Ch 8: Gestalt Therapy
Multicultural Considerations
1. Approach can be implemented in a culturally-aware manner 2. Difficult to use with clients culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved 3. Important to consider cultural ramifications of directly addressing parents and people of power
Define Gestalt (term)
German word meaning pattern, whole or configuration. To gestalt something is to endeavor to grasp it as a while. (painting, social event, etc.)
Empirical support for Gestalt therapy is: a. weak. b. welldeveloped. c. becoming stronger. d. unavailable.
c. becoming stronger.
Who among the following is not considered a relational Gestalt therapist? a. Fritz Perls b. Laura Perls c. Miriam Polster d. Erving Polster
a. Fritz Perls
Which of the following is not one of Miriam Polster's three stages in her integration sequence? a. Reunification b. Discovery c. Assimilation d. Accommodation
a. Reunification
The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is: a. attaining awareness and contact with the environment. b. to understand why we feel as we do. c. to uncover repressed material. d. to help clients develop better social skills.
a. attaining awareness and contact with the environment.
According to the Gestalt perspective, if people do not remember their dreams: a. they may be refusing to face what is wrong with their lives. b. that suggests they have no internal conflicts. c. they are sound sleepers. d. they lack creativity.
a. they may be refusing to face what is wrong with their lives.
Often Greta, who struggles to feel good about herself, comes to sessions with slouched posture. In order to help Greta gain a clearer understanding of the inner meaning of her slouched posture, a Gestalt therapist might: a. ask Greta to exaggerate her poor posture, which is likely to intensify her feelings attached to it. b. have Greta undergo hypnosis. c. ask Greta to free associate to the words "slouched posture." d. refer her to an orthopedic surgeon to rule out scoliosis.
a. ask Greta to exaggerate her poor posture, which is likely to intensify her feelings attached to it.
One of the main contributions of the Gestalt approach is its: a. behavioral training models. b. emphasis on learning to appreciate and fully experience the present moment. c. attempt to remain focused on the past. d. ability to allow the client to remain oblivious to his or her behavior.
b. emphasis on learning to appreciate and fully experience the present moment.
The empty chair technique: a. assists clients in deciding what chair they like. b. is a vehicle for the technique of role reversal. c. allows clients to internalize a role and not share. d. does not help resolve unfinished business.
b. is a vehicle for the technique of role reversal.
According to Gestalt theory, people use avoidance in order to: a. help assist them in facing unfinished business. b. keep from feeling uncomfortable emotions. c. help them work to change. d. help express feelings openly.
b. keep from feeling uncomfortable emotions.
The Gestalt therapist: a. freely makes interpretations for the client. b. pays attention to the client's nonverbal language. c. is mainly nondirective. d. helps the client understand why he or she is behaving in self-defeating ways.
b. pays attention to the client's nonverbal language.
In Gestalt theory, the experiment is: a. a specific technique of therapy. b. tailored to fit the client's unique needs and presented in an invitational manner. c. a ready-made exercise used to achieve a behavioral goal. d. a scientific procedure to assess the effectiveness of therapy.
b. tailored to fit the client's unique needs and presented in an invitational manner.
A critical difference between early Gestalt therapy and relational Gestalt therapy is the: a. emphasis on contact. b. approach to confrontation. c. use of techniques. d. focus on the figure formation process.
b. approach to confrontation.
__________ are preplanned activities that can be used to elicit emotion, produce action, or achieve a specific goal. a. Cathartic events b. Faulty experiments c. Exercises d. Conflicting opinions
c. Exercises
A teenage girl is angry with her parents and cuts on her arm. In Gestalt terms, she is most likely engaging in: a. introjection. b. projection. c. retroflection. d. confluence.
c. retroflection.
__________ grow out of the interaction between client and therapist and emerge within this dialogic process. a. Exercises b. Figureformations c. Fantasies d. Experiments
d. Experiments
Which of the following aspects of a client's use of language would a Gestalt therapist not focus on? a. "It" talk b. "You" talk c. Questions d. Semantics
d. Semantics
The five different kinds of contact boundary disturbances include all of the following, except: a. retroflection. b. projection. c. introjection. d. introflection.
d. introflection.
Prerequisites for good contact involves all of the following except: a. zest. b. creativity. c. imagination. d. projection.
d. projection.
Gestalt therapy is a form of: a. Freudian psychoanalytic therapy. b. neo-Freudian analytic therapy. c. behavior therapy. d. existential therapy.
d. existential therapy.
true or false A Gestalt therapist pays attention to ways the client uses language.
true
true or false A current trend in Gestalt therapy is toward greater emphasis on the client/therapist relationship rather than on techniques.
true
true or false Blocked energy is a form of defensive behavior.
true
true or false In Gestalt terms, awareness refers to our connectedness to our external and internal worlds.
true
Fritz Perls (1893-1970)
-Berlin-Jewish-lower middle class -Problem child, failed 7th grade twice & expelled -MD in Psychiatry -After WWI-worked in hospital for Brain Damaged -Soldiers-realized view humans as a whole rather than sum of discreet parts -Analysis with Reich-Body work model 1946-came to USA -Big Sur, California - Esalen Institute -Married Laura Perls in 1930 -Founded New York Institute of Gestalt Therapy
Other names associated with Gestalt Therapy
1. Max Wertheimer (1880-1943): focus on client awareness 2. Kurt Koffka (1886-1941): concerned with definition of gestalt 3. Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967): focused on humanness
Gestalt Therapy define by Perls
Perls described his view of human nature by noting that the person or organism always works as a whole: We have not a liver or a heart. We are liver and heart and brain and yet, even theis is wrong ---- we are not a summation of parts but a coordination of the whole. We do not have a body, we are a body, we are somebody" "Gestalt counseling is being in touch with the obvious, the human being, the wholeness of his/her frailties, strengths, weaknesses, joys, and sorrows. "Reality is nothing but the sum of all awareness as you experience the here and now."
__________ involves blurring the differentiation between the self and the environment. a. Confluence b. Deflection c. Retroflection d. Projection
a. Confluence
Which of the following is not true about the Gestalt view of the role of confrontation in therapy? a. It is not possible to be both confrontational and gentle with clients. b. It is important to confront clients with the ways they are avoiding being fully alive. c. Confrontation does not have to be aimed at negative traits. d. Confrontation should be a genuine expression of caring.
a. It is not possible to be both confrontational and gentle with clients.
In Gestalt therapy, the relationship between client and counselor is seen as: a. the heart of therapy. b. a place for the therapist to work on personal issues. c. not being an I/Thou interaction. d. technique bound.
a. the heart of therapy.
When a client recognizes he or she has a choice describes which stage of Miriam Polster's threestage integration sequence? a. Discovery b. Accommodation c. Assimilation d. Retroflection
b. Accommodation
Which technique takes an anticipated event and brings it into the present moment to act out? a. Emptychair b. Future projection c. Internal dialogue d. Making the rounds
b. Future projection
A Gestalt technique that is most useful when a person attempts to deny an aspect of his or her personality (such as tenderness) is: a. making the rounds. b. the reversal exercise. c. the rehearsal exercise. d. the empty chair technique.
b. the reversal exercise.
Which of the following is not true about Fritz Perls? a. He was the main originator and developer of Gestalt therapy. b. During his childhood, he was a model student. c. He was influenced by psychoanalytic concepts. d. He took issue with Freud's theory on a number of grounds.
b. During his childhood, he was a model student.
Which of the following is not one of the Gestalt group leader's roles? a. Designing experiments for group members b. Evoking group catharsis c. Engaging in self-disclosure d. Facilitating contact in the group setting
b. Evoking group catharsis
Erving Polster believes that storytelling: a. is always a form of resistance. b. can be the heart of the therapeutic process. c. is acceptable only if one's client is a writer. d. is an indication that one's client is a pathological liar.
b. can be the heart of the therapeutic process.
When a client learns how to influence his or her environment describes which stage of Miriam Polster's threestage integration sequence? a. Discovery b. Accommodation c. Assimilation d. Retroflection
c. Assimilation
Which of the following Gestalt techniques involves asking one person in a group to speak to each of the other group members? a. The rehearsal exercise b. The reversal technique c. Making the rounds d. The exaggeration technique
c. Making the rounds
When a person experiences an internal conflict (namely a conflict between top dog and underdog), which of the following techniques would be most appropriate? a. Making the rounds b. The reversal technique c. The internal dialogue exercise d. The rehearsal exercise
c. The internal dialogue exercise
Mariah tells her therapist, a Gestaltist, that she dreamt she got married to a pit bull and felt uneasy about telling her parents that she married a dog. When her parents discovered their son-in-law was a pit bull, they disowned her and suddenly became dogs themselves. In response to this dream, Mariah's therapist: a. may need to contact a psychiatric hospital (and possibly an animal shelter) since it is likely Mariah unconsciously desires to marry a dog. b. should interpret the dream for her client. c. should assist her client in reliving the dream as though it was happening in the now and have her become each part of the dream. d. should encourage her client to forget the dream since it was meaningless.
c. should assist her client in reliving the dream as though it was happening in the now and have her become each part of the dream.
According to Gestalt theory, all of the following are true about contact except: a. contact is necessary for change and growth to occur. b. one maintains a sense of individuality as a result of good contact. c. withdrawal after a good contact experience indicates neurosis. d. contact is made by seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving.
c. withdrawal after a good contact experience indicates neurosis.
It is essential that counselors establish a relationship with their clients, so that the clients will: a. be less divulging during an assessment. b. be less focused on the here and now. c. feel trusting enough to participate in the learning that can result from Gestalt experiments. d. be more willing to be involved in process-oriented diagnosis.
c. feel trusting enough to participate in the learning that can result from Gestalt experiments.
Field theory asserts that: a. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. b. human beings have a innate capacity to self regulate. c. the organism must be seen in its environment, or in its context, as part of the constantly changing field. d. phenomenological inquiry is the key to behavior change.
c. the organism must be seen in its environment, or in its context, as part of the constantly changing field.
Because of his need to be liked, Jose makes careful efforts to get along with everyone and minimize interpersonal conflicts. Which boundary disturbance is Jose exhibiting? a. Introjection b. Projection c. Retroflection d. Confluence
d. Confluence
Which of the following is not true about Gestalt techniques? a. "Exercises" are readymade techniques. b. "Experiments" grow out of the interaction between therapist and client. c. Clients need to be prepared for their involvement in Gestalt techniques. d. Experiments are always carried out during the therapy session, rather than outside it.
d. Experiments are always carried out during the therapy session, rather than outside it.
The paradoxical theory of behavior change suggests: a. we change by setting future-oriented goals. b. clients should pay particular attention to becoming the person they wish to be. c. careful attention should devoted to changing behavior in the moment it is happening. d. authentic change occurs more from being who we are than from trying to be who we are not.
d. authentic change occurs more from being who we are than from trying to be who we are not.
Contemporary Gestalt therapists view client resistance as a: a. way that clients avoid confrontation. b. sign of poor motivation for therapeutic work. c. therapy interfering force that needs to be overcome. d. creative adjustment to a situation and something to be respected.
d. creative adjustment to a situation and something to be respected.
A contribution of this therapeutic approach is: a. it enables intense experiencing to occur over a long period of time. b. it can be a relatively long therapy. c. it stresses talking about problems, as opposed to doing and experiencing. d. the exciting way in which the past is dealt with in a lively manner by bringing relevant aspects into the present.
d. the exciting way in which the past is dealt with in a lively manner by bringing relevant aspects into the present.
true or false According to Perls, awareness of and by itself is not sufficient to lead to change; clients must also put their experiences into some type of cognitive framework if change is to happen.
false
true or false Genuine knowledge is the product of what the person understands of the situation of another.
false
true or false Gestalt theory is best considered as a form of psychoanalytic therapy.
false
true or false Gestalt therapy focuses on the cognitive aspects of therapy.
false
true or false Gestalt therapy is designed for individual counseling, and it typically does not work well in groups.
false
true or false Gestaltists typically ask why questions in the attempt to get clients to think about the source of their problems.
false
true or false One of the contributions of Gestalt therapy is the vast empirical research that has been done to validate the specific techniques used.
false
true or false Retroflection involves doing to others what we would like them to do to us.
false
true or false Since Gestalt therapy focuses on the here-and-now, the past is neither explored nor given emphasis.
false
true or false The Gestalt approach to dream work consists of the therapist interpreting the meaning of the symbols in the dream.
false
true or false The Gestalt therapist typically uses diagnosis and interpretation as a basic part of the therapeutic process.
false
true or false The goal of Gestalt therapy is to solve basic problems, to resolve one's polarities, and to help the individual to adjust to his or her environment.
false
true or false Therapy is based upon the successful resolution of the transference relationship.
false
true or false Although Perls used a highly confrontational approach in dealing with client avoidance and resistance, the confrontational model is not representative of contemporary Gestalt therapy.
true
true or false Both contact and withdrawal are necessary and important to healthy functioning.
true
true or false Gestalt group therapists use experiments to encourage clients to move from talking about action to taking action.
true
true or false Gestalt techniques can be considered experiments.
true
true or false Gestalt therapies view a client's avoidance behavior as related to unfinished business.
true
true or false Gestalt therapy is lively and promotes direct experiencing rather than the abstractness of talking about situations.
true
true or false Gestalt therapy makes use of a wide variety of techniques that are designed to increase the client's awareness of his or her present experiencing.
true
true or false In Gestalt therapy, a client's resistance is welcomed and used to deepen their therapeutic work.
true
true or false In the Gestaltist view, unfinished business is best explored in the present.
true
true or false Most of the Gestalt techniques are designed to intensify one's experiencing.
true
true or false Part of success in using Gestalt techniques is contingent upon preparing clients for these techniques.
true
true or false People who rely on retroflection tend to inhibit themselves from taking action out of fear of embarrassment, guilt, and resentment.
true
true or false Since Gestalt therapists believe that questions have a tendency to keep the questioner hidden, safe, and unknown, they often ask clients to change their questions into statements.
true