Chapter 8: Gestalt Therapy Flashcards
Gestalt therapy founders
Erving Polster + Mariam Polster (expanded on the theory)
Fritz Perls + Laura Perls (main originators)
Gestalt Therapy
existential, phenomenological, and process-based approach created on the premise that individuals must be understood in the context of their ongoing relationship with the environment
goals is for clients to expand their awareness, which will lead to change and rediscovering themselves
focuses on hear and now , the what and how of an experience, and authenticity of therapist
Cronerstones of gestalt
awareness
choice
responsibility
Gestalt processes and goals
self-acceptance, knowledge of the environment, responsibility for choices, and the ability to make contact with their field (systems of interrelationships)
relational Gestalt Therapy
stresses dialogue and the I/Thou relationship between client and therapist
work collaboratively with client
view of human nature
rooted in existential philosophy
aims at awareness and contact with the environment, (both external and internal)
Perls style of gestalt personal agendas
moving the client from environmental support to self support
reintegrating the disowned parts of one’s personality
confrontational
Basic assumption of gestalt
individuals have the capacity to self-regulate when they are aware of what is happening in and around them
paradoxical theory of change
Arnie Beisser
authethentic change occurs more from being who we are than trying to be who we are not
Principles of Gestalt therapy theory
holism
field theory
the figure-formation process
organismic self-regulation
holism
value is place on the whole person, not the sum of their parts or aspects of the client
field theory
asserts that the organism must be seen in its environment, or context, as part of the constantly changing field
emphasis placed between figure (aspects of clients experience that are most salient at any moment) and the ground (aspect of clients presentation that are often out of their awareness)
the figure-formation process
tracks how the individual organizes experience from moment to moment as some aspect of the environmental field emerges from the background and becomes focal point of individuals attention/interest.
therapist helps them work towards or away from this
organismic self-regulation
a principle/process by which equilibrium is disturbed by the emergence of a need, sensation, or an interest
contact
made by seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving
effective = interacting with nature and other people without losing sense of individuality
key to gestalt practice
pre-requisites of good contact
clear awareness
full energy
ability to express oneself
contact disturbances/resistances
developed as coping process but often prevent us from experiencing the present fully
adopted out of our awareness
may contribute to dysfunctional behavior
keeps us from exploring personal conflicts or painful feelings
contact boundary disturbances
both this and interruptions in contact are characteristic styles people employ in their attempts to control their environment through one of these channels of resistance:
Introjection
projection
retroflection
deflection
confluence
introjection
tendency to uncritically accept others beliefs and standards without assimilating them to make them congruent with who we are
have not been analyzed and restructured
projection
reverse of introjection
disown certain aspects of ourselves by assigning them to the environment
blame others for own shortcomings
retroflection
consists of turning back unto ourselves what we would like to do to someone else or doing to ourselves what we would like someone else to do for us
interruption of the action phase in the cycle of experience/it is an anxious time
keep themselves from taking action due to anxiety and embarrassment
deflection
the process of distraction or veering off, so that it is difficult to maintain a sustained sense of contact
through the overuse of humor, generalizations, and questions instead of statements
confluence
involves blurring the differentiation between the self and the environment
“people pleasing” basically
The now
one of the main contributions to the gestalt approach
whatever happening in current moment takes center stage
phenomenological inquiry
involves paying attention to what is occurring now
involves suspending any preconceived ideas, assumptions, or interpretations concerning the meaning of a clients experience
unfinished business
figures that emerge from the background that are not completed and resolved
manifested in feelings such as worry, rage, hatred, pain, etc.
clutters present-centered awareness
impasse
stuck point
occurs when external support is not available or the customary way of being does not work
therapist help client fully experience this in order to work through it
blocked energy
often leads to unfinished business
another form of defensive behavior
can be manifested as tension
therapist helps transform blocked energy into more adaptive behaviors
Therapeutic goals
-move toward increased awarnesss
-gradually assume ownership of their experience (instead of blaming others)
-develop skills and acquire values that will enable them to satisfy their needs without violating the rights of others
-become aware of all their senses
-learn to accept responsibility for what they do, including accepting the consequences of their actions
-be able to ask for and get help from others and be able to give to others
awareness
knowing the environment, knowing oneself, accepting oneself, and being able to make contact
therapists function and role
invite clients into an active partnership where they can learn about themselves by adopting an experimental attitude toward life
client-focused (like person-centered) & attention to body language
aspects of language
it talk: depersonalizing language
you talk: tends to keep the person hidden
questions: keeps questioner hidden, safe, and unknown
language that denies power:
listening to client metaphors:
listening for language that uncovers a story
dialogue
engagement between people who bring their unique experiences to that meeting
clients experience in therapy
client is expert in their lives
Mariam Polster three-stage integration sequence that characterizes client growth
1: consists of discovery
2: accommodation: client recognizes they have a choice
3:assimilation; client learns how to influence their environment
exercises
ready-made techniques that are sometimes used to make something happen in a therapy session our achieve a goal
experiments
grow out of the interaction between therapist and client, and they emerge within this dialogic process and provide clients with an opportunity to increase their awareness and try out new ways of thinking/behaving
created to fit the individual
used to bring out some type of internal conflict/work through stuck points of life
basically dramatize/play out problem situations
technique
a performed experiment with specific learning foals
Forms of gestalt therapy experiments
imagining a threatening future encounter
setting up a dialogue between a client and someone in their life
reliving a profound moment in life
role-play
confrontation
set up in a way that invites clients to examine their behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts
Gestalt therapy interventions
the internal dialogue exercise
empty chair technique
future projection technique
making the rounds
the reversal exercise
the rehearsal exercise
the exaggeration exercise staying with the feeling
gestalt dream work
internal dialogue exercise
function is to bring about integrated functioning and acceptance of aspects of ones personality that have been disowned or denies
focuses on top dog and underdog and focuses on war between two
empty-chair technique
role reversal
bring into consciousness the fantasies of what the “other” might be thinking or feeling
future projection technique
an anticipated event is brought into present moment and acted out
helps client express and clarify concerns they have about the future
making the rounds
involves asking a person in a group to go up to others in the group and either speak or do something with them
goal is to grow and change
the reversal exercise
make contact with hidden parts of self
certain symptoms and behaviors often represent reversal of underlying/latent impulses
EX; someone who is always positive practices being negative
the rehearsal exercise
we rehearse to ourselves to gain acceptance / work with client to share rehearsals out loud
The exaggeration exercise
become more ware of the subtle signals and cues they are sending though body language
person is to exaggerate movement or gesture repeatedly , which intensifies the feeling attached to it
staying with the feeling
urge clients to experience feelings they are fleeing from
Gestalt approach to dream work
intent is to bring dreams to life and relive them as if they were happening now, not interpret and analyze them.
Perls believes projection is central to dream formation
Strengths from a diversity perspective
interventions are unique to client
helps integrate polarities within people (people from two cultures)
shortcomings from a diversity perspective
too quickly utilizing experiments due to intense emotional showings bringing shame
