People associated with Gestalt therapy?
Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, Paul Goodman
Background:
“oriented to fostering growth rather than remediating pathology” aka: experiencing things in the moment
Phenomenology:
- our interpretation of our immediate experiences creates our reality
- objective reality cannot be known
- we perceive through the personal bias of our CURRENT need
Holistic:
humans are self-regulating, cannot be understood apart from their environment, cannot break the psyche into parts
Gestalt & Field Theory:
perceive in wholes; perceive through contrast (ex: happy/sad); can only perceive one clear figure at a time
What is the function (motivation) of the psyche?
- participate continuously in a self-regulation process of need fulfillment aimed at maintaining organismic balance (ex: whack a mole)
- Organismic self-regulation
- fulfillment of one’s positive potential
Organismic balance:
- needs arise as FIGURE from the GROUND
- organism mobilizes energy to satisfy need
- if satisfied, the FIGURE recedes as a new figure emerges
- dynamic process
Organismic self-regulation:
- strive for balance in meeting of your own needs, attending to figures
- requires knowing & owning, identifying with what one senses, feels emotionally, observe, needs or wants, & believes (organismic experience)
What is the structure of the psyche?
- Ground awareness
- Foreground
- Psyche contains potential for every human quality
- at birth, infant experiences self as undifferentiated from environment
What is ground awareness?
- all phenomenologically perceived info.
- personality structures: constant set of constructs, attitudes, & beliefs (thoughts) about the indv & env which exists as part of the person’s ground
- elements are present in ground due to learning, including how to effectively fulfill needs
What is the foreground?
which the current need or figure emerges
The psyche contains potential for every human quality?
- can become polarized
- disowned aspects become chronically placed in ground-never become figure
- ex: can be hitler or mother theresea
At birth, how does the infant experience self as undifferentiated from the environment?
- does NOT mean separate or isolated from env
- an organism’s boundary belongs to BOTH the organism & the environment
Can the individual exist without interacting with the environment?
NO! The two are inextricably linked.
What is the counselor’s role?
- supportive & confrontational
- fully accept client in a manner with the paradoxical theory of change
- immediacy
- bring contact disturbances to client’s attention
- Here & Now–> facilitate dialog & contact
- therapist & client co-direct work of therapy
- self-disclosing: of immediate & personal experience
What is the clients role?
- attune oneself to the continuum of awareness
- commit to here & now
- own everything
- commit to meaningful dialog
- avoid questions
- take risks
- embrace personal responsibility
What is the first stage?
- orient client to the gestalt process of experiencing here & now
- initiate contact between counselor & client
- intro to experience of working with awareness within therapeutic dyad
What is the second stage?
in-depth exploration of contact disturbances & denied awareness experienced in first stage
Experiments & Techniques (used in stages 1 & 2)
- expected to be creative
- try something new to increase understanding
- techniques used as a tool for the purpose of establishing a continuum of awareness
- techniques can be used as gimmicks
- reversal: asks client to express polar opposite of any feeling, thought, or action
- enactment: role playing
- dialog: empty chair
- focusing or directed awareness
- creative expression: journal, art, poetry, etc.
- guided fantasy & imagery
- meditative techniques
What is the third stage?
encourage client to test insight gained in session outside of session
What is the fourth stage?
- termination: counselor supports changes made
- not a linear process but ongoing process
What is unhealthy functioning?
Not being aware of needs as they rise from the ground: (addictions, distraction, denial)
Personality structures:
relatively constant set of constructs, attitudes, and
beliefs (thoughts) about the individual and environment which exists as part of the person’s ground.
Responsibility for self:
- For one’s thoughts, actions, & feelings
- Refrain from taking responsibility for others’ thoughts, feelings, & behaviors (ex: placing emotional boundaries)
- Key to maturation*
