748 Gestalt Flashcards
Gestalt Therapy: basic definition
An existential and phenomenological approach
Gestalt Therapy: Initial goal
Initial goal is for clients to expand their awareness of what they are experiencing in the present moment
Gestalt Therapy: What is the curative factor
Increased awareness is curative
Gestalt Therapy: How does the person become integrated/whole
Through becoming aware of one’s denied parts and working toward owning their experience, clients can become integrated, or whole
Gestalt Therapy: This approach focuses on: the h_ and n_
The here and now
Gestalt Therapy: This approach focuses on: the w_ and h_ of experiencing
The what and how of experiencing
Gestalt Therapy: This approach focuses on: the ___ of the therapistt
The authenticity of the therapist
Gestalt Therapy: This approach focuses on: active d_ i_ and e_
Active dialogic inquiry and exploration
Gestalt Therapy: This approach focuses on: relating
The I/Thou of relating
Principles of Gestalt Theory: Holism: range of
The full range of human functioning includes thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body, language, and dreams
Principles of Gestalt Theory: Field theory: definition
The field is the client’s environment which consists of therapist and client and all that goes on between them
Principles of Gestalt Theory: Field theory: Client is a participant in a constantly
Client is a participant in a constantly changing field
Principles of Gestalt Theory: Figure Formation Process: Definition
How an individual organizes experiences from moment to moment
Foreground: figure
Background: ground
Principles of Gestalt Theory: Organismic self-regulation: Emergence of
Emergence of need sensations and interest disturb an individual’s equilibrium
Gestalt: The Now: Power
Our “power is in the present”
Gestalt: The Now: Existence
Nothing exists except the “now”
Gestalt: The Now: past and future
The past is gone and the future has not yet arrived
Gestalt: The Now: Loss
For many people the power of the present is lost
Gestalt: The Now: 2 common mistakes
They may focus on their past mistakes or engage in endless resolutions and plans for the future
Gestalt: Unfinished Business: definition
Feelings about the past are unexpressed
Gestalt: Unfinished Business: unexpressed feelings are associated with
distinct memories and fantasies
Gestalt: Unfinished Business: Feelings not fully experienced linger in the background and
interfere with effective contact
Gestalt: Unfinished Business: Result:
Preoccupation, compulsive behavior, wariness oppressive energy, and self-defeating behavior
Gestalt: Energy and Blocks to Energy: where, how, and how
Gestalt therapists focus on where energy is located, how it is used, and how it can be blocked
Gestalt: Energy and Blocks to Energy: defense
Blocked energy is a form of defensive behavior that may result in unfinished business
Gestalt: Energy and Blocks to Energy: transform
Clients are encouraged to recognize how their resistance is being expressed in their body and transform their blocked energy into more adaptive behaviors
Gestalt: Contact and Resistances to Contact: What is contact
Interacting with nature and with other people without losing one’s individuality
Gestalt: Contact and Resistances to Contact: Boundary disturbances/resistance to contact
The defenses we develop to prevent us from experiencing the present fully
Gestalt: Contact Boundary Phenomena: Five different kinds of contact boundary disturbances: I
Introjection
Gestalt: Contact Boundary Phenomena: Five different kinds of contact boundary disturbances: P
Projection
Gestalt: Contact Boundary Phenomena: Five different kinds of contact boundary disturbances: R
Retroflection
Gestalt: Contact Boundary Phenomena: Five different kinds of contact boundary disturbances: D
Deflection
Gestalt: Contact Boundary Phenomena: Five different kinds of contact boundary disturbances: C
Confluence
Six Components of Gestalt Therapy Methodology: C of e
Continuum of experience
Six Components of Gestalt Therapy Methodology: h and n
The here and now
Six Components of Gestalt Therapy Methodology: P theory
Paradoxical theory of change
Six Components of Gestalt Therapy Methodology: the e
The experiment
Six Components of Gestalt Therapy Methodology: the __ encounter
The authentic encounter
Six Components of Gestalt Therapy Methodology: P-o diagnosis
Process-oriented diagnosis
Gestalt: A Focus on Language (6 things)
“It” talk “You” talk Questions Language that denies power Listening to clients’ metaphors Listening for language that uncovers a story
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: the e_
The experiment
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: I d e
Internal dialogue exercise
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: r e
Rehearsal exercise
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: r t
Reversal technique
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: e e
Exaggeration exercise
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: s w t f
Staying with the feeling
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: m t r
Making the rounds
Gestalt: Therapeutic Techniques: d w
Dream work
Gestalt: Application to Group Counseling: encourages
Encourages direct experience and action
Gestalt: Application to Group Counseling: Here-and-now focus allows members to
bring unfinished business to the present
Gestalt: Application to Group Counseling: Members try out
Members try out experiments within the group setting
Gestalt: Application to Group Counseling: Leaders can use linking to
include members in the exploration of a particular individual’s problem
Gestalt: Application to Group Counseling: Leaders actively design experiments for the group while focusing on
awareness and contact
Gestalt: Application to Group Counseling: how to get a sense of mutuality
Group leaders actively engage with the members to form a sense of mutuality in the group
Gestalt: Strengths from a Diversity Perspective: Tailoring
Gestalt experiments can be tailored to fit the unique ways in which clients perceive and interpret their culture
Gestalt: Strengths from a Diversity Perspective: integrate polarities
Gestalt therapy helps people integrate the polarities within themselves, which can assist bicultural clients in reconciling diverse aspects of their cultures
Gestalt: Strengths from a Diversity Perspective: nonverbal behaviors
Creative experiments can emphasize nonverbal behaviors
Gestalt: Limitations from a Diversity Perspective: emotions that are conditioned
Clients who are culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved may find the emphasis on feelings to be off putting
Gestalt: Limitations from a Diversity Perspective: potential for techniques to be misused
Those who use Gestalt techniques in a mechanical way to elicit certain effects (e.g., intense emotions) may lead clients to terminate from therapy prematurely
Contributions of Gestalt Therapy: using experiments
It is a creative and lively approach that uses experiments to move clients from talk to action
Contributions of Gestalt Therapy: many tools
Clients are provided with a wide range of tools for discovering new facets of themselves and changing their lives
Contributions of Gestalt Therapy: holistic but also individual
It is a holistic approach that values each aspect of the individual’s experience equally
Contributions of Gestalt Therapy: dreams
The Gestalt approach to working with dreams is a unique pathway for people to increase their awareness of key themes in their lives
Contributions of Gestalt Therapy: integration
A key strength of Gestalt therapy is the attempt to integrate theory, practice, and research
Limitations of Gestalt Therapy: abuse
The approach has the potential for the therapist to abuse power by using powerful techniques without proper training
Limitations of Gestalt Therapy: stupid people
This approach may not be useful for clients who have difficulty abstracting and imagining
Limitations of Gestalt Therapy: TMI
The emphasis on therapist authenticity and self-disclosure may be overpowering for some clients
