Gestalt Therapy

gestalt-therapy techniques are designed to help the client

(both a & b) expand awareness of here and now, intensify feelings and experiences

the founders of Gestalt therapy include

Fritz and Laura Perls (c & d)

in gestalt therapy, the relationship between client and counselor is seen as

a joint venture, existential counselor, i/thou (all of these options)

the basic goal of gestalt therapy is

attaining awareness, and with it greater choice

confluence

blurring of the differentiation between self and the environment. absence of conflict, wanting to blend in

prerequisites for good contact are...

clear awareness, full energy, ability to express oneself

boundary

connect and separate, contact and withdrawl

_____ is necessary if ____ and _____ are to occur

contact is necessary if change and growth are to occur

therapists role

develop awareness, experiencing how they are in the moment, encourage clients to attend to sensory awareness in the present moment, work on i/thou and here and now, encourage clients to try new things

current gestalt emphasizes

dialogue between client and therapist, focus on the NOW

3 parts of therapy

discovery, accommodation, assimilation

projection

disown aspects of ourselves by assigning them to the environment, seeing things in others that we refuse to see in ourselves

retroflection

doing to ourselves what we would like someone else to do to us, ex self harm

limitations for multicultural counseling

emotionally reserved clients may not want to dive into experiments,

holism

emphasis is on integration, how parts fit together, how individual makes contact with the environment

limitations/critisms

emphasis on confrontation and deemphasis on cognitive factors of personality, ability to abuse power

field theory suggests that

everything in human experience is relational and in constant flux

without proper training, Gestalt therapists may

evoke catharsis without having the ability to work through it with their client, design faulty experiments, use ready-made techniques inappropriately, damage the therapeutic relationship (all of these options)

gestalt therapy is ________ in nature

existential-phenomenological, focusing on relationship with the environment, interpersonal contact and insight

blocked energy

form of resistance, transform energy into adaptive behaviors

gestalt therapy founders

fritz and laura perls

gestalt goal is to ________

gain awareness

field theory

gestalt therapy is based on field theory, grounded on the principle that the organism must be seen in its environment or in context as part of the constantly changing field

multicultural contributions

helpful in integrating polarities, many ways to incorporate creative therapies, nonverbal behaviors may emphasize unspoken content of verbal communication

figure formation process

how a person organizes the environment from moment to moment, how does one aspect emerge to become the focal point of interest

perls emphasizes the ____ over the _____

how over the why

unfinished business

incomplete directions seek completion, individuals become preoccupied, resulting in compulsive behavior, wariness, oppressive energy, self-defeating behavior

a healthy contact experience involves

interacting with others while maintaining a sense of self, creativity, and maintaining balance (all but d)

According to Gestalt therapy, people use avoidance in order to

keep themselves from facing unfinished business, keep from feeling uncomfortable emotions, keep from having to change (all of the above)

contributions

lively therapy, importance of contact with oneself, others and environment, emphasis on field theory, authentic relationship, creative and spontaneous, focus on the present

gestalt- 2 personal agendas

moving the client from environmental support to self-support, reintegrating the disowned parts of personality

the gestalt therapist

pays attention to the clients nonverbal language

organismic self-regulation

process in which equilibrium is disturbed by the emergence of a need, sensation, or interest, individuals can take action and make contacts to restore equilibrium

deflection

process of distraction so it is difficult to maintain sense of contact, deflect through sense of humor, abstract generalizations, questions rather than statements, speak through and for others

exercises vs experiments

ready-made techniques that are sometimes used to make something happen in a therapy session, achieve a goal. Experiments grow out of the interactions between client and therapist, therapist considered the cornerstone of experiential learning

experiments in gestalt are

spontaneous, one-of-a-kind, relevant to a particular moment and development of figure-formation process

impasse

stuck point, time when external support is not available, customary way of being doesnt work

resistance to contact, boundary disturbances

styles people employ to control their environment

introjection

tendency to uncritically accept other's beliefs and standards without assimilating them to make them congruent with who they are

from a multicultural perspective, a limitation of gestalt therapy is

tends to promote high levels of feelings, highly focused on direct expression of feelings (b&c)

top dog vs. underdog

top dog is authoritative, righteous, demanding "critical parent", underdog is the victim, defensive, apologetic, powerless

client's experience in therapy

truth is a result of shared and phenomenologically refined experience of therapist and client, active participants

gestalt therapy- emphasis is on the ____ and the ______

what and how of experiencing in the here and now