MUHAMAD NURHAFIZ BIN MAZLAN

GS 58894
CPE 5100 TEORI KAUNSELING DAN PERKEMBANGAN PERSONALITI
(DR. ASMAH ISMAIL)

Case Study: Fara

Fara, a 29 years old Malay woman, single, lived with her father aged 57 years old, and
Aina, her younger sister aged 26 years old. Her mother passed away when Fara was 15 years old
and Aina was 13 years old. As the elder child, Fara’s father put responsibilities on her such as
doing housework and looking after her younger sister while her father is working. Fara’s father is
suffering from depression after her mother’s passed away hence he expresses his emotions to his
children, especially Fara.

Ever since childhood, Fara’s parents always expected perfection from her, they always
emphasized that she need to be a good example to her younger sister. She need to perform in her
academic and she need to do the housework as they believed Aina will follow it. They punished
Fara when she did not score straight A’s for her UPSR. They also compared Fara with Aina, as
Aina always obtain good grade for her papers and she also score straight A’s for her UPSR.

In addition, Fara did not have a lot of friends since her primary school to the university
year. She always prioritized her responsibilities as a daughter and sister especially after the death
of her mother. After school, she will straight away go home because she need to do her
housework such as cooking and laundering. The routine continued until her university year.
Every time her friends invited her to join them for a hangout after class, she always refused. If
she joins them, she was often upset and angry over the little things until her friends kept distance
from her and they did not invite her anymore. Fara said she feel left out and think that “maybe
they do not like being friends with people like me”. She reported that she once banged her head
on the wall because she felt so stressed.

During her university year, she joined a social and welfare based club that focused on the
improvement of academic and psychology development of orphans. She chose to join the club
because she felt that the nature of the club was close to her life. She has few close friends from
the club so she feels that by joining the activities in the club, she can forget her problems for a
while. Even though they have graduated, they still keep in touch with each other.

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 MUHAMAD NURHAFIZ BIN MAZLAN
GS 58894
CPE 5100 TEORI KAUNSELING DAN PERKEMBANGAN PERSONALITI
(DR. ASMAH ISMAIL)

She has now worked for 5 years in the same company after she graduated. But she often
zones herself out when she is stressed in the middle of conversations with her colleagues or
while she is doing her work. Trying to cope with it she has changed her hobbies and style of
clothing frequently. Fara also compared herself with her friends of the same age as her because
they are married and some have children. She feels more stressed when her younger sister is also
getting married soon and she is always pressured by her father, forcing her to get married. Fara
states, “I do not know how and where to find a boyfriend”. In fact, she is also not ready to get
married and become a wife and mother because she had never seen the figure of a good wife and
mother because her mother died while she was growing up. She also worried about what if she
gets married, who will take care of her aged father and who will do all the housework for him.

Although Fara's father always compares them, but Aina always tries to motivate and calm
her down. She always expects emotional support from Aina and appreciates her younger sister
by always buying gifts for Aina. However, when she felt stressed with the situation, several
times she could not control herself. She ignored Aina, yelled or threw things to her. She then
reports feeling regret and worries that Aina would fed up with her. She worries that after Aina
gets married, Aina will move out with her husband, who else will calm her down.

As currently the world is facing COVID-19 pandemic, the company where Fara worked
had to downsized and Fara is one of the workers who has been laid off. She feels stressed, she
has to look for a new job while receiving pressure from his father, daily.

Fara begins losing herself and states, “I do not even know who I am and what is the
purpose of my life”. Fara lost focus, she simply dispels anger without considering others’
feelings, tantrums and emotional outbursts. Therefore, Aina convinced her to seek for a
professional help and Fara tried to get the help from a counselor.

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 MUHAMAD NURHAFIZ BIN MAZLAN
GS 58894
CPE 5100 TEORI KAUNSELING DAN PERKEMBANGAN PERSONALITI
(DR. ASMAH ISMAIL)

Penggunaan Teori Gestalt dalam situasi Fara

Dalam situasi Fara, Kaunselor boleh menggunakan teori Gestalt dalam membantu Fara
menghadapi isu dirinya. Matlamat teori gestalt adalah seperti berikut :

Matlamat teori Gestalt

1. Memberi kesedaran kepada individu bahawa mereka mempunyai tanggungjawab yang

tersendiri. Teori ini juga membuat individu akan lebih berdikari, tidak akan bergantung
kepada orang lain, dan menyedarkan mereka bahawa mereka membuat pelbagai perkara,
jauh lebih banyak daripada apa yang disangkakan mereka sendiri.
2. Perls turut berpendapat bahawa setiap manusia mempunyai banyak potensi, tetapi oleh
kerana terhalang oleh sekatan-sekatan dalam hidupnya, ia tidak akan berjaya dalam hidup
dengan sempurna.
3. Membantu individu agar lebih mengenali diri sendiri dengan mendalam tanpa perlu
berusaha untuk menyesuaikan dirinya dengan persekitaranya.
4. Membantu individu agar dapat merasai dan menyedari segala perasaan dan pengalaman
mereka masing-masing
5. Memberi perhatian kepada pola-pola bahasa klien dengan struktur ayat yang digunakan.

Prinsip Masa Kini (Here and Now)

Salah satu kelebihan terapi Gestalt adalah penekanan terhadap konsep masa kini (Here
and Now) yang mementingkan penghargaan terhadap pengalaman yang sedang berlaku pada
masa sekarang (O’Leary, 2013). Penekanan terhadap perkara lampau dan masa hadapan mampu
dielakkan sekiranya Fara meletakkan fokus kepada pengalaman sekarang yang sedang berlaku.
Menjadi kebiasaan Fara menggunakan tenaga yang ada untuk terus berfikir tentang perkara
lampau ataupun perkara yang belum lagi berlaku. Hal ini membawa kepada kesukaran untuk
menyelesaikan atau menghargai perkara yang sedang berlaku pada masa sekarang kerana tenaga
telah disalurkan kepada pemikiran perkara lampau dan masa hadapan.

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 MUHAMAD NURHAFIZ BIN MAZLAN
GS 58894
CPE 5100 TEORI KAUNSELING DAN PERKEMBANGAN PERSONALITI
(DR. ASMAH ISMAIL)

Konsep phenomenological inquiry merupakan salah satu teknik dalam Gestalt yang
memerlukan Fara untuk memberikan sepenuh perhatian kepada perkara-perkara yang
sedang berlaku pada masa sekarang (Corey, 2017). Fara diarahkan untuk bercakap tentang
perasaan masa sekarang sebagai salah satu langkah untuk meningkatkan kesedaran Fara.
Kaunselor akan kebiasaannya menggunakan soalan berbentuk ‘apa’ dan ‘bagaimana’, dan
bukannya ‘kenapa’. Pertanyaan berbentuk ‘kenapa’ akan membuat Fara bercerita tentang perkara
lampau yang tidak menjadi fokus sesi terapi. Contoh soalan-soalan dalam terapi Gestalt yang
menekankan konsep Here and Now ialah:
1) “Apa yang sedang berlaku sekarang?”
2) “Apa yang sedang anda alami dan rasa ketika anda duduk dan bercerita tentang
semua perkara ini?”
3) “Apa yang telah anda sedari pada masa ini?”
4) “Bagaimana anda mengalami perasaan takut anda?”
5) “Bagaimana keadaan anda apabila berada bersama saya di bilik ini?”

Konsep Unfinished Business

Konsep unfinished business merujuk kepada keadaan tatkala perkara yang tidak
sempurna atau diselesaikan dengan baik kekal di memori individu dan perlu kepada penamatan
(O’Leary, 2013). Individu yang mempunyai unfinished business akan membazirkan tenaga yang
baik ke arah perbuatan-perbuatan yang merugikan diri sendiri seperti penyesalan, rasa bersalah,
dan perasaan dendam. Perkara lampau seperti kematian, penceraian, dan pergaduhan mampu
membawa kepada unfinished business yang mengganggu keadaan masa kini individu. Menurut
Corey (2017), unfinished business akan kekal mengganggu kehidupan individu sehinggalah
individu tersebut berhadapan dan menyelesaikan perasaan dirinya yang terkurung.
Kaunselor mempunyai peranan yang penting dalam mengenalpasti kehadiran unfinished
business yang mungkin ada dalam diri Fara. Kaunselor sewajarnya memberi perhatian terhadap
keadaan tingkah laku Fara semasa sesi dijalankan. Perbuatan seperti berpeluh, panik secara tiba-
tiba, dan bahasa-bahasa badan yang tidak normal kemungkinan menunjukkan kehadiran
unfinished business dalam diri Fara. Oleh itu, tugas kaunselor adalah untuk menggalakkan Fara

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 MUHAMAD NURHAFIZ BIN MAZLAN
GS 58894
CPE 5100 TEORI KAUNSELING DAN PERKEMBANGAN PERSONALITI
(DR. ASMAH ISMAIL)

untuk melakukan contact dengan perasaannya yang terkurung dan menerima seadanya resolusi
serta keadaan yang telah berlaku. Hanya setelah Fara menerima semua aspek yang berlaku
terhadap dirinya tanpa sebarang penilaian, barulah dirinya akan mampu untuk berfikir, merasa,
dan bertindak sebaliknya. Sebagai contoh, Fara yang memendam perasaan dendam dan marah
terhadap bapanya yang pernah mendera diri Fara sewaktu dia masih kecil. Perasaan dendam
yang terkurung itu telah membawa pelbagai kesan negatif terhadap emosi dan tingkah laku Fara.
Dalam hal ini, Kaunselor akan cuba untuk membawa Fara membayangkan semula pengalaman
dan perasaan tersebut pada masa kini, dan menerima seadanya perasaan dan kesakitan yang
dialaminya.