Danette Crandell
Counseling Theory and Practice
LP6- Gestalt Therapy Reflection Paper
March 31, 2015
Gestalt therapy is an existential, phenomenological, and process-based approach created
on the premise that individuals must be understood in the context of their ongoing relationship
with the environment (Gerald Corey, 2001).
The main goal of Gestalt therapy is for clients to gain awareness of what they are
experiencing and how they are doing it (Gerald Corey, 2001). Gestalt therapy places emphasis on
gaining awareness of the present moment and the present context. Through therapy, people learn
to discover feelings that may have been suppressed or masked by other feelings and to accept
and trust their emotions. Needs and emotions that were previously suppressed or unrecognized
are likely to surface as well. Through this process, a person gains a new sense of self as overall
awareness increases. Therefore, the focus on the here and now does not contradict or reduce past
events or future possibilities; in fact, the past is complicatedly linked to one’s present experience.
The idea is to avoid dwelling on the past or anxiously anticipating the future. Experiences of the
past may be addressed in therapy sessions, but the therapist and client will focus on exploring
what factors made a particular memory come up in this moment, or how the present moment is
impacted by experiences of the past (GoodTherapy.org, 2007-2015).
The therapeutic relationship stresses the I/Thou relationship. This focus is not on the
techniques employed by the therapist but how the therapist is as a person and what the therapist
is doing. Gestalt therapy stresses factors, for example; presence, authentic dialogue, gentleness,
more direct self-expression by the therapist, decreased use of techniques, and a greater trust in
the client’s experiencing. The therapist does not interpret for client’s but focuses on the “what”
and “how’ of their behavior (Gerald Corey, 2001).
Gestalt therapy is practiced in the form of exercise and experiments. It can be
administered in individual or group settings. In general, exercises are somewhat established
practices in gestalt therapy designed to arouse action, emotion, or goals from the person in
therapy. The therapist and person in therapy can then examine the result of the exercise in order
to increase awareness and help the person understand the “here and now” of the experience. In
contrast to exercises, experiments arise throughout the development of the therapeutic process
and therapeutic relationship. They are a core component of gestalt therapy and allow the person
in therapy to understand different aspects of a conflict, experience, or mental health issue.
Several basic principles underlying the theory of Gestalt therapy are briefly described as;
holism (German word meaning a whole or completion), field theory (the principle that the
organism must be seen in its environment or its context), the figure-formation process (how the
individual organizes experience from moment to moment), organismic self-regulation (a process
by which equilibrium is disturbed by the emergency of a need, a sensation, or an interest)
(Gerald Corey, 2001).
Fundamentally, gestalt therapy works by teaching clients how to define what is truly
being experienced rather than what is merely an interpretation of the events. Those undertaking
gestalt therapy will explore all of their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, beliefs and values to
develop awareness of how they present themselves and respond to events in their environment.
This gives them the opportunity to identify choices, patterns of behavior and obstacles that are
impacting their health and well-being, and preventing them from reaching their full
potential. The unfolding of this therapeutic process will typically involve a range of expressive
techniques and creative experiments developed collaboratively between therapist and client.
These will be appropriate for the client and their specific problems, such as; Role-play, role-play
can help individuals to experience different feelings and emotions and better understand how
they present and organize themselves; the ‘open chair’ technique involves two chairs and roleplay, and can give rise to emotional scenes. The client sits opposite an empty chair and must
imagine someone (usually himself/herself or parts of him or her) in it. They then communicate
with this imaginary being, asking questions and engaging with what they represent. Next, they
must switch chairs so they are physically sitting in the once empty chair. The conversation
continues, but the client has reversed roles, speaking on behalf of the imagined part of his or her
problem. This technique aims to enable participants to locate a specific feeling or a side of their
personalities they had 'disowned' or tried to ignore. This helps them to accept polarities and
acknowledge that conflicts exist in everyone. Dialogue, a gestalt therapist will need to engage the
client in meaningful and authentic dialogue in order to guide them into a particular way of
behaving or thinking. This may move beyond simple discussion to more creative forms of
expression such as dancing, singing or laughing. Discussing dreams plays an important role in
gestalt therapy, as they can help individuals to understand spontaneous aspects of themselves and
Attention to body language, concentrating solely on body language, which is considered a subtle
indicator of intense emotions. When specific body language is noticed, the therapist may ask the
client to exaggerate these movements or behaviors. This is thought to intensify the emotion
attached to the behavior and highlight an inner meaning. For example, a client may be showing
signs of clenched fists or frowning, to which the therapist may ask something along the lines of:
"What are you saying with this movement?" (Memiah Limited, 2015).
In conclusion, gestalt therapy is considered to help individuals gain a better
understanding of how their emotional and physical needs are connected. They will learn that
being aware of their internal self is the key to understanding why they react and behave in certain
ways. The journey of self-discovery makes this approach beneficial for individuals who can be
guarded; when it comes to their emotions, find it difficult to process why they feel and act the
way they do. It can also provide support and a safe space for individuals going through times of
personal difficulty. Gestalt therapy is considered particularly valuable for helping to treat a wide
range of psychological issues, especially as it can be applied as a long-term therapy or as a brief
and focused approach. It has been found effective for managing tension, anxiety, addiction, posttraumatic stress, depression and other psychological problems that can prevent people from
living life to the full. Overall, people who participate in gestalt therapy tend to feel more selfconfident, calm and at peace with themselves (Memiah Limited, 2015).
References:
1) Gestalt Therapy by (GoodTherapy.org, 2007-2015)
http://www.goodtherapy.org/gestalt-therapy.html#
2) Gestalt Therapy, Counseling Directory, (Memiah Limited, 2015)
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/gestalt-therapy.html
3) AAGT, The Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy: An International
Community (AAGT, 2015).
https://www.aagt.org/
4) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy Eighth Edition,Text/workbook by
Gerald Corey (2009).