanalysis Family moved to New York after WWII 1940’s Fritz & Laura founded Gestalt

Institute of New York Wrote “Gestalt Therapy: Excitement

and Growth in Human Personality.” 1956 Fritz moved to Florida without

Laura

History & Background cont. Became the lover of his client, Marty Fromm In his later years, he worked with the Esalen

Institute & a Gestalt community in Vancouver 1970 Died of a heart attack after surgery

Basic Philosophy

Core Motivation

Major Constructs

Psychological Development

Psychological Health & Dysfunction

Gestalt Theory

Basic Philosophy

Humans are growth oriented Basic value is holism Term organism conveys inseparability of

psychological and physical Humanistic/existential approach Emphasizes individual choice & responsibility Creativity, spontaneity, & resisting

conformity to convention are important Emphasize inherent relatedness of human

condition & interdependence

Core Motivation of Humans

Motivated by drive to satisfy biological & psychological needs

Strive to regulate organism so it can grow

Self-regulation is innate process of rejecting the bad & accepting the good

Major Constructs

Contact Needs

Contact with external environment & internal self central feature of life

Healthy contact leads to assimilation of experience & growth

Aggression is natural & healthy

Effective contact necessary for satisfaction of needs

Contact boundaries connect & separate us from others

Life process of need satisfaction

Gestalt - German for “whole” or “pattern”

A Gestalt consists of a figure & a ground

Figure draws your attention, everything else is the ground

A need is an incomplete Gestalt that rises to awareness

“Cycle of awareness” comprised of sensation, awareness, mobilizing, full contact, withdrawal, & assimilation

Major Constructs cont.

Polarities Contact Disturbance

If something exists then the opposite must also exist

Light/dark, life/death, top dog/underdog

Polarities arise when person cannot accept one end of the polarity

May lead to polarized relationships in which each person accepts opposite extremes

Result when contact is interrupted at contact boundary

Introjection: most primitive, taking in experience without digesting it

Projection: expelling unwanted part of self into environment - essential to empathy

Confluence: complete loss of self, organism cannot separate itself from environment

Retroflection: turning an unacceptable impulse toward the self

Isolation: losing contact with the self & the environment

Deflection: when an impulse is dampened or minimized

Psychological Development

Version of Freud’s developmental theory with “hunger” replacing “sex” as main drive

Current GT contains little developmental theory

Maturation is development from environmental support to self-support

Children need support from environment, love, & respect to grow healthfully

Childhood events related to frustration of need satisfaction can create trouble in adulthood

Psychological Health

Living in harmony with the environment Creative adjustment requires a balance

between taking care of own needs & attending other’s needs

“A clear bright figure freely energized from an empty background”

Living an authentic existence Spontaneous, emotionally responsive &

expressive, relate authentically, & takes responsibility for choices

Psychological Dysfunction

“Dis-ease” occurs when person not in harmony with environment

Neurosis is “growth disorder” resulting from interruption of “cycle of awareness”

“Unfinished business” occurs when a Gestalt formation is disrupted & an unmet need hangs around

Creative adjustment made in past is not functional in present

Anxiety results from “futurizing” or faulty breathing

Assessment

Atmosphere

Roles

Goals

Process

Techniques

Gestalt Therapy

Assessment

No formal assessment - considered dehumanizing

Therapist observes how client functions in life

Looks for patterns that indicate how client interacts with environment

Asks, “What are you experiencing right now?”

Assesses client’s state of awareness

Atmosphere

“Here and now” focus on what client experiencing in the present

Emphasizes actions rather than trying to answer “Why?”

Experiments in awareness allow client to experience unfinished business in safe environment

More focus on therapist/client relationship now than in Perls’ day

Therapist actively directs client in exploring parts of their experience & helps heighten their awareness

Therapist/Client Roles

Perls’ believed therapist should be a confrontational “agitator “

Modern therapists are more tender toward clients

Therapist authentic & transparent Therapist should have own therapist Client is interested & active in self-

discovery Therapist respects client’s opinions

Goals of Therapy

Awareness Awareness of a particular area & awareness of

process leading to awareness of content Client must understand how they came into

awareness, so they can apply the process to other situations

Process of Therapy

3 elements: relationship, awareness, & experiment Therapist must create authentic relationship client Awareness important because a disruption in the

process brought the client to therapy Experiments allow clients to experience a situation

or try something different in a safe place with the goal to create awareness

Rules for experiments: Stay in the present Aware & authentic communication Use “I” not “it” statements No asking questions - turn them into statements

Therapeutic Techniques

Self-Disclosure Dialogues

Therapist discloses their awareness to client

Client & therapist discuss it in the present

Aimed at awareness & unfinished business

Client creates dialogue among parts of the self, with therapist, or with another person in an empty chair

Client will physically move from their chair to empty chair during dialogue

Therapeutic Techniques cont.Playing the Projection

Exaggeration

Client acts out the role of a projection

Therapist asks client if they see these qualities in themselves

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

Therapeutic Techniques cont.Reversals Dream Work

Client’s behavior may oppose their underlying impulses

Client is directed to act out the opposite behavior

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 client’s self

Therapeutic Techniques cont.Working with Polarities

Body Work

Therapist brings polarities to client’s attention

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

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.)

Therapeutic Techniques cont.Making the Rounds Taking Responsibility

Used in group therapy Client says something

specific to each member that expresses a theme the client is experiencing

Client is asked to follow a statement with the phrase “I take responsibility for it”

Critique & Support

Individual, Cultural & Diversity Concerns

Evaluation of Gestalt Therapy

Critique & Support

Opinions are mixed Reactions usually extreme because of reputation

for being undisciplined, disrespectful, confrontational, & dangerous to clients

“Perlism” & untrained therapists are partially responsible for the controversial reputation

Lack of supporting theory is roadblock to evaluation

Many view GT as gimmicky techniques without any support

Modern GT emphasizes support along with challenges

Research Results

Precision and testability: difficult to operationalize because definitions are broad

Empirical Validity: difficult to operationalize because definitions are broad

Outcome Research: generally supports GT as viable approach to psychotherapy

Theory Testing Research: Empty Chair Dialogue (ECD) studied with mixed results. Some studies found ECD helped clients whereas others found ECD caused more depression

Cultural & Diversity Concerns Mixed opinions for diverse groups Some think theoretical & methodological revisions are needed

before GT truly acknowledges diversity Others think cultural awareness is present because the

individual is understood within their historical context Others think culture should only be discussed if it progresses

the process of therapy Emphasis on verbal, emotional, & behavioral expressiveness

opposes values of many cultures. Traditional Hispanic/Latino & Asian persons may view control

of emotions & behavior as signs of wisdom Emphasis on self-disclosure may oppose these groups’ values Counseling homosexual couples viewed as similar to

counseling heterosexual couples Works well within a feminist perspective because of focus on

empowerment & awareness

THANK YOU!