Gestalt Therapy

Question 1

What is Gestalt used for?

Answer 1

Deep Seated Emotional Distress

Question 2

When is Gestalt Therapy used?

Answer 2

1. Symptoms of unresolved childhood abuse and neglect (abandonment)
2. Growth group counselling
3. Clients with repressed emotions who don’t seem to learn from experience.
4. Couples and family therapy for people dealing with crises or relations inadequacy.
5. Clients with PTSD preventing intimacy with significant others
6. High functioning clients who can tolerate at least mild confrontation and role play.

Question 3

What was the most significant contributions of Gestalt Therapy to the counselling profession?

Answer 3

Immediacy. When clients are talking about the past it is important to bring them to the hear and now.

Question 4

Another contribution is….

Answer 4

working with unfinished businesss (unresolved emotions, relationships and integrating fragmented or disowned parts (disassociated experiences, denied reactions etc.)

Question 5

You can do this by

Answer 5

Empty Chair Techniques…..and talk to the parts as though they are independent people.

Question 6

Also known as

Answer 6

Full Blown Psychodrama in which clients act out different events, relationships and situations to reconnect with dissociated emotions

Question 7

Another way is

Answer 7

Multimodal, multisensory reviews to facilitate recall or intense post-traumatic material. Clients usually have gaps in their memories

Question 8

name the 4 tracks

Answer 8

Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
affective
Cognitive

Question 9

Another way is to have clients

Answer 9

take on other roles or attitudes to understand roles relationships and events

Question 10

You can use Conflict Markers to

Answer 10

raise the clients own levels of awareness regarding what they are thinking feeling and doing. You can draw attention to any inconsistencies between verbal and paraverbal or nonverbal communication

Question 11

You must ensure as a therapist that you model

Answer 11

openness, awareness and honestly. You relate in very personal and direct ways, self-disclosing your own emotions

Question 12

Gestalt is not concerned with why but rather

Answer 12

What and How? Observations are made immediately and directly pertaining not only to their responses of the clients but their own experiences

Question 13

Gestalt Therapissts design experiments

Answer 13

to increase self-awareness and reduce habitual responses. Try this and see what you experience. Silence is worth while exploring. Focus on deepening the experience and making statements like stay with it.