GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY & GESTALT THERAPY

An experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, & that focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental & social contexts of a person's life, & the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation

RECAP AN OVERVIEW
Gestalt Therapy is another type of counselling that is based upon the existential framework Key elements include: A Phenomenological BasisYou are seeking to focus on the clients perception of reality ExperientialThe client is being asked to come to understand about what & how they are thinking, feeling, &

doing as they interact with the therapist & the other people in the world
ExistentialThe person is to take responsibility for their destiny & identity. The client is also encouraged to work in the here & now, not in the there & then AwarenessA key element in this theory is helping the client come to an awareness of what he or she is doing & Experiencing. This involves dropping those behaviours & barriers that would stop so

RECAP - CONTINUED DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES USED BY THE COUNSELOR

Playing the Projection Client acts out the role of a projection Therapist asks client if they see these qualities in themselves

Reversals
Client is directed to act out the opposite behaviour For example Someone who is motherly type who always cares for people would be asked to assume the role of a person who is more reserved, distant & less emotionally available -> therapist would then assist the person to explore the unusual role & what it feels like -> assists you in gaining access to aspects of yourself that are usually hidden/disowned.

RECAP - CONTINUED DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES USED BY THE COUNSELOR

Working with Polarity Therapist brings polarities to clients attention Clients act out each end of polarity (strong/weak, dependant/responsible, love/hate, cruel/kind)

Body Work
Clients become more aware of physical sensations Helps bring awareness to experiences that may have been blocked out Client focuses on a body sensation (i.e. breathing, voice, gesture, etc.)

RECAP - CONTINUED DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES USED BY THE COUNSELOR

Exaggeration Exercise Counsellor exaggerates mannerism of client or asks client to exaggerate mannerism in order to make client aware of true feelings Client exaggerates a movement they may not have noticed as part of their experience

Therapist may also do this with a statement the client deflected

Gestalt Approach to Dream Work Client acts out components of the dream Each component has its own speech & experiences Client plays all parts because they are symbolic of parts of clients self

EXAGGERATION EXCERCISE
In this experiment, subtle body language movements are exaggerated to make the meanings they communicate clearer By exaggerating the movement or gesture repeatedly, the person experiences more intensely the feelings associated with the behaviour & becomes more aware of its inner meaning Designed to assist you in really feeling your feelings

For example, A person feeling angry

You mention that you are feeling angry -> Start saying I am angry -> Scream your message about being angry -> Stand on top of the table & yell about your anger -> How you are feeling & what new awareness you are experiencing -> e.g. standing on chair & yelling -> awareness of being angry at your school teacher who punished you -> therapist would explore this experience with you to assist you to integrate the disowned part (anger, shame, sadness) into the whole of you being

GESTALT APPROACH TO DREAM WORK

In Gestalt therapy the meaning of the dream needs to surface from the client Intention of the counsellor is to facilitate this process with the counselee to enrich their awareness of the unique meaning of the dream images & not to interpret & analyse dreams Starting point to work is to invite the counsellee to tell the dream in the first person using here & now language Some broad guidelines for working with the counsellee on a dream are:

Check out the immediate post-dream feeling

Give the counsellee the choice of where to start Stay with the process of the dream & the telling of the dream rather than the content Begin where there is most energy, but note where there are uctuations in energy Powerful material can be evoked, so it is important that adequate time is left at the end of the session to ground the counselee & debrief

EMPTY CHAIR TECHNIQUE

When you go see a Gestalt therapist, the office will usually have an extra chair--an empty chair. When the client expresses a conflict with another person, through this technique, the client is directed to talk to that another person who is imagined to be sitting in an empty chair beside or across the client. Outcomes Cognitive change Through this process, client will come to an understanding about how the imaginery person will be thinking about the same issues. He also learns that whether he was projecting any thoughts on the other person. Behavioral change client will come out with new behaviors in the supportive environment of the therapy and then they expand their awareness. More than passively accepting the environment, he will start taking stand on a critical issue and making choices that will result in getting what he wants. Affective change the client feels capable of dealing with surprises he encounters in everyday life.

Role Play

Fritz Perlz Gloria Counselling

CASE BACKGROUND

Gloria is a 30 year who was a Divorcee. She Volunteered for American Psychological s Association Three Approaches to Psychotherapy program. She had Counselling sessions with Albert Eillis, Carl Rogers and Fritz Perls. We are focusing on the Gloria being counselled by Fritz Perlz based on Gestalt Therapy.

CASE ANALYSIS GLORIA & PERLS, 1965

Process Followed
Being Present Unfinished Business Experiments Strengths
Confused her, Was aware, Focused on that to understand her expression 7:03 8:35(Non-Verbal Behavior) Short Interview Gloria was resistant Perls looked for other emerging Gestalt. (Exaggerating) Exploration away from here and now, so Perls moves on 4:10 6:10 (Fantasy Exploration)

Techniques Used
Non-Verbal Behavior. Exaggerating Fantasy Exploration Playing the projection.

Projects her own attributes to Fritz Transference / Empathizing (12:10 -14:00). (Playing the Projection)

CASE ANALYSIS GLORIA & PERLS, 1965

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, And you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful. If not, it can't be helped.

Case Studies

Case 1:

Trever and Doubt

CASE BACKGROUND

Was there someone out there who might in fact be an even better match?

Trevor was in a relationship with a woman, and had even proposed marriage to her. He felt that their values were aligned, that they loved each other, and that they could have a good life together

But he was still not completely certain that she was the right one He kept trying to overcome his doubt - tell himself that this was not rational, or reasonable, or helpful. He tried to think about the positives about her. But the doubt kept surfacing, and undermining their relationship.

CASE ANALYSIS
Process Followed
Being Present Unfinished Business Experiments Strengths
Trevers father had a lifelong affair with another woman. So he grew up with this triangulation (Field theory orientation) Counsellor invites Trever to play a conversation with his father expressing his father how their relationship affected him as a child and how it continues to haunt him. (Unfinished Business) The Counsellor also invited him to notice his feelings sadness, anger - as he spoke to them.(Bring Awareness) By inviting him to notice his experience in the present, it allowed him to get some support in the therapy, and to move his energy in his body. (Being in Present)

Techniques Used
Field Theory orientation of Gestalt. Body Work Working with polarities Playing the projection.

CASE ANALYSIS
Process Followed
Being Present Unfinished Business Experiments Strengths Working towards integration of polaritiesconfidence/commitment, and doubt/uncertainty. Imagine talking to a friend, and being a doubting kind of a person -Externalizing and owning the voice of doubt in the head.(Experiments)

Trever started doing the opposite - telling the friend how she should in fact have more faith.
He was now speaking with the voice of faith. Thus whenever Trever hears the voice of doubt, he will be able to also listen to the voice of faith, which will counter the undermining effect of doubt.(Strengths)

Techniques Used
Field Theory orientation of Gestalt. Body Work Working with polarities Empty chair-Cognitive outcome

Case 2:

Bringing the devil and God together

CASE BACKGROUND

Angelica was a gynaecologist ,had one child but was deeply afraid to have another child. She helped deliver babies as well as perform abortions. At that time she didn't feel anything but now she could feel the pain of performing those abortions the emotional impact of aborting babies for over a decade. She had a miscarriage recently saw it as a punishment. She said she felt like a devil and didnt deserve to have any more children. She said that she felt her womb was black in colour.

CASE ANALYSIS
Techniques Used
Working with polarities Body Work When counsellor asks her if she believed in god she said she didnt have any spiritual beliefs. He points out that if she believed in a devil, there must be god somewhere.(Nature of polarities Gestalt orientation towards holism) Counsellor asks her to select two objects, representing devil and god. She held onto the devil saying that the god was asleep but she wanted it to wake up. She kept banging on the floor wanting it to wake up by itself. Counsellor comes as a god force and placed it upright.(Experiment) Suddenly she felt tired. Counsellor suggests her to have a little sleep. He suggested that when she woke, she would be able to feel the life-force stirring on her womb. When she woke she felt warmth in her body. She placed the devil behind the god a perfect symbol of integration. (Body Work)

Case 3: The Angry Rash

CASE BACKGROUND

Lian had a skin rash on her face which she couldn't get rid of. She was young - early 20s, and already meditated.

She had tried many health treatments, but nothing had got rid of it.
She was a quiet person, and said people often didn't notice her, except for her rash. Counsellor asked about some contextual information - her life, her stress levels, her healthy, diet, exercise, and family.

CASE ANALYSIS
Techniques Used
Playing the projection Body Work Counsellor asked her to imagine that she was the rash, to describe herself. (Playing the projection) She said things like: I am red I cant hide I am sensitive I wont go away I am pushing people away I am ugly I am inflamed When she made the statements, she reported feeling sensitive, hot, and uncomfortable.

CASE ANALYSIS

Exploring the Statements

Counsellor asks tell me about red, and helped her to explore what red meant in her life. She describes about a sad memory of Chinese new year, with lots of red colour around, but her father did

not return home.

Other statements also yielded stories. When she talked about hiding, she expressed how she wanted to hide from her mother, who beat her. When asked about pushing people away she explains- she was a very kind person, who always wanted to do things for other. But when explored deeper, it became apparent that she used being the giver in relationship to not allow people close to her. To accept from others means to let them come closer. The one that yielded a lot of power was pushing people away.

CASE ANALYSIS

Experiment
Counsellor asked her to say that to him directly: I want to push you away. This brought up a lot of energy, once she got over her shyness. Counsellor also invited her to push against his hands, so she could embody the pushing away. She did this

tentatively at first, and then more and more strongly. All her energy came through her hands. (Body Work)
When asked how she felt, she said she felt anger. So counsellor worked with her embodying her anger. After couple of sessions, she reported that her rash had mostly cleared up, and that she was able to be more assertive in her life and relationships.

Presented by, Group 2

Thank You!

Aishwarya Anand KV Anand MS Anand Nambiar Ankur Baj Karthick S Ramyaa Ramesh Surya Murali Vijay Krishnan A