Gestalt-therapeutic approach

The history of Gestalt therapy

The history of Gestalt therapy starts with the professional development of Fritz Perls. After acquiring the M.D. degree, Perls went to Frankfurt-am-Main in 1926 as an assistant to Kurt Goldstein at the Institute for Brain Damaged Soldiers. Fritz Perls became a psychoanalyst. He was influenced directly by Karen Horney and Wilhelm Reich, and indirectly by Otto Rank and others. Perls was especially influenced by Wilhelm Reich, who was Perls' analyst in the early 1930s, and "who first directed my attention to a most important aspect of psychosomatic medicine -- to the function of the motoric system as an armor". Laura Posner Perls was a cofounder of Gestalt therapy. Her influence on Perls was generally known, and she wrote a chapter in Ego, Hunger and Aggression. She was a psychology student at the time she met Perls, receiving the D.Sc. degree from the University of Frankfurt in 1932. Although Perls was a training psychoanalyst, he was among those who chafed under the dogmatism of classical Freudian psychoanalysis. The 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were periods of great ferment and rebellion against Newtonian positivism. This was true in science (, theater and dance, philosophy, art, architecture and existentialism. Gestalt psychology provided Perls with the organizing principle for Gestalt therapy as an integrating framework. Gestalt refers to the configuration or pattern of a set of elements. Gestalt psychologists believe that organisms instinctively perceive whole patterns and not bits and pieces. Whole patterns have characteristics that cannot be gleaned by analyzing parts. Perception is an active process and not a result of passively received stimulation of sense organs. All situations are believed to possess inherent organization. Organisms have the capacity for accurate perception when they use their native ability of immediate experience in the here and now. The task of phenomenological research and therapy is to utilize this capacity to gain insight into the structure of that which is being studied. Because people naturally perceive whole patterns as they occur, actual awareness can be trusted more than interpretation and dogma.

Key concepts of gestalt therapy 

·         Person-centered awareness - Focusing on the future, and imagining it divorced from the present and past is considered essential. The process follows an individual's experience in a way that does not involve seeking out the unconscious, but staying with what is present and aware.

·         Respect - Clients, whether an individual, group or family, are treated with profound respect by a gestalt therapist. Providing a balance of support and challenge is key to helping those taking part to feel comfortable about opening up and acknowledging areas of resistance.

·         Emphasis on experience - The gestalt approach focuses on experience in terms of an individual's emotions, perceptions, behaviors, body sensations, ideas and memories. A therapist encourages the client to 'experience' in all of these ways, vividly in the here and now.

·         Creative experiment and discovery - There is a range of experimental methodology used by therapists to test their client's experience. These involve highly creative and flexible techniques to help them open up and acknowledge hidden feelings.

·         Social responsibility - The gestalt approach recognizes that humans have a social responsibility for self and for others. It demands respect for all people and acknowledges that everyone is different. Ultimately it encourages individuals to adopt an egalitarian approach to social life.

·         Relationship - Relating is considered central to human experience and gestalt therapy considers individuals as 'whole' when they have a good relationship with themselves and others around them. The interpersonal relationship between the individual and therapist that is developed and nurtured in sessions is a key guiding process if therapy. 

·         Here and Now

Gestalt therapy proposes that we stay grounded in the present and what is real. Instead of assuming or imagining the unknown, we must concentrate on facts, emotions, and feelings as they really are. By separating fact from interpretation, the client can pinpoint the underlying patterns and issues. This is the impetus for positive change.

·         Wholeness and Integration

"Wholeness" is the state of bridging the mind and body, viewing them as a harmonious whole. "Integration" is how the mind and body combine and how the individual fits in to the surrounding environment. A lack of wholeness and integration is a common issue in patients seeking therapy. Gestalt therapy helps them to approach themselves as whole people who are well integrated into their surroundings.

Defense mechanisms in Gestalt psychology

Like in Freudian psychoanalytical approach, Gestalt therapy also turns to the concept of ego-defense mechanisms. According to Perls' theory, defense mechanisms are not actually contact disturbances they are patterns of action that the subject uses to cope with his surroundings, when feeling stressed or anxious. Perls has described the following defense mechanisms:

Introjection -“Swallowing whole”. One important process of Gestalt Therapy is to help clients constructively learn to assimilate and reject new ideas and novelties in his experiences, as he is in permanent contact with his changing surroundings. Introjection is a process of total assimilation and absorption of everything without any filtration. Introjection may include the way one takes cultural values and norms when he is young.

Confluence – Consciously: Absence of boundary in sensation of singularity or uniqueness and limitless connection to surroundings, God, etc. Confluence is the loss of distinction of ‘’Self’’ and others, loss of awareness about contact boundary, the boundary between “You” and “I”. Confluence is the unconscious loss of self in the surroundings.

Projection – Is the process of transferring something inherent to ''Self'' into the surrounding or to the "Other'', placing feelings onto “Other” instead of the “Self”. For example, someone who had a bad day and is angry with themselves, may shift blame to another, or project their anger onto someone or something else.

Retroflection – Is the process of holding back responses or emotions intended for the “Other” or surrounding. For example if one becomes angry with the boss and holds his anger back at work, retroflection may be a good thing, in this case.

Egotism - Is a process between the two sides, where there is no interaction. There is only an exchange that goes one way. For example, during a meeting one may be contemplating about only himself and not listen or notice anyone else.

Deflection is moving the contact boundary or changing the subject in a conversation.