Running head: Gestalt Theory and Therapy 1

Gestalt Theory and Therapy

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Gestalt Theory and Therapy 2

Gestalt Theory and Therapy

Gestalt therapy was founded by Frederick (“Fritz”) Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman

in the 1940s. Fritz and Laura were closely acquainted with psychoanalysis, and Fritz was a

training analyst. They practiced psychoanalysis, but they were unhappy with the “dogmatism” of

the therapy as they felt restricted in their domain. As a result, they chose to integrate the

conscious awareness aspect of psychoanalysis into their therapy (Brownell 2019). The main

concepts that influenced this therapy are holism, phenomenology, organismic theory, and field

theory. Gestalt therapy is not a discovery of a brand-new idea born out of dark times; rather, it is

a combination of multiple existing concepts that Perls joined in matrimony. From the

combination of these intellectual disciplines, Fritz’s vision came to be called a humanistic vision,

which was introduced into the world of psychotherapy.

Gestalt therapy is a humanistic approach that focuses on an individual as a whole within

the context of their environment. Perls believed that perception, rather than interpretation, is

what guides an individual’s experience in the present. Thus, the goal is focused on understanding

and changing the perception of an individual and raising their awareness, so they can be their

therapist. Over time, Gestalt therapy has garnered a lot more attraction from researchers and is

tended to attract therapists who have a preference for the experiential approach. The experiential

approach focuses on learning by experiencing (Brownell 2019): First Nature of Humans. Due to

its humanistic approach, Gestalt theory works with an individual’s awareness rather than the

interpretation of their unconsciousness. The major characteristics of this theory are that it’s

growth-oriented, self-regulating and that an individual can only be truly understood within the

context of its environment. Secondly, the theory takes Personality Structure; Gestalt therapy

enforces that the self does not exist without interaction with its environment. No, just-self is
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separate from the organism and the environmental field. Contact is considered an essential part

of the development; thus, it allows an individual to be in touch with what is emerging here and

now, moment to moment. Contact allows humans to form an emotional bond with others, which

fills our need for love and belonging, according to Maslow’s human need pyramid.

Thirdly, Environmental Influences and Interaction of the Self with the Environment;

Gestalt therapy centers around an organism’s interaction with their environment. According to

Gestalt therapy, individuals grow when they assimilate from their environment, whatever they

deem necessary for their growth (Corey 2016). Any given organism has multiple needs at any

given time, and they are prioritized based on their importance. This also means that humans are

only aware of their one dominant need at a time until the next need takes precedence; the concept

primarily tries to implement the concept of creative adjustment.

For Fritz Perls, healthy functioning occurs when there is contact and awareness when

something is taken in, such as food, ideas, or even friendship. An individual will be able to make

discriminations between what aspects of that “something” should be taken in and what meanings

should be assigned to what was taken in. According to Gestalt therapy, health and maturity result

from creative adjustment occurring in a contextual environment. Health and maturity happen

optimally when an individual’s Gestalt formation is functioning freely, and contact and

awareness processes are free of excessive anxiety (Corey 2016). In Gestalt therapy, a healthy

person can adjust to his environment’s needs as well as able to adjust his environment to his

needs. The reciprocity of this relationship allows an individual to form a connection while also

allowing him separation, reaching equilibrium.

On the other hand, unhealthy functioning can be experienced Gestalt therapy believes

that for us to be happy and healthy, we should have all of our needs met and see ourselves in the
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context of our environment, so we are not fragmented. An individual who is mentally ill will not

be able to make contact and bring awareness to the environment. The main goal of Gestalt

therapy is to help clients achieve awareness and self-support. One type of awareness is when

therapy focuses on gaining awareness in a particular area, such as focusing on the client’s social

life. The second type of awareness is called awareness of awareness (Corey 2016). This happens

when the client and therapist work together to bring automatic habits back to awareness, so the

client can respond better to future disturbances. Another goal of Gestalt therapy is to encourage

self-support. Gestaltists encourage clients to take responsibility for their actions, current or past,

and accept the choices or the actions that they have projected onto their environment.

The application of this therapy takes several Stages of Counseling; According to Gestalt

therapy, clients experience “blocks” when their awareness is not intact. These blocks can be

mental, emotional, and physical. For example, a client experiencing block may never fully

become aware of his multiple needs. To get rid of these blocks, clients must gain awareness of

their environment (Joyce & Sills 2018). There are four stages in a Gestalt therapy session that

will aid in bringing the main conflict to awareness as well as its impact on the client’s

experiences. These stages are;

Stage 1: Emergence of the Problem. Every client is unique; thus, their concerns and

conflicts are unique too. The first stage focuses on bringing clients’ conflict into awareness that

they are experiencing in the here-and-now. This stage involves focusing on the what and how of

the behavior such as what the client does and how it is done.

Stage 2: Working with External Polarities. The next stage requires a client having a

dialogue with his significant other about the conflict that the client is experiencing. If the conflict
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is interpersonal and the client is working towards personal deficiency such as they behave

negatively with only one person, then the dialogue should be with that said person.

Stage 3: Working with Internal Polarities. According to Gestaltists, external polarities are

less difficult to work with, as they can be resolved eventually (Joyce & Sills 2018). Inner

polarities are difficult because they have been reinforced repeatedly throughout our lives; for

example, a client engages in self-harm repeatedly because it has provided relief in the pat. In this

stage, clients will strive to bring self-understanding and awareness to some external dialogue that

can be resolved with an understanding of inner imbalances and internal tension. The main goal of

this stage is to focus on the dichotomies within the clients’ personalities.

Stage 4: Integration. The end goal of this stage is for clients to see themselves as a whole

than their separate components. At this stage, a client will focus on resolving any interval

conflicts due to the misperception of the problem. The dichotomous factors, if any, move

together to accept the presence of each other, thus creating a united whole. This is the final

counseling stage and is always a continuous stage.

The approach takes a specific, well-defined Interventions and Assessments techniques;

Gestalt therapy uses experimental techniques with their clients. Therapists have flexibility when

it comes to interventions (Joyce & Sills 2018). This therapy can be a long or short term.

Therapists are usually encouraged to be creative with their interventions. The experiments are

individualized and are designed to increase the client’s awareness.

There are a lot of controversies around this theory pertaining to research. One of the main

criticisms for this theory is its lack of quantitative data, as most of the studies tend to be

qualitative. Some researchers believe that there is no absolute accurate way of analyzing

humans’ values and their meanings. Research had successfully shown the effectiveness of
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Gestalt therapy when the research themes involved human behaviors such as cognition,

development, trauma, etc. The dialogic relationship in Gestalt therapy has received a lot of

validation, as the research on numerous accounts supports it (Rhyne 2016). Multiple studies have

also supported the Gestalt therapy’s here-and-now viewpoint. Authors of Current

Psychotherapies suggest that although there is a substantial amount of support for Gestalt

therapy, one must consider the therapist’s uniqueness as well as the complicated measurement of

any treatment process. This therapy is mostly found to be effective when therapists show a high

level of personal development. Gestalt therapy still lives on today and can be used with any

client depending on the level of understanding displayed by the therapist.

In relation to other theories, Gestalt Therapy applies a unique approach, although there

can be some similarities. Gestalt Therapy in relation to Psychoanalytic Therapy: The main

difference between Psychoanalytic and Gestalt is that; Gestalt focuses on the here-and-now while

Psychoanalytic focuses on the past (Zimmermann, et al. 2015). Gestalt therapists also attempt to

bring past into the present such as how past is related to a client’s specific experience in the

present. Gestalt therapy also rejects psychoanalytic’ conscious/unconscious viewpoint; instead,

they believe in awareness. Gestalt therapists believe that everything a client experience is either

outside or inside of their awareness, and appropriate therapeutic interventions can bring

“forgotten” experiences back into awareness. Both theories believe in the “whole” self but have

different viewpoints on how to make a client feel whole. Both theories also believe that there is

no “self” without an “other.” Unlike Psychoanalysis theories, Gestalt therapists do not seek to

understand the “why” question, but rather tend to lean towards how and what questions. Gestalt

therapists also accept client’s self-report as accurate and real.

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Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Gestalt Therapy: CBT and Gestalt therapists both

consider and put emphasis on what the client is thinking (Brotto, et al. 2020). Both therapies also

emphasize self-awareness, but their methods of achieving that are different. One difference

between these theories is that CBT is very structured, while Gestalt therapy is more descriptive

and philosophical and less structured. Because CBT is more structured, this theory has received a

lot more research support and validation compared to Gestalt therapy.

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Reference

Brotto, L. A., Bergeron, S., Zdaniuk, B., & Basson, R. (2020). Mindfulness and cognitive

behavior therapy for provoked vestibulodynia: Mediators of treatment outcome and long-term

effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88(1), 48.

Brownell, P. (Ed.). (2019). Handbook for theory, research, and practice in Gestalt

therapy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Corey, G. (2016). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy+ Student

Manual. Brooks Cole.

Joyce, P., & Sills, C. (2018). Skills in Gestalt counselling & psychotherapy. Sage.

Degges-White, S., & Davis, N. L. (Eds.). (2017). Integrating the expressive arts into

counseling practice: Theory-based interventions. Springer Publishing Company.

Rhyne, J. (2016). Gestalt art therapy. In Approaches to art therapy (pp. 228-245).

Routledge.

Zimmermann, J., Löffler‐Stastka, H., Huber, D., Klug, G., Alhabbo, S., Bock, A., &

Benecke, C. (2015). Is it all about the higher dose? Why psychoanalytic therapy is an effective

treatment for major depression. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 22(6), 469-487.