Corey 11 Yalom 6

Second Tier

"The Illumination of Process" • The group examines itself • It performs a "self-reflective loop" • The group must study its own transactions

Group as a Whole Commentary:

Anxiety laden issues...the group refuses to comment of the issue • Anti-therapeutic group norms: Taking turns, First topic discussion only, excluding outsiders. • "An issue critical to the existence or functioning of the entire group always takes precedence over narrower interpersonal issues"( pg. 198).

Awareness

Awareness involves staying with the moment-to-moment flow of experiencing By staying with present-centered awareness, members discover how they function in the world Group leaders ask "what" and "how" questions The task of members of a Gestalt group is to pay attention to the structure of their experience and to become aware of the what and how of such experiencing. The psychoanalytic approach is interested in why we do what we do; the Gestalt leader asks "what" and "how" questions but rarely "why" questions. By attending to the continuum of awareness—that is, by staying with the moment-to-moment flow of experiencing—group members discover how they are functioning in the world. Gestalt group leaders employ the figure-formation process when they assist members in paying attention to what becomes figural for them. To help members gain a sharper awareness of what they are thinking, feeling, and doing, the Gestalt group therapist asks questions like the following, which lead to present-centeredness: What are you experiencing now? What's going on inside you as you're speaking? How are you experiencing your anxiety in your body? How are you attempting to withdraw at this moment, and how are you avoiding contact with unpleasant feelings? What's your feeling at this moment as you sit there and try to talk? What do you hear in your voice as you talk to your father now? To attain present-centered awareness of our existence, Gestalt therapy focuses on the surface of behavior by concentrating on the group member's movements, postures, language patterns, voice, gestures, and interactions with others.

Experiments With Internal Dialogues

Because a goal of Gestalt therapy is to achieve integrated function and the acceptance of aspects of one's personality that have been disowned and denied, therapists pay close attention to splits and polarities in personality function. Fantasy dialogues are meant to promote awareness of internal splits and eventual personality integration. These dialogues can take many forms, for example, dialogues between opposing sides or polarities within oneself (like tender/tough, brave/scared, masculine/feminine, loving/hateful, active/passive) or dialogues with a parent or other significant person, fantasized others, or dialogues with inanimate objects. A variety of experiments with dialogues can help members increase their awareness of the dichotomies within themselves and help them come to terms with dimensions of their personality that seem to oppose each other. Our self-concept often excludes painful awareness of the polarities within us. We prefer to think of ourselves as bright rather than dull, as kind rather than cruel, as loving rather than unloving, and as sensitive rather than indifferent. Typically, we may resist "seeing" in ourselves those parts that we do not want to accept as being part of who we are As we become more tolerant of the complexities and seeming contradictions within us, there is less of a tendency to expend energy on fighting to disown those parts of our nature that we do not want to accept. Dialogue experiments These experiments are typically used to heighten awareness of introjections and projections. Through dialogues with the different facets of oneself, a person may be able to reclaim disowned parts. Dialogue experiments are typically used to heighten awareness of introjections and projections. In introjection, we uncritically take in aspects of other people, especially parents, and incorporate them into our personality. The danger of uncritical and wholesale acceptance of another's values as our own is that it can prevent personality integration. Gestalt experiments are aimed at getting these introjections out in the open, so that we can take a good look at what we have been swallowing whole without digesting it.

Working in the Here and Now

Both aspects are essential • Leader must perform both aspects. • Process = nature of the relationship between two interacting individuals • Content = Substance, "the meat", explicit words, arguments advanced. Exp..."Get out of here".

The Therapist's Feelings

But there is an even more important clue: the therapist's own feelings in the meeting, feelings that he or she has come to trust after living through many previous similar incidents in group therapy. Experienced therapists learn to trust their feelings; they are as useful to a therapist as a microscope or DNA mapping to a microbiologist. If therapists feel impatient, frustrated, bored, confused, discouraged—any of the panoply of feelings available to a human being—they should consider this valuable data and learn to put it to work. Countertransference refers broadly to the reactions therapists have to their clients. It is critically important to distinguish between your objective countertransference, reflecting on the client's characteristic interpersonal impact on you and others, and your subjective countertransference—those idiosyncratic reactions that reflect more specifically on what you, personally, carry into your relationships or interactions.16 The former is an excellent source of interpersonal data about the client. The latter, however, says a good deal more about the therapist. To discriminate between the two requires not only experience and training but also deep self-knowledge. It is for this reason that I believe every therapist should obtain personal psychotherapy .

HELPING CLIENTS ACCEPT PROCESS-ILLUMINATING COMMENTS

Clients are always more receptive to observations that are framed in a supportive fashion. Rarely do individuals reject an observation that they distance or shut out others, or that they are too unselfish and never ask for anything for themselves, or that they are stingy with their feelings, or that they conceal much of what they have to offer. All of these observations contain a supportive message: that the member has much to give and that the observer wishes to be closer, wishes to help, wishes to know the other more intimately. Beware of appellations that are categorizing or limiting: they are counterproductive; they threaten; they raise defenses. Clients reject global accusations—for example, dependency, narcissism, exploitation, arrogance—and with good reason, since a person is always more than any one or any combination of labels. It is far more acceptable (and true) to speak of traits or parts of an individual— Sometimes group members, in an unusually open moment, make a statement that may at some future time provide the therapist with great leverage. The thrifty therapist underscores these comments in the group and stores them for later use.

TECHNIQUES OF PROCESS ILLUMINATION

Clients must first recognize what they are doing with other people (ranging from simple acts to complex patterns unfolding over a long time). • They must then appreciate the impact of this behavior on others and how it influences others' opinion of them and consequently its impact on their own self-regard. • They must decide whether they are satisfied with their habitual interpersonal style. • They must exercise the will to change. • They must transform intent into decision and decision into action. • Lastly, they must solidify the change and transfer it from the group setting into their larger life. Certain guidelines, though, may facilitate the neophyte therapist's recognition of process. Note the simple nonverbal sense data available.† Who chooses to sit where? Which members sit together? Who chooses to sit close to the therapist? Far away? Who sits near the door? Who comes to the meeting on time? Who is habitually late? Who looks at whom when speaking? Do some members, while speaking to another member, look at the therapist? If so, then they are relating not to one another but instead to the therapist through their speech to the others. Who looks at his watch? Who slouches in her seat? Who yawns? Do the members pull their chairs away from the center at the same time as they are verbally professing great interest in the group? How quickly do the group members enter the room? How do they leave it? Are coats kept on? When in a single meeting or in the sequence of meetings are they removed? A change in dress or grooming not uncommonly indicates change in a client or in the atmosphere of the entire group. An unctuous, dependent man may express his first flicker of rebellion against the leader by wearing jeans and sneakers to a group session rather than his usual formal garb. A large variety of postural shifts may betoken discomfort; foot flexion, for example, is a particularly common sign of anxiety. Indeed, it is common knowledge that nonverbal behavior frequently expresses feelings of which a person is yet unaware. The therapist, through observing and teaching the group to observe nonverbal behavior, may hasten the process of self-exploration. Assume that every communication has meaning and salience within the individual's interpersonal schema until proven otherwise. Make use of your own reactions to each client as a source of process data.12 Keep attending to the reactions that group members elicit in one another. Which seem consensual reactions shared by most, and which are unique or idiosyncratic reactions?13 Sometimes the process is clarified by attending not only to what is said but also to what is omitted:

Confluence

Confluence involves the blurring of awareness of differentiation between the self and the environment. For people who are confluent, there is no clear demarcation between internal experience and outer reality. It is a style of contact that is characteristic of group members who have a high need to be accepted and liked. Conflicts can be very anxiety producing for individuals who rely on confluence as a style of contact (Frew, 1986). Confluence makes it difficult for people to have their own thoughts and to speak for themselves and makes genuine contact next to impossible.

Contact and Disturbances to Contact

Contact involves interacting with nature and with other people without losing one's individuality • Disturbances to contact are the defenses we develop to prevent us from experiencing the present fully In Gestalt therapy contact is made by seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving. When we make optimal contact with the environment, change is inevitable. Effective contact means fully interacting with nature and with other people without losing one's sense of individuality. Miriam Polster (1999) claimed that contact is the lifeblood of growth. It entails zest, imagination, and creativity. There are only moments of this type of contact, so it is most accurate to think of levels of contact rather than a final state to achieve. After a contact experience, there is typically a separation or withdrawal to integrate what has been learned. The Gestalt therapist also focuses on disturbances to contact. From a Gestalt perspective, contact with the environment is diminished in ways that prevent us from experiencing and staying with the present in a full and real way.

Deflection

Deflection is the interruption of awareness so that it is difficult to maintain a sustained sense of contact. People who deflect attempt to diffuse contact through the overuse of humor, abstract generalizations, and questions rather than statements These styles can be either healthy or unhealthy, depending on the situation and the group member's level of awareness. Terms such as interruptions in contact or boundary disturbance are used to characterize people who attempt to control their environment. The premise in Gestalt therapy is that contact and withdrawal are both normal and healthy. Therefore, a discussion of these styles of contact focuses on the degree to which these processes are in the individual's awareness and serve adaptive purposes.

Energy and Blocks to Energy

Energy The focus is on energy within individuals and with the group as a whole Gestalt leaders pay attention to where energy is located, how it is used, and how it can be blocked Members can be encouraged to recognize how their energy is being expressed or constricted in their body Blocks to Energy Blocks to energy manifest themselves in the body in various ways Members may not be aware of their energy or where it is located Experiments can assist members in becoming aware of the ways they may be blocking their energy Unexpressed emotions can create a kind of blockage within the body. Gestalt therapists pay attention to bodily experience on the assumption that unexpressed feelings may result in some physical sensations or problems. Because members need energy to work in group sessions, Gestalt leaders pay special attention to where energy is located, how it is used, and how it can be blocked. Group members may not be aware of their energy or where it is located and may experience it in a negative way. Zinker (1978) suggests that therapy at its best is "a lively process of stoking the client's inner fires of awareness and contact". This process involves a therapeutic relationship that awakens and nourishes the client in such a way that the therapist does not become sapped of his or her own energy. Zinker maintains that it is the therapist's job to help clients locate the ways in which they are blocking energy and to help them transform this blocked energy into more adaptive behaviors. Experiments can be designed that allow members to try out various body positions. For example, if a member sits with a closed posture, the leader can invite him or her to uncross and experience the feeling, and then cross again. By inviting individuals to move out of a particular posture and experiment with a new posture, leaders can facilitate awareness. In short, paying attention to the body and energy blockages within the body can be a productive way to explore the meaning of a member's experience and perhaps reveal unspoken issues.

Fantasy Approaches

Experimenting with a diversity of fantasy situations in a group can lead to significant growth. Fantasy can promote personal awareness in a number of ways, as the following brief list suggests. Fantasy can be used when members are too threatened to deal with a problem in concrete terms. For example, members who are afraid to be assertive can imagine themselves in situations in which they are assertive. Then they can compare what they feel when they are passive with what they feel when they are able to ask for what they want. Fantasy approaches are useful in dealing with negative expectations, which often result in a sense of paralysis. Members who are afraid to express what they think and feel to someone they love can be guided through a fantasy situation in which they say everything they want to say but are afraid to express. Fantasy is a useful and safe way to explore members' fears about involving themselves in the group. For example, members can be asked to imagine the thing they most fear occurring in the group. Once a fantasy has been tried in the group, it could be carried outside of the group setting. At times members can be invited to picture themselves as they wish they were in interpersonal situations. They might share their fantasies aloud in the group as they experience themselves in powerful, alive, creative, and dynamic ways.

Paying Attention to Language

Experiments can focus on language patterns: "It" and "you" talk Questions Qualifiers and disclaimers "Can't" statements "Shoulds" and "oughts" Nonverbal language Gestalt therapy emphasizes the relationship between language patterns and personality. Words can bring us closer to what we are experiencing or distance us from what we are thinking and feeling. Becoming more aware of our speech patterns can enhance self-awareness. It should be noted, however, that paying attention to a client's language patterns requires a great deal of skill on the part of the leader. It "It" talk is a way of depersonalizing language. By using "it" instead of "I," we maintain distance from our experience. When group members say, "It's frightening to come to this group," they can be asked to change the sentence to, "I'm frightened to come to this group." Substituting personal pronouns for impersonal ones is a way of assuming responsibility for what we say. You Group participants often say things like "You feel hurt when someone rejects you." By using "you" talk, people detach themselves from whatever they may be feeling. Ask members to pay attention to the differences between this "you" statement and saying, "I feel hurt when someone rebuffs me." By changing a "you" statement to an "I" statement, we reveal ourselves, and we take responsibility for what we are saying. Beginning a sentence with the word "you" tends to put others on the defensive and allows us to disown our own experience. Questions In a Gestalt group, members are discouraged from asking questions. Questions direct attention to other people and can easily put others on the defensive. Also, questions often demand that those being questioned reveal themselves whereas those who ask questions remain safe behind their interrogation. Qualifiers and Disclaimers By paying attention to the qualifiers they attach to their statements, group members can increase their awareness of how they diminish the power of their messages. A common example is the use of "but": "I like you, but your mannerisms drive me up the wall"; "I often feel depressed, but I don't know what to do to change the situation"; "I think this group is helping me, but people outside are so different from those in here." In each of these cases the word "but" essentially discounts the statement that precedes it. Without making group members excessively self-conscious, the leader can encourage members to pay attention to the impact of the use of qualifiers and disclaimers. "Can't" Statements Group members often say "I can't" when they really mean "I won't." Sally says, "I simply can't talk to my father and tell him what Ifeel; he'd never understand me." It would be more precise and more honest for Sally to say that she won't make the attempt to talk with her father. Essentially, Sally is unwilling to (won't) take the risk or sees it as not being worth the effort. If a group leader consistently and gently insists that members substitute "won't" for "can't," he or she is helping them own and accept their power by taking responsibility for their decisions. "Shoulds" and "Oughts" Some group members seem to be ruled by "shoulds" and "oughts": "I should be interested in what others say in this group"; "I ought to care for everyone, and if I don't, I feel terrible"; "I should express only positive feelings." The list of "shouldisms," both in daily life and in a group situation, is endless. Members can at least become aware of the frequency of their "should" and "ought" remarks and of the feelings of powerlessness that accompany their use. One way of increasing one's awareness of the limitations imposed by a "should" standard is to experiment with changing phrases such as "I have to" or "I should" to "I choose to." In working with language, it is important to consider the stage of a group's development. If a leader or a member challenges someone's language during the early stages of a group, this can interfere with a sense of safety. Challenging the language of some members may result in their feeling criticized, judged, and not understood. Therefore, sensitivity and appropriate timing are essential as the leader explores with members their language patterns.

Unfinished Business

Feelings about the past are unexpressed These feelings are associated with distinct memories Feelings not fully experienced linger in the background and interfere with effective contact and functioning Unfinished business may result in self-defeating behaviors Addressing unfinished business enables one to move toward health and integration Unfinished business includes unexpressed feelings—such as resentment, hate, rage, pain, hurt, anxiety, guilt, shame, and grief—and events and memories that linger in the background and clamor for completion. Unless these unfinished situations and unexpressed emotions become figural and are dealt with, they will interfere with present-centered awareness and with our effective functioning. Because we do not sense the internal and environmental support to confront and fully experience our uncomfortable emotions, the emotions become a nagging undercurrent that prevents us from being fully alive. The Gestalt therapist might encourage expressing in the therapeutic session feelings never directly expressed before. By going beyond our creative adjustments, we make it possible to effectively address unfinished business that interferes with our present life, and we move toward health and integration.

TECHNIQUES OF HERE-AND-NOW ACTIVATION

First step: I suggest that you think here-and-now. When you grow accustomed to thinking of the here-and-now, you automatically steer the group into the here-and-now. If a member is terrified of revealing himself and fears humiliation, the therapist may bring it into the here-and-now by asking him to identify those in the group he imagines might be most likely to ridicule him. Don't be satisfied by answers of "the whole group." Press the member further. Often it helps to rephrase the question in a gentler manner, for example, "Who in the group is least likely to ridicule you?" In each of these instances, the therapist can deepen interaction by encouraging further responses from the others. For example, "How do you feel about his fear or prediction that you would ridicule him? Can you imagine doing that? Do you, at times, feel judgmental in the group? Even simple techniques of asking group members to speak directly to one another, to use second-person ("you") rather than third-person pronouns, and to look at one another are very useful. Sometimes, it is easier for group members to work in tandem or in small subgroups. For example, if they learn that there is another member with similar fears or concerns, then a subgroup of two (or more) members can, with less threat, discuss their here-and-now concerns.7 Using the conditional verb form provides safety and distance and often is miraculously facilitative. I use it frequently when I encounter initial resistance. by claiming that they feel exactly the same toward all the group members: that is, they say that they feel equally warm toward all the members, or no anger toward any, or equally influenced or threatened by all. Do not be misled. Such claims are never true. Guided by your sense of timing, push the inquiry farther and help members differentiate one another. Eventually they will disclose that they do have slight differences of feeling toward some of the members. These slight differences are important and are often the vestibule to full interactional participation. Often, when activating the group, the therapist performs two simultaneous acts: steering the group into the here-and-now and, at the same time, interrupting the content flow in the group. Not infrequently, some members will resent the interruption, and the therapist must attend to these feelings, for they, too, are part of the here-and-now. Often it is difficult for the therapist to intervene. Thus, the therapist wants to go not around obstacles but through them. Ormont puts it nicely when he points out that though we urge clients to engage deeply in the here-and-now, we expect them to fail, to default on their contract. In fact, we want them to default because we hope, through the nature of their failure, to identify and ultimately dispel each member's particular resistances to intimacy—including each member's resistance style (for example, detachment, fighting, diverting, self-absorption, distrust) and each member's underlying fears of intimacy (for example, impulsivity, abandonment, merger, vulnerability).11

Techniques:

Focus of outside to inside • Use group members as role players • "Don't be satisfied with the whole group" answer • Speak directly to member of group • Use of conditional verb, ie..."if you were not numb today", or "if you were to go on a date with___". Recognition of process • Be aware of common group tensions, ie struggle for dominance • Check for incongruence, parataxic distortion, metacommunication and displacement. Primary task versus secondary gratification • Use your own feelings genuinely, judiciously, realistically • Objective versus subjective countertransference (pg. 175).

The Evolution of Gestalt Group Therapy

Fritz Perls, one of the founders of Gestalt therapy, was highly influential in promoting his style of therapeutic practice. Perls developed many of the key concepts of Gestalt therapy, but Perls never claimed to be doing group therapy. Miriam Polster (1997) points out that Perls's work was clearly focused on interaction between himself and a client who volunteered to work in front of a group, but not within the group. She adds that Perls was not particularly interested in or adept at working with groups, and he rarely recognized the group as a presence in his work. Perls challenged clients to see how they were avoiding responsibility or avoiding feeling, and his therapeutic style was characterized by theatrics, abrasive confrontation, and intense catharsis. Contemporary Gestalt practice in the United States is very different from the style popularized by Perls (Schoenberg & Feder, 2005). This newer version, called relational Gestalt therapy, includes more support and increased kindness and compassion in therapy as compared to the confrontive and dramatic style of Perls As therapists, supervisors, and trainers, the Polsters employed a style that is supportive, accepting, and challenging. Increased attention was given to the families and communities, which are an integral part of an individual's life. Erv Polster (2008) writes about life focus communities, which is a way of taking therapy from the office into ordinary life in small groups. The practice of Gestalt therapy has softened and shifted its emphasis toward the quality of the therapist-client relationship, dialogue, empathic attunement, and tapping the client's wisdom and resources

Stages of a Gestalt Group

Gestalt group process aims to create conditions for learning about what it means to be a member of a group. Kepner notes that Gestalt group therapy can accentuate one of three contact boundaries: (1) the intrapsychic or intrapersonal (the individual's thoughts, sensations, and feelings), (2) the interpersonal (the interactions between and among group members), or (3) the group level (the processes that involve the whole group). Kepner emphasizes that the leader is committed to working with both the individual and the group for the enhancement of both. She describes the various roles of the leader in the Gestalt process group using a three-stage model.

The Role of the Relationship

Gestalt group therapists have latitude to invent their own experiments, which are basically an extension of their personality. Therapists must be grounded and in tune with themselves as well as being present for their clients. Group leaders need to be mindful of not becoming technique-bound and losing sight of their own being as they engage the client. Gestalt therapists place increasing emphasis on factors such as presence, authentic dialogue, gentleness, more direct self-expression by the therapist, decreased use of stereotypic exercises, a greater trust in the client's experiencing, and more interest in making full use of the Gestalt group process. Many who write about Gestalt therapy give central importance to a dialogic relationship marked by an "I/Thou" attitude, or the authentic meeting between people. If clients are to become genuine, they need contact with an authentic therapist. Because Gestalt therapy is part of the existential approach, the mutuality of the I/Thou encounter is seen as essential for therapy to succeed. Healing results from these nonexploitive encounters. The best experiments grow out of the trusting relationship that the leader creates. Experiments must always be a phenomenological part of the therapeutic process. The Polsters emphasize that therapists should use their own experience as an essential ingredient in the therapy process and never forget that they are far more than mere responders, givers of feedback, or catalysts who do not change themselves. Creative therapists possess a rich personal background, having opened themselves to a range of life experiences and become able to celebrate life fully (Zinker, 1978, 2008). In short, they are able to use themselves as a person as they function as a therapist. In addition to being mature and integrated people, creative therapists also possess certain capacities, abilities, and technical skills. From this discussion of the role and functions of the Gestalt group leader, it should be apparent that who the leader is as a person and how he or she functions in the group, creatively drawing on technical expertise, are the critical factors that determine the potency of leadership. Yontef and Jacobs (2014) identify several different styles of practicing Gestalt therapy, yet all share these common elements: Direct experiencing and experimenting Direct contact and personal presence Attention to what and how Here-and-now focus

Limitations of the Approach

Gestalt interventions frequently elicit participants' emotions, which may make it tempting for a leader to focus on feelings and sometimes give less attention to cognitive factors. Helping participants discover the meaning of their emotional experiences is a significant factor in producing personality changes that will extend beyond the group. Although the earlier phase of Gestalt therapy's development did not focus on cognitive processes, more recent versions of Gestalt therapy address cognitive factors and integrate the affective and cognitive dimensions of human experiencing Typically, Gestalt therapists are very active, and if they do not have the characteristics mentioned by Zinker (1978)—sensitivity, timing, inventiveness, empathy, and respect for the client—the experiments can easily boomerang. Also, the members can grow accustomed to the leader's assuming the initiative in creating experiments for them instead of coming up with some of their own experiments. Ideally, experiments in a group are co-created by the leader and the members. With an approach that can have powerful effects on members, either constructive or destructive, ethical practice requires adequate training and supervision for leaders. The most immediate limitation of Gestalt therapy or any other therapy is the skill, knowledge, training, experience, and judgment of the therapist. It is essential that leaders are able to be psychologically present as the members express emotions. If leaders are threatened by emotional intensity, they might also abandon members who are experiencing emotion. Leaders must learn to manage powerfully expressed emotions. It is essential for Gestalt practitioners to learn how to intervene in a manner that respects the member's reluctance and the lack of internal and environmental support to do more at that moment. A blend of support and the invitation to risk go a long way in creating the kind of relationship that enables clients to explore a universal tension—Iwant to change versus I want to stay the same.

Role and Functions of the Group Leader

Gestalt leaders encourage members to heighten their awareness focus on contact, awareness, and experimentation take an active role in creating experiments to assist members in gaining awareness create a safe climate that is conducive to trying out new ways of being and behaving Gestalt group leaders focus on conscious awareness, contact, and experimentation and encourage members to heighten their awareness and attend to their contact styles. The therapist models the process of useful interactions by disclosing his or her own awareness and experience (Yontef & Jacobs, 2014). Leaders can share a great deal about themselves by sticking to what they are experiencing in the moment in the group, without revealing much about themselves outside of the group. The group therapist, functioning much like an artist, invents experiments with clients to augment their range of behaviors. The leader's function is to create an atmosphere and structure in which the group's own creativity and inventiveness can emerge Gestalt therapists assume an active role by employing a wide range of interventions and experiments to help group members gain awareness and experience their internal and interpersonal conflicts fully. Gestalt therapy uses both a supportive therapeutic relationship and active methods to help members discover how they block their awareness and personal functioning The Gestalt group therapist also promotes a nurturing environment within the group. This creates a climate in which the members are encouraged to try out new ways of being and behaving. Unless the group atmosphere is perceived as being safe, members will keep themselves hidden, and therapeutic work will be limited

Applying Gestalt Therapy With Multicultural Populations

Gestalt therapists attend to what is figural for members out of their diverse backgrounds • Creative experiments can be devised that are meaningful to clients who express themselves nonverbally Clients who are culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved may find some Gestalt interventions off-putting • The emphasis on individual responsibility may not be appropriate for clients who have been oppressed Gestalt therapy pays attention to how clients view their world, and therapists attend to what is figural for members out of their diverse backgrounds. Because Gestalt therapy is practiced with a phenomenological attitude, therapists are less likely to impose their own values and cultural standards on their clients. Frew (2013) notes that Gestalt therapy can be a useful and effective approach with clients from diverse backgrounds because it takes the clients' context into account. People in many cultures give attention to expressing themselves nonverbally rather than emphasizing the content of oral communication. Some clients may express themselves nonverbally to a greater extent than they do with words. One of the advantages of drawing on Gestalt experiments is that they can be tailored to fit the unique way in which an individual member perceives and interprets his or her culture. Of course, before Gestalt procedures are introduced, especially with culturally different group members, it is essential that the clients have been adequately prepared. There are some cautions in too quickly utilizing some Gestalt experiments with clients from different cultural backgrounds. As is evident from this chapter, these interventions often lead to emotional expression. Focusing on affect has some limitations with those individuals who have been culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved, or at least not to publicly express their emotions, because doing so is viewed as a sign of weakness and a display of one's vulnerability. Although some raise concerns about using Gestalt interventions with diverse cultural groups, I think we do a disservice to group members if we decide in advance that experiential approaches will not be effective because of our expectations based on a person's cultural background.

Application: Therapeutic Techniques and Procedures

Gestalt therapy employs a rich variety of interventions designed to intensify what group members are experiencing in the present moment for the purpose of leading to increased awareness. Gestalt therapy encourages direct experience and actions as opposed to merely talking about conflicts, problems, and feelings. Moving from talking about to action is often done by the use of experiments. These experiments need to be tailored to each individual and used in a timely manner; they also need to be carried out in a context that offers a balance between support and risk. Experiments should be the outgrowth of the therapeutic encounter—an encounter grounded in the mutual experiencing of the group member and the group therapist. There are no prescribed techniques that Gestalt group leaders must follow.

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy is an existential and phenomenological approach Fritz Perls emphasized one-to-one work using the "hot seat" style in front of a group Contemporary Gestalt practice in the U.S. is called "Relational Gestalt Therapy"

Introduction

Gestalt therapy was developed by Fritz Perls and his wife, Laura, in the 1940s. It is based on the assumption that we are best understood in relation to our environment. The basic goal of a Gestalt group is to provide a context that enables members to increase their awareness of what they are experiencing and the quality of the contact they are making with others. Moment-to-moment awareness of one's experiencing, together with the almost immediate awareness of one's blocks to such experiencing, is seen as therapeutic in and of itself. Awareness, choice, and responsibility are cornerstones of practice. Gestalt therapy affirms the human capacity for growth and healing through interpersonal contact and awareness. This approach is phenomenological in that it emphasizes how we see the world, how we contribute to creating our experience, and how we organize our world and ourselves. Gestalt is also an experiential approach, and group members are able to come to grips with what and how they are thinking, feeling, and doing as they interact with others in the group. As clients acquire present-centered awareness and a clearer perception of the limitations of their style of interpersonal relating, significant unfinished business emerges. To live more fully in the present, clients need to identify and deal with anything from the past that interferes with current functioning. By reexperiencing past conflicts as if they were occurring in the present, clients expand their level of awareness and are able to integrate denied and fragmented parts of themselves, thus becoming unified and whole. Gestalt group therapists believe experiencing is more powerful than a therapist's interpretations. They do not try to explain to members why they do things, nor do they interpret the true meaning of members' experiences (Frew, 2013). Instead, therapists encourage members to discover their own meaning.

THE THERAPIST'S TASKS IN THE HERE-AND-NOW

Group therapists expend more time and effort on this task early than late in the course of the group, because as the group progresses, the members begin to share much of this task, and the here-and-now focus often becomes an effortless and natural part of the group flow. In fact, many of the norms described in the last chapter, which the therapist must establish in the group, foster a here-and-now focus. When a group member makes observations about what is happening in the group, the others often respond resentfully about the presumptuousness of elevating himself or herself above the others. Throughout the life of the group, the members are involved in a struggle for position in the hierarchy of dominance. At times, the conflict around control and dominance is flagrant; at other times, quiescent. But it never vanishes and should be explored in therapy both because it is a rich source of material and also to prevent it The therapist is an observer-participant in the group. The observer status affords the objectivity necessary to store information, to make observations about sequences or cyclical patterns of behavior, to connect events that have occurred over long periods of time. Therapists act as group historians. Only they are permitted to maintain a temporal perspective; Sometimes an inexperienced therapist may naively determine it best that some group member address an issue in the group that the leader himself feels too anxious to address. That is usually an error: the therapist has a greater ability to speak the unspeakable and to find palatable ways to say unpalatable things. Articulating the dilemma in a balanced, nonblaming fashion is often the most effective way to reduce the tension that obstructs the group's work. Group leaders need not have a complete answer to the dilemma—but they do need to be able to identify and speak to it.† A greater ability to recognize process in interactions, perhaps a form of emotional intelligence, is an important outcome of group therapy that will serve members well in life.† (Often, students observing a mature group at work are amazed by group members' high level of psychological-mindedness.) Hence, it is a good thing for members to learn to identify and comment on process. But it is important that they not assume this function for defensive reasons—for example, to avoid the client role or in any other way to remove themselves from the group work. Thus far in this discussion I have, for pedagogical reasons, overstated two fundamental points that I must now qualify. Those points are: (1) the here-and-now approach is an ahistorical one, and (2) there is a sharp distinction between here-and-now experience and here-and-now process illumination. Strictly speaking, an ahistorical approach is an impossibility: every process comment refers to an act that already belongs to the past. (Sartre once said, "Introspection is retrospection.") Not only does process commentary involve behavior that has just transpired, but it frequently refers to cycles of behavior or repetitive acts that have occurred in the group over weeks or months. It is not that the group doesn't deal with the past; it is what is done with the past: the crucial task is not to uncover, to piece together, to fully understand the past, but to use the past for the help it offers in understanding (and changing) the individual's mode of relating to the others in the present. Process commentary, like nascent oxygen, exists for only a short time; it rapidly becomes incorporated into the experiential flow of the group and becomes part of the data from which future process comments will flow.

First Tier

Here and Now feelings become primary component of the group • Immediate trumps past and outside issues • Emergence of members social microcosm • Vitality, feedback, self disclosure increase.

ProcessComments:

Here is what your behavior is like: 2. Here is how your behavior makes others feel: 3. Here is how your behavior influences the opinions others have of you: 4. Here is how your behavior influences your opinion of yourself:

Introjection

Introjection involves the tendency to accept others' beliefs and standards uncritically without assimilating them and making them congruent with who we are. During the early stages of a group, introjection is common because the members tend to look to the leader to provide structure and direction. At this phase of a group's development, members typically do not question the leader's interventions or rules. As the group reaches a working stage, members are less inclined to swallow whole the suggestions of the group leader.

Which process observation should a therapist choose?

It depends upon the needs of the group • No need to wait for all the answers before asking a process question

Contributions and Strengths of the Approach

It emphasizes the importance of contact with oneself, others, and the environment • It places a premium on the role of authentic relationship and dialogue in therapy It emphasizes field theory, phenomenology, and awareness in the "here-and-now" • It involves the use of creativity and spontaneity as a pathway to experiential learning Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, existential, and holistic model that brings a fresh and creative perspective to the practice of group work. I find that Gestalt experiments are powerful and often lead to the expression of immediate emotions and the reexperiencing of old feelings. As is the case with psychodramatic exercises, the Gestalt present-centered methods of reenacting early life experiences bring vitality both to an individual's work and to the participants of the group. The creative and spontaneous use of active experiments as a pathway to experiential learning is a key contribution of Gestalt therapy. Another distinctive feature of Gestalt therapy is its focus on the body.

DEFINITION OF PROCESS

It is useful to contrast process with content. Imagine two individuals in a discussion. The content of that discussion consists of the explicit words spoken, the substantive issues, the arguments advanced. The process is an altogether different matter. When we ask about process, we ask, "What do these explicit words, the style of the participants, the nature of the discussion, tell about the interpersonal relationship of the participants?"

First Stage

Key characteristics are identity and dependence • Activities are directed toward providing a climate of trust that supports risk-taking and making connections In the first stage (initial stage) of a group, the key characteristics are identity and dependence. Each member of the group is dependent on the way he or she is perceived and responded to by other members and the leader. The leader, functioning as a therapist, helps individuals explore questions members have about their identity in the group. The leader's activities are directed toward providing a climate of trust that will support risk-taking and making connections between individuals. Once members discover what they have in common with each other, the group is ready to work on differentiation.

Second stage

Key characteristics are influence and counterdependence Activities focus on heightening awareness of group norms encouraging members to challenge norms and express differences and dissatisfaction differentiating roles from persons In the second stage (which is similar to the transition stage), the key characteristics are influence and counterdependence. During this time of transition, the group grapples with issues of influence, authority, and control. The leader's task is to work toward increasing differentiation, divergence, and role flexibility among members. The leader assumes the role of facilitator to help members work through reactions they are having toward what is taking place in the group. Some of these facilitative activities include heightening the awareness of the norms operating in the group, encouraging members to challenge norms and openly express differences and dissatisfaction, and differentiating roles from persons.

Activating Phase:

Leader directs members towards more here and now focus

Making the Rounds

Making the rounds can be a useful technique to help a group member recognize a hidden fear. The member is encouraged to go around to each of the group members and say something that he or she usually does not communicate verbally.

The Here-and-Now

Nothing exists except the "now" The past is gone and the future has not yet arrived In Gestalt groups, members reenact past problem situations as if they were occurring now Gestalt experiments might be employed One of the most important contributions of Gestalt therapy is the emphasis on learning to appreciate and fully experience the present. The past is gone, and the future has not yet arrived, whereas the present moment is lively and exciting. In Gestalt groups the participants bring past problem situations into the present by reenacting the situation as if it were occurring now. Most Gestalt experiments are designed to put clients into closer contact with their ongoing experiencing from moment to moment, and some Gestalt groups have a very tight focus on the here-and-now. A basic ground rule of Feder's (2008a) interactive, here-and-now approach is that participants agree to devote their attention and efforts to their experiences that directly pertain to what is taking place within the group. However, there are disadvantages of this exclusive focus if the past and the future are discounted. E. Polster (1987) claims that too tight of a focus on the here-and-now will foreclose on much that matters, such as the continuity of past and present.

HELPING CLIENTS ASSUME A PROCESS ORIENTATION

Obviously, you teach through modeling your own process orientation. There is nothing to lose and much to gain by your sharing your perspective on the group whenever possible. Sometimes you may do this in an effort to clarify the meeting: "Here are some of the things I've seen going on today." Sometimes you may wish to use a convenient device such as summarizing the meeting to a late arrival, whether co-therapist or member. One technique I use that systematically shares my process observations with members is to write a detailed summary of the meeting afterward, including a full description of my spoken and unspoken process observations, and mail it to the members before the next meeting (see chapter 14). With this approach the therapist uses considerable personal and professional disclosure in a way that facilitates the therapy work, particularly by increasing the members' perceptivity to the process of the group.

Dream Work in Groups

Principles of Gestalt dream work • Dreams contain an existential message • Dreams are not interpreted by the leader • Members discover their own meaning of their dreams Guidelines for working with dreams in a group • Encourage members to relive their dreams as though they were happening now • Ask members what interests them about their dreams • Encourage members to become different parts of their dreams • Create dialogue between the various aspects of a member's dream • Ask members to suggest what they think a dream might be telling them • Invite other members to share how they are affected Consistent with its noninterpretive spirit, the Gestalt approach does not interpret and analyze dreams. Instead, the intent is to bring the dream back to life, to re-create it, and to relive it as if it were happening now. Group members do not report their dreams or talk about them in the past tense. Instead, they are asked to tell the dream as if it were happening in the present. Dreamers become immersed in their dreams with more vitality when they narrate dreams as though they are happening now. Members can be asked to identify with a segment of the dream and to narrate their dream from a subjective perspective. They may be asked to transform key elements of the dream into a dialogue and become each part of the dream. The group context allows them to play out parts of the dream as present events. Dreams contain existential messages; they represent our conflicts, our wishes, and key themes in our lives. By making a list of all the details in a dream—remembering each person, event, and mood—and then acting out ("becoming") each of these parts as fully as possible, one becomes increasingly aware of one's opposing sides and of the range of one's feelings. Eventually the person appreciates and accepts his or her inner differences and integrates the conflicting forces; each piece of work on a dream leads to further assimilation and integration. By avoiding analyzing and interpreting the dream and focusing instead on becoming and experiencing it in all its aspects, the client gets closer to the existential message of the dream. All aspects of the dream are representations of the dreamer. They also view dreams as a road to contact. As dreamers acknowledge their kinship with the many aspects of their dream, they are also extending their own sense of diversity, broadening the experience of self, and centering themselves in the world. The member can be asked to relive the dream as though it were happening right now. After dreamers have had an opportunity to recount a dream in the present tense, they can be asked any one of these questions: "What are you experiencing now?" "What was it like for you to recount your dream?" "What interests you most about the dream?" Have members choose an element of the dream that seems most like them and ask, "What element of the dream has the most energy?" It is useful to inquire if there is a troublesome part of the dream. If there is, itis important to address it early so that there is time to work on it. Members can be encouraged to "become" different parts of a dream. For example, members become all the people in the dream. Are any of them significant people? They can "become" objects in the dream, especially objects that link and join, such as telephone lines and highways. They can identify any powerful force, such as a storm. A way for members to become a part of a dream is for them to assume the identity of a person or an object by giving voice and personality to this dream element.

Projection

Projection is the reverse of introjection. In projection we disown certain aspects of ourselves by ascribing them to the environment. When we are projecting, we have trouble distinguishing between the inside world and the outside world. Those attributes of our personality that are inconsistent with our self-image are disowned and put onto other people. When transference feelings surface early in a group, these dynamics can be fruitfully explored. As members attempt to get a sense of both the leader and other members, they often attribute characteristics to these individuals that really belong to significant others in their lives. During the transition stage, when issues such as the struggle for control and power become central, projection continues to be a primary contacting style. Now participants may disown their own needs to control the group. The conflicts that occur at this phase are difficult to resolve unless those members who are projecting their need to control recognize and own their projections

Common Group Tensions

Remember that, to some degree, certain tensions are always present in every therapy group. Consider, for example, tensions such as the struggle for dominance, the antagonism between mutually supportive feelings and sibling rivalrous ones, between greed and selfless efforts to help the other, between the desire to immerse oneself in the comforting waters of the group and the fear of losing one's precious individuality, between the wish to get better and the wish to stay in the group, between the wish that others improve and the fear of being left behind. Sometimes these tensions are quiescent for months until some event wakens them and they erupt into plain view. Do not forget these tensions. They are omnipresent, always fueling the hidden motors of group interaction. The knowledge of these tensions often informs the therapist's recognition of process.

Retroflection

Retroflection consists of turning back to ourselves what we would like to do to someone else. For example, if we lash out and injure ourselves, we are often directing aggression inward that we are fearful of directing toward others. Typically, these maladaptive styles of functioning are done outside of our awareness; part of the process of Gestalt therapy is to help us discover a self-regulatory system so that we can deal realistically with the world. During the initial phase of a group, retroflection is easily observed in the tendency of some members to "hold back" by saying very little and expressing little emotion.

Nonverbal Language

Skilled group counselors listen not just to the verbal level of communication but also, and even more keenly, to the message behind the words, which is often conveyed in the voice tone, pitch, and volume, in the speed of delivery, and so forth. The group setting offers many opportunities to explore the meaning of nonverbal messages. Such explorations are especially useful when participants exhibit nonverbal cues that are incongruent with what they are saying verbally. Keep in mind that experiments are presented as invitations rather than as dictates that members must follow. Group leaders would do well to avoid making bold interpretations—for example, that keeping one's arms crossed means that one is closed—and instead encourage members to merely pay attention to the nonverbal cues they emit. It is especially important for leaders to avoid making interpretations of nonverbal behavior in cross-cultural contexts.

GROUP - AS - A - WHOLE PROCESS COMMENTARY

Some group leaders choose to focus heavily on group-as-a-whole phenomena. In their comments, these leaders frequently refer to the "group" or "we" or "all of us." They attempt to clarify the relationship between the group and its primary task, or between the group and the leader or one of its members, a subgroup, or some shared concern. Rationale of Group-as-a-Whole Process Commentary Group-as-a-whole phenomena influence the clinical course of the group in two significant ways: they can act in the service of the group, and they can impede effective group therapy. Group-as-a-whole forces impeding therapy. There are times when group-as-a-whole processes significantly impede therapy, and then commentary is necessary. In other words, the purpose of a group-as-a-whole interpretation is to remove some obstacle that has arisen to obstruct the progress of the entire group.41 The two common types of obstacle are anxiety-laden issues and antitherapeutic group norms. Anxiety-Laden Issues Often some issue arises in the group that is so threatening that the members refuse to confront the problem and take some evasive action. This evasion takes many forms, all of which are commonly referred to as group flight—a regression from the group's normal functions. For example, a group may establish a "take turns" format in which an entire meeting is devoted, sequentially, to each member of the group. "Taking turns" is a comfortable or convenient procedure, but it is an undesirable norm, because it discourages free interaction in the here-and-now. Furthermore, members are often forced into premature self-disclosure and, as their turn approaches, may experience extreme anxiety or even decide to terminate therapy. Or a group may establish a pattern of devoting the entire session to the first issue raised in that session, with strong invisible sanctions against changing the subject. Or there may be a "Can you top this?" format in which the members engage in a spiraling orgy of self-disclosure. Or the group may develop a tightly knit, closed pattern that excludes outlying members and does not welcome new ones. To intervene effectively in such instances, therapists may need to make a group-as-a-whole interpretation that clearly describes the process and the deleterious effects the taking-turns format has on the members or on the group and emphasizes that there are alternatives to this mode of opening each meeting. The point of urgency is far more elusive in group therapy than in individual treatment. As a general rule, however, an issue critical to the existence or functioning of the entire group always takes precedence over narrower interpersonal issues.

Therapeutic Goals

The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is increased awareness, which is curative and growth producing The aim is not analysis but integration of conflicting dimensions within the individual Personal change occurs when we become aware of what we are as opposed to trying to become what we are not The goals of a Gestalt group involve equal attention to both process and content The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is increased awareness, which by and of itself is seen as curative or growth producing. Awareness requires self-knowledge, responsibility for choices, contact with the environment, immersion in current experience, self-acceptance, and the ability to make contact (Yontef & Jacobs, 2014). With awareness, clients have the capacity to find within themselves the resources necessary to solve their problems and to discover the conditions that will make change possible. Without awareness, they do not possess the tools for personality change. This step-by-step process involves "reowning" parts of oneself that have been disowned and then unifying these disparate parts into an integrated whole. As clients become more fully aware, they can carry on with their own personal growth, make informed choices, and live a meaningful existence. A basic assumption of Gestalt therapy is that individuals can self-regulate, especially if they are fully aware of what is happening in and around them. Because the environments in which individuals are embedded are never completely responsive to their needs, creative adjustments occur, and aspects of the individual are lost to awareness. Therapy, individual or group, attempts to awaken the lost parts to the possibilities in the current set of field conditions. The Gestalt theory of change posits that the more we attempt to be who or what we are not, the more we remain the same. According to Beisser's (1970) paradoxical theory of change, personal change tends to occur when we become aware of what we are as opposed to trying to become what we are not. Stated slightly differently, it is important that we accept who and what we are rather than striving to become what we "should be." What we are is always the starting point for the path we might take. Erv Polster (1995) states that the therapist is called on to see clients as they are, hear them as they are, talk to them as they are, and sense them as they are—to identify with them and create a union. When we face and become what we are, we open rich possibilities for change. The challenge for group therapists is not to directly change group participants, but to engage participants and assist them in developing their own awareness of how they are in the present moment. Zinker (2008) describes the following individual goals: Integrating polarities within oneself Enriching and expanding awareness Achieving contact with self and others Learning to provide self-support instead of looking to others for this support Defining one's boundaries with clarity Translating insights into action Being willing to learn about oneself by engaging in creative experiments Learning to flow smoothly through the awareness-excitement-contact cycle without serious blockage At the group level, Zinker (2008) lists the following goals for members: Learning how to ask clearly and directly for what they want or need Learning how to deal effectively with interpersonal conflicts Learning how to give support and energy to one another Being direct with each other and speaking in the first person Finding ways to challenge members to grow while respecting their needs for space and boundaries Creating a community that is based on trust that allows for a level of deep and meaningful work Learning how to give each other feedback Learning not to give advice Using the resources within the group rather than relying on the group leader as the director In other words, an individual's work can be enlarged upon by bringing in the interpersonal dimension so that members become more keenly aware of how they are functioning in the group situation. Doing this will give members a better sense of how they function out of the group as well.

Summary

The effective use of the here-and-now focus requires two steps: experience in here-and-now and process illumination. The combination of these two steps imbues an experiential group with compelling potency. The therapist has different tasks in each step. First the group must be plunged into the here-and-now experience; second, the group must be helped to understand the process of the here-and-now experience: that is, what the interaction conveys about the nature of the members' relationships with one another. The first step, here-and-now activation, becomes part of the group norm structure; ultimately the group members will assist the therapist in this task. The second step, process illumination, is more difficult. There are powerful injunctions against process commentary in everyday social intercourse that the therapist must overcome. The task of process commentary, to a large extent (but not exclusively), remains the responsibility of the therapist and consists, as I will discuss shortly, of a wide and complex range of behavior—from labeling single behavioral acts, to juxtaposing several acts, to combining acts over time into a pattern of behavior, to pointing out the undesirable consequences of a client's behavioral patterns, to identifying here-and-now behaviors that are analogues to the members' behavior in the world at large, to more complex inferential explanations or interpretations about the meaning and motivation of such behavior.

Gestalt Techniques: Experiments

The experiment in a Gestalt group • is phenomenologically based • provides a safe context for members to increase their awareness and try out new ways of thinking and behaving • Preparing clients for experiments Techniques are exercises or procedures that are often used to bring about action or interaction, sometimes with a prescribed outcome in mind. Generally, they are not invented in the moment as an integral part of the client's process or the group environment. In contrast, experiments are phenomenologically based; that is, they evolve out of what is occurring within a member or members in the present moment, and the outcome is unknown. In Gestalt group experiments, members are invited to try out some new behavior and to pay attention to what they experience. Experiments grow out of the therapeutic relationship and provide a safe context for members to increase their awareness and try out new ways of thinking and behaving. The purpose of an experiment is to assist a member in active self-exploration Leaders prepare group exercises prior to the group meeting. Members might be asked to pair up and talk, or a catalyst might be introduced into the group to provide a specific focus for work during a session. In contrast, a group experiment is a creative happening that grows out of the group experience; as such it cannot be predetermined, and its outcome cannot be predicted Some forms that Gestalt experiments might take include dramatizing a painful memory, imagining a dreaded encounter, playing one's parent, creating a dialogue between two parts within oneself, attending to an overlooked gesture, or exaggerating a certain posture. One of the therapist's functions is to observe whether the experiment appears too safe or too risky Interactions and experiments within the group setting are not to be taken as scripts or dress rehearsals to be put to use indiscriminately. Within the Gestalt group there are options that a person might not have available in everyday circumstances or might not think of—or dare—to do. On a similar note, Feder (2008b) pays close attention to the balance of safety and danger in the Gestalt group. An experiment is always done within the context of support. Members will not be able to engage in the kind of risk-taking that an experiment entails unless they feel safe in going beyond their comfort zone and venturing into new territory. It is useful for leaders to provide members with a general understanding of the role of experiments in the group process. To increase the chances that members will benefit from Gestalt methods, group leaders need to communicate the general purpose of these interventions and to create an experimental climate. The emphasis is on inviting (not ordering) members to examine their behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts. Leaders can encourage members to look at certain incongruities, such as gaps between their verbal and nonverbal expression. The Gestalt group is characterized by assisting members to pay attention to what they are doing and experiencing in the here-and-now. Asking members to make this kind of examination of what is in the forefront for them could be perceived as challenging to some clients at times. Examples of types of experiments: • Rehearsal • The exaggeration technique • Making the rounds • Fantasy • Dialogue experiments

Organismic Self-Regulation

The figure-formation process is intertwined with the principle of organismic self-regulation, which describes the nature of the relationship between the individual and the environment. When equilibrium is "disturbed" by the emergence of a need, a sensation, or an interest, the organism will distinguish the means required to gratify this need. Organisms do their best to regulate themselves, given their own capabilities and the resources of their environment (Latner, 1986), and individuals will take actions and make contacts that will both restore equilibrium and contribute to growth and change. A main method Gestalt therapists use in working with group members involves directing participants' awareness to the "figures" that emerge from the background during a group session. The needs of an individual at a given moment influence this process. What emerges for each group member is associated with what is of interest or what he or she needs to be able to regain a sense of equilibrium or a measure of personal growth. The therapist uses the figure-formation process as the guide for the focus of exploration and work in the group.

PROCESS FOCUS: THE POWER SOURCE OF THE GROUP

The focus on process—on the here-and-now—is not just one of many possible procedural orientations; on the contrary, it is indispensable and a common denominator of all effective interactional groups. A process focus is the one truly unique feature of the experiential group; after all, there are many socially sanctioned activities in which one can express emotions, help others, give and receive advice, confess and discover similarities between oneself and others. But where else is it permissible, in fact encouraged, to comment, in depth, on here-and-now behavior, on the nature of the immediately current relationship between people? Socialization Anxiety Process commentary evokes early memories and anxieties associated with parental criticism of the child's behavior. Parents comment on the behavior of children. Although some of this process focus is positive, much more is critical and serves to control and alter the child's behavior. Adult process commentary often awakens old socialization-based anxiety and is experienced as critical and controlling. Social Norms Underlying adult interaction is an implicit contract that a great deal of immediate behavior will be invisible to the parties involved. Each party acts in the safety of the knowledge that one's behavior is not being noticed (or controlled) by the others; this safety provides an autonomy and a freedom that would be impossible if each continuously dwelled on the fact that others observe one's behavior and are free to comment on it. Fear of Retaliation We cannot monitor or stare at another person too closely, because (unless the relationship is exceedingly intimate) such intrusiveness is almost always dangerous and anxiety-provoking and evokes retribution. Power Maintenance Process commentary undermines arbitrary authority structure. Industrial organizational development consultants have long known that an organization's open investigation investigation of its own structure and process leads to power equalization—that is, a flattening of the hierarchical pyramid.

Process illumination:

The leader* is typically responsible for this process, as he/she "has a greater ability to speak the unspeakable" (pg. 134). • * Members need to as well

Field Theory

The organism must be seen in its environment or context Gestalt therapy is based on field theory, which is grounded on the principle that the organism must be seen in its environment, or in its context, as part of the constantly changing field. Everything is relational, in flux, interrelated, and in process, and Gestalt therapists pay particular attention to and explore what is occurring at the boundary between the person and the environment.

Applying Gestalt Therapy to Group Work in Schools

The personal dimensions leaders are able to bring to a group increase the involvement of young people Children and adolescents are likely to respond well to the collaborative nature of the approach Gestalt exercises are often bridges to the child's inner self Gestalt counseling, although not generally viewed as a school-based approach, has many developmentally appropriate exercises that work effectively with both children and adolescents in brief counseling contexts. Gestalt counseling offers school counselors a theoretically based approach that is conducive to brief interventions that can lead to both insight and behavior change. In this respect the Gestalt approach has some common denominators with both the existential and person-centered approaches. I think this is a main strength of Gestalt therapy, and children and adolescents are likely to respond to this collaborative spirit. Various creative activities she uses are aimed at helping children experience their feelings, their relationship with people in their environment, and approaches to help children develop a sense of responsibility for their actions. Oaklander (2006) claims that what is directly perceived, felt, and experienced is more relevant than a therapist's explanations and interpretations. She sees value in projection through art and storytelling as ways of increasing a child's self-awareness. Oaklander believes the empty chair exercise is an effective way to assist children in understanding and dealing with frustration, anger, resentment, and other unfinished business. Gestalt exercises are often bridges to the child's inner self. A major focus is to help children become aware of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how they can change themselves. Techniques from Gestalt therapy may be limited in working with some adolescent groups, especially in the case of involuntary members. Middle school and high school students are often highly self-conscious and may not take kindly to what they perceive as "weird" techniques. The manner in which group leaders introduce role-playing interventions has a great deal to do with enlisting a cooperative spirit among these group members. Instead of adolescents merely talking about problems they have in their relationships, they might be surprised by how real the interactions become when they bring interpersonal difficulties to life by using present-centered methods advocated in Gestalt therapy.

Primary Task and Secondary Gratification

The primary task of the client is, quite simply, to achieve his or her original goals: relief of suffering, better relationships with others, or living more productively and fully. Yet, as we examine it more closely, the task often becomes much more complicated. Generally one's view of the primary task changes considerably as one progresses in therapy. Sometimes the client and the therapist have widely different views of the primary task. I have, for example, known clients who stated that their goal is relief from pain (for example, from anxiety, depression, or insomnia) but who have a deeper and more problematic goal. One woman wished that through therapy she would become so well that she would be even more superior to her adversaries by "out mental-healthing" them; another client wished to learn how to manipulate others even more effectively; another wished to become a more effective seducer. These goals may be unconscious or, even if conscious, well hidden from others; they are not part of the initial contract the individual makes with the therapist, and yet they exert a pervasive influence in the therapeutic work. In fact, much therapy may have to occur before some clients can formulate an appropriate primary task. In each, the client gave priority not to the declared primary task but to some secondary gratification arising in the group: a relationship with another member, an image a client wished to project, or a group role in which a client was the most sexually desirable, the most influential, the most wise, the most superior. In each instance, the client's pathology obstructed his or her pursuit of the primary goal.

Holism

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts • Gestalt therapists are interested in the whole person Holism is one of the foundational principles of Gestalt therapy (Latner, 1986) and is expressed by this dictum: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We can only be understood to the extent that we take into consideration all dimensions of human functioning. Because Gestalt therapists are interested in the whole person, they place no superior value on a particular aspect of the individual. Gestalt practice attends to a client's thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body, and dreams as they become figural or move into the foreground for clients

The Figure-Formation Process

This process describes how the individual organizes experiences from moment to moment In Gestalt therapy the field differentiates into figure (the emerging focus of attention) and ground (the background environment). The figure-formation process tracks how some aspect of the environmental field emerges from the background and becomes the focal point of the individual's attention and interest (Latner, 1986).

The Exaggeration Technique

This technique involves becoming more aware of the subtle signals and cues we send through body language. Group members are asked to repeat and intensify a particular behavior for the purpose of bringing out-of-awareness emotional processes to awareness. Movements, postures, and gestures are exaggerated so that the meanings they communicate become clearer. By exaggerating the movement or gesture repeatedly, the person experiences the feelings associated with the behavior more intensely and becomes more aware of the inner meaning of that behavior. Often the best way to discover the aspect of ourselves that we say we would like to experience more of is to allow ourselves to stay with that part of us that we want to avoid.

Rehearsal

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage Rehearsing can also be productive when a member is anticipating some future confrontation In a Gestalt group the participants share their rehearsals with one another to become more aware of the many preparations they go through in performing their social roles. By doing so, they become more aware of how they strive to please others, of the degree to which they want to be accepted and approved, and of the extent of their efforts to avoid alienating others.

THE THERAPIST: WORKING IN THE HERE - AND - NOW

the here-and-now focus, to be effective, consists of two symbiotic tiers, neither of which has therapeutic power without the other. The first tier is an experiencing one: the members live in the here-and-now; they develop strong feelings toward the other group members, the therapist, and the group. These here-and-now feelings become the major discourse of the group. The thrust is ahistorical: the immediate events of the meeting take precedence over events both in the current outside life and in the distant past of the members. But the here-and-now focus rapidly reaches the limits of its usefulness without the second tier, which is the illumination of process. If the powerful therapeutic factor of interpersonal learning is to be set in motion, the group must recognize, examine, and understand process. It must examine itself; it must study its own transactions; it must transcend pure experience and apply itself to the integration of that experience. Thus, the effective use of the here-and-now requires two steps: the group lives in the here-and-now, and it also doubles back on itself; it performs a self-reflective loop and examines the here-and-now behavior that has just occurred. If, on the other hand, only the second part of the here-and-now—the examination of process—is present, then the group loses its liveliness and meaningfulness. It degenerates into a sterile intellectual exercise. This is the error made by overly formal, aloof, rigid therapists. Accordingly, the therapist has two discrete functions in the here-and-now: to steer the group into the here-and-now and to facilitate the self-reflective loop (or process commentary).

Third stage

• Key characteristics are intimacy and interdependence • Activities are aimed at helping members reach closure and deal with unfinished business In the third stage (which is similar to the working stage), intimacy and interdependence are the key themes. At this stage of the group's development, real contact occurs within and among members of the group. Now that the members have worked through the issues of influence, power, and authority, they are ready for a deeper level of work, both individually and with the group as a whole. The group leader is no longer the ultimate authority but now assumes the role of an experienced resource or consultant. The leader helps the group to arrive at closure and also assists members in recognizing unfinished business not worked through in the group.