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Introduction to Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy was founded by Fritz Perls and is based on the existential-humanistic model of psychotherapy. It centers on dreams, nonverbal behaviors, and the thoughts and emotions of the here and now. As we become conscious of our denied feelings, our intrinsic healing powers are set in motion. Gestalt is the German word for "whole."

The key concepts of existential-humanistic psychotherapy are the here and now, dream-work, empty-chair technique and hot seat. This approach to therapy, aims to combine our thoughts, feelings, and actions into a united whole.

Gestalt therapy surfaced during the sixties as an option to psychoanalysis and behavioral therapy. The role for the Gestalt therapist is to assist you to become more aware of your split-off emotions and will take an active role by expecting you to talk about your current life and feelings. You are expected to stay in the "here and now."

The existential-humanistic trail of thought is that people instinctively strive to attain their fullest human potential but obstacles prevent us from doing so and that we are free to choose our actions and consequently, we are responsible for them.

Taking the "hot seat" is a technique to develop individual self-awareness. This is talking to the therapist in a group session and is usually confrontational and very active.

Dream-work involves bringing the dream into the here and now, and acting out certain parts of it.

Another therapeutic practice used by Gestalt therapists involves a focus on and overstatement of nonverbal behaviors.

The empty chair technique is used to bring past conflicts into the present and relive the experience, by role playing both parts of a situation, to gain understanding and clarification of feelings and foster empathy.

The Gestalt approach is often compared with the therapy of Carl Rogers, Person-Centered Therapy, but they do differ in their techniques and approach and the Gestalt therapist is more confrontational, asking questions and interpreting statements.

Gestalt therapy is not one of the main models of psychotherapy; but it does have a great number of enthusiastic followers and is use widely with other models, for example, Transpersonal Psychology.

Learn more about this author, ROSEMARIE GLANVILLE.
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