GESTALT

THERAPY
Juliet P. Caramillo
Gestalt

 A gestalt, or whole, both includes & transcends the sum of

its parts

 It cannot be understood simply as a sum of smaller,

independent events
Gestalt Therapy

 Fritz Perls (1893-1970) / wife Laura Perls (1905-

1990)
 Gestalt therapy – an existential/phenomenological
approach
 Therapists try to increase clients’ awareness
 It is grounded in the client’s “here and now”
 Key Concepts
 1. A Phenomenological Basis
You are seeking to focus on the client’s perception of
reality

 2. Experiential
The client is being asked to come to understand about
what and how they are thinking, feeling, and doing as they
interact with the therapist and the other people in the world
 3. Existential
The person is to take responsibility for their destiny and
identity

 4. Awareness
A key element in this theory is helping the client come to
an awareness of what he or she is doing and experiencing
 View of Human Nature
 Self reliant
 Spontaneous
 Capable of self-regulation
 Able to reintegrate the disown parts of themselves
 Striving toward actualization and growth
 The Present (here and now)

 The power is in the present

 The only moment that is significant is the present
 To be fully aware is to live in the here & now
 For many people the power of the present is lost
 Ask “what” & “how” instead of “why”
Unfinished Business
Feelings about the past are unexpressed

Contact & Resistance to contact

Contact- interaction with nature and other
people w/o losing one’s individuality

Resistance to contact- the defenses that

prevent us from experiencing the present fully
 5 Major Channels of Resistance
 Introjection: uncritically accepts others’ view w/o reviewing
them
 Projection: disown certain aspect of ourselves by assigning
them to others
 Retroflection: doing to ourselves what we want to do to others
 Deflection: ignoring or turning away either an internal or
external emotional trigger in order to prevent full recognition
or awareness of associated material
 Confluence: Blurring of the differentiation between the self
and the environment
Therapeutic Goals

To enhance awareness

To depend on themselves
To bring the past or future into the present
To achieve integration of the whole person
Therapist's Function and Role

Increase clients’ awareness

Attend to the present moment
Help clients to experience their being “stuck”
Make “I” statement
Therapeutic Process
Client's Experience in Therapy
 They are active participants who make
their own interpretations & meaning
 Discovery
 Accommodation
 Assimilation
Therapeutic Techniques

The Experiential Work

Preparing Clients for experiential work
Role of Confrontation
Specific Techniques:
– Internal dialogue exercise – Reversal
technique
– Making the rounds – Staying with
feeling
– “I take responsibility for” – Guided fantasy
– Playing the projection – Empty Chair
– Rehearsal exercise – Gestalt Approach to
Dream Work
– Exaggeration exercise
 From a Multicultural
Perspective
Gestalt therapy can be very appropriate for
cultures where emotional expression is
encouraged, but may not be appropriate for
cultures that discourage emotional
expression. Also, due to the therapy’s
length, it may not be appropriate for clients
in crisis.
Quotation

"I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel
that the world must live up to mine."

--Fritz Perls
Thank you for Listening and
Stay Safe