Gestalt
Gestalt
Gestalt
Gestalt
Gestalt principles were developed prior to
the development of Gestalt therapy. Gestalt = form, figure, pattern, or whole Gestalt psychology was concerned with how we organize our experiences, I. E. perception or awareness.
It is phenomenological in that it stresses the subjective experiences. Life is best understood by knowing the subjective , internal rather than the objective, external.
Humans perceive things as wholes and the whole is more than the sum of its parts (holism, I.E. non-reductionistic)
Freud
Past Reductionistic Deterministic Unconscious Energy system seeking homeostasis or completion (repetition compulsion)
Perls
Present Holistic Phenomenological Disowned parts Energy system seeking homeostasis or completion (Closure)
KEY CONCEPTS
View of Human Nature - PG. 195 F. Perls view of human nature is that clients are manipulative and avoid selfreliance, I. E. not willing to accept their own perceptions as valid. They are looking to others for the answers. A 12
13
C
14
self support Reintegrating disowned parts of self Very abrasive confrontive style, with modern gestaltness. How is Gestalt inherently confrontive?
- genuine knowledge is the product of what is immediately evident in the experience of the perceiver. Awareness is ever-changing and each moment is one of choice based on evolving awareness. We are the creators of our own destiny, I. E. non-deterministic. 2) self-regulatory - awareness leads to closure
3)
change happens in the now If you want to go to S. Dakota, where do you start?
The influence of psychoanalysis is merged with Gestalt psychology in the concept of now. Events may have happened in the past; however, they are always interpreted and felt with the present. Energetic homeostasis and repetition compulsion (psychoanalysis) and closure and unfinished business (gestalt) are similar. They both say that issues unfinished in the past will be energetically present in the now. Both say that homeostasis or closure is sought. They just approach it differently.
Both work on the past in the present. Psychoanalysis through transferenceGestalt through experiments in the present.
What and how - NOW - in the body/experiential Why - Past - in the head/ analytical
Result:
Preoccupation, compulsive behavior, wariness oppressive energy and self-defeating behavior.
The Impasse, or stuck point (PG. 199), is a situation in which individuals believe they are unable to support themselves. They feel stuck, avoiding experiencing threatening feeling, imagining something terrible will happen.
other people without losing ones individuality RESISTANCE TO CONTACT - the defenses we develop to prevent us from experiencing the present fully
Confluence
Move toward increased awareness of themselves Gradually assume ownership of their experience (as opposed to making others responsible for what they are thinking, feeling, and doing) Develop skills and acquire values that will allow them to satisfy their needs without violating the rights of others Become more aware of all of their senses Learn to accept responsibility for what they do, including accepting the consequences of their actions Move from outside support toward increasing internal support Be able to ask for and get help from others and be able to give to others
Therapeutic Relationship
This approach stresses the I/Thou relationship. The focus is not on the techniques employed by the therapist but on who the therapist is as a person and what the therapist is doing. Contemporary Gestalt therapy stresses factors such as presence, authentic dialogue, gentleness, more direct self-expression by the therapist, decreased use of stereotypic exercises, and a greater trust in the clients experiencing. The counselor assists clients in experiencing all feelings more fully and lets them make their own interpretations. The therapist does not interpret for clients but focuses on the what and how of their behavior. Clients identify their own unfinished business from the past that is interfering with their present functioning by re-experiencing past situations as though they were happening at the present moment.
Therapeutic Techniques
The experiment in Gestalt Therapy Preparing clients for experiments Internal dialogue exercise Rehearsal exercise
Reversal technique
Exaggeration exercise
Confrontation - PG 212
Your mother wears combat boots
OR
I wont laugh when you tell me something sad. OR???