Gestalt Therapy

Question 1

what does gestalt therapy believe about change?

Answer 1

change happens through awareness

Question 2

holism?

Answer 2

whole/completion of the form cannot be broken into parts without losing its essence

Question 3

what are people in gestalt therapy doing?

Answer 3

always in process of becoming and rediscovering themselves

Question 4

phenomenological thinking?

Answer 4

Focus is on client’s perceptions of reality

Question 5

what is gestalt therapy based on?

Answer 5

• Process based – Focus is not on content (how clients behave in the present is far more important than why they behave as they do)
• Quality of contact with the external world (e.g., other people) and internal world (e.g., disowned parts) are monitored

Question 6

what is the paradoxial theory of change?

Answer 6

To “be” as fully as possible, rather than becoming what we “should be.”
- the more you try to be something you’re not, the more you’ll stay right where you are

Question 7

change is a side effect of?

Answer 7

organismic growth

Question 8

change happens when?

Answer 8

we make full contact

Question 9

what is full contact?

Answer 9

Contact is made through the senses (e.g., seeing, touching, hearing). Effective contact involves interacting with others and nature without losing one’s individuality. Contact is the lifeblood of growth. Need for clear boundaries: to connect and separate.

Question 10

what is your figure?

Answer 10

experiences are salient
- “i love my father” (even if not true)

Question 11

what is your ground?

Answer 11

experiences that are out of our awareness (background)
- “i love my father” followed by fist clench

Question 12

cues of what’s in the ground?

Answer 12

physical gestures, tone of voice, demeanor, other nonverbal

Question 13

what is a gestalt therapist interested in?

Answer 13

the whole person – thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body, memories, and dreams are all tended to equally

Question 14

what is field theory?

Answer 14

need to understand clients within their environment- always changing

Question 15

what is the figure formation process?

Answer 15

The background can become the figure and the figure can become the background at any given moment

Question 16

what is organismic self regulation?

Answer 16

equilibrium is disturbed by the emergence of a need, a sensation, or interest from the background. Can take actions to restore equilibrium or make contacts that promote growth and change

Question 17

what is the now (phenomenological inquiry)?

Answer 17

Pay attention to what is happening now to make contact with the present moment. Focusing on the past (dead) or future (fantasy) is a way to avoid the present. Do not ask “why,” ask “what” and “how.” Focus on what’s happening now.

Question 18

what is unfinished business?

Answer 18

Lack of resolution of past feelings will result in resentment, rage, hatred, pain, anxiety, grief, guilt, and abandonment; these feelings that not fully experienced in awareness linger in the background and interfere with effective contact with oneself and others and leads to: preoccupation, compulsive behavior, wariness, and self-defeating behavior

Question 19

what is impasse?

Answer 19

Feeling stuck because the customary way of doing things does not work

Question 20

what is resistance to contact?

Answer 20

Refusal to experience the present in a full and real way, which results in dysfunctional behavior if it’s chronic

Question 21

what are boundary disturbances?

Answer 21

o Introjection: Uncritically accept others’ beliefs and standards
o Projection: Seeing in others qualities that we refuse to acknowledge in ourselves
o Retroflection: Doing to ourselves what we would like to do others or doing for
ourselves what we would like someone else to do for us
o Deflection: Distraction or veering off from topic (e.g., humor, abstractions,
questions)
o Confluence: Blur differentiation between self and environment (not rock the boat) because of a high need for being accepted. Symptoms: absence of conflict, slowness to anger, and believe that everyone experiences the same feelings and thoughts

Question 22

what are interruptions in contact?

Answer 22

Employ boundary disturbances to control environment

Question 23

therapeutic goals?

Answer 23

• Assist clients to attain greater awareness and with it, greater choice
• Awareness includes knowing the environment, knowing oneself, accepting oneself, and making contact
• Being aware allows for unfinished business to surface
• Awareness = contact = integration of disowned parts
• Identity is not static, we are constantly discovering parts of ourselves as we face new challenges

Question 24

internal dialogue exercise?

Answer 24

“top dog” v. “under dog”
- top dog: critical parent, manipulates w threats
- under dog: manipulates by playing powerless victim

Question 25

empty chair technique?

Answer 25

extra chair in session for figure associated w traumatic experience, have convo w them as if they were there