Chapter 8

A contribution of the Gestalt approach is that it

Deals with the past in a lively manner by bringing relevant aspects into the present.

A major function of the therapist is to make interpretations of clients' behavior so that they can begin to think about their patterns.

False

Dreams contain existential messages, and each piece of dream work leads to assimilation of disowned aspects of the self.

False

Gestalt techniques are primarily aimed at teaching clients to think rationally.

False

Recent trends in Gestalt practice include more emphasis on confrontation, more anonymity of the therapist, and increased reliance on techniques.

False

Resistance to contact refers to coping processes we develop that often end up preventing us from experiencing the present in a full and real way.

False

The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is adjustment to society.

False

The main founder of Gestalt therapy is

Fritz Perls

Which of the following is a shortcoming of Gestalt therapy as it is applied to working with culturally diverse populations?

Gestalt methods can lead to a high level of intense feelings would be used with clients who have been culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved and to avoid openly expressing feelings.

According to the Gestalt view, awareness

Is by itself therapeutic.

Which is NOT true of Gestalt therapy?

The focus is on the "why" of behavior.

Blocked energy can be considered a form of defensive behavior.

True

Gestalt therapy is well suited for group counseling, especially when there is a here-and-now emphasis within the group.

True

One of the functions of the therapist is to pay attention to the client's body language.

True

The founder of Gestalt therapy contends that a frequent source of unfinished business is resentment.

True

Gestalt therapy can best be characterized as

an experiential therapy

The major focus of Gestalt therapy is on

assisting the client to become aware of how behaviors that were once part of creatively adjusting to past environments may be interfering with effective functioning and living in the present.

The process of blurring the differentiation between the self and the environment is

confluence

The process of distraction, which makes it difficult to maintain sustained contact, is

deflection

The impasse is the point in therapy at which clients

experience a sense of 'being stuck.'

Which of the following is not a key concept of Gestalt therapy?

intellectual understanding of one's problems.

The tendency to uncritically accept others' beliefs and standards without assimilating them to make them congruent with who we are is

introjection

The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is to help clients

move from environmental support to self-support.

Gestalt therapy encourages clients to do all of the following except

not pay attention to their own nonverbal messages.

The process of turning back to ourselves what we would like to do to someone else is

retroflection