Alyssa Mari A.

Reyes BS Psychology 3-3

People can develop a response- ability by maintaining a productive contact with others with maintaining their own identity

DEFINITION
Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy, based on the experiential ideal of here and now, and relationships with others and the world. It is an existential or experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility. Gestalt therapy is used often to increase a clients selfawareness by putting the past to rest and focus on the present.

BRIEF HISTORY
developed by Frederick Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman in the 1940s. Perls believed that self-awareness leads to selfacceptance and responsibility for ones thoughts and feelings. Gestalt therapy rose from its beginnings in the middle of the 20th century to rapid and widespread popularity during the decade of the 1960s and early 1970s. During the 70s and 80s Gestalt therapy training centers spread globally, but they were, for the most part, not aligned with formal academic settings.

SOURCES OF DIFFICULTY
Vague , disintegrated, disturbed boundary between self and others because of
Introjection Projection Retroflection Deflection Confluence

Preoccupation with the future and catastrophic expectations of the bas things that will happen or the wonderful things that will not Unfinished business which generally involves unexpressed feelings of resentment, rage, hatred, pain, anxiety, grief, guilt, abandonment

GOALS
Attainment of awareness necessary to face and accept denied parts of thinking and get in touch with subjective experiences with reality Movement from environment to selfsupport through discovering that he/she can do much more than he/she thinks can do Enhance capacity for response-ability Whole, integrated being

MAJOR FOCUS

Here-and-Now Feeling Body Symptoms and movement messages Blocks to Awareness

Role of the Counselor/ Therapist

Implement creative techniques that lead to discovering the conflict issues Point out how the client escapes from the now into the past or the future Encourage direct here-and-now experiencing of the struggles with unfinished business from the past to discover conflicts and gradually expand limits of awareness

Role of the Counselor/ Therapist

Help client make own interpretations, create own direct statements and find own meaning Point out patterns, discover the messages behind them Break the impasse and move on Help client make the transition from external to internal support

COUNSELOR CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPETENCIES

Empathic Understanding Genuine warmth Alertness to what is going on within himself/ herself Keen observation of changes in color, movement, language, and time usage of client Confidence to confront, declare observations and give feedback Persuasive skills to urge clients to take action

LEADS AND RESPONSES

Acceptance Clarification Restatement Paraphrasing Reflection of feelings Confrontation Summarization What and how questions Directives

TECHNIQUES
Top dog/ Underdog Staying with the feeling Dreamwork I take responsibility for Making the rounds I have a secret Playing the projection

TECHNIQUES
Reversal Techniques Rehearsal game Exaggeration games Here-and-now experiencing Directives Language changes Empty chair Talking to parts of oneself