Gestalt Therapy

Fritz Perls
Chapter 9

The Case of Jessica

30-year-old divorced African American
female
Mother of 5-year-old son
Self-referred for therapy due to:
Violence in current relationship

Appears to be open to counseling

Basic Philosophy
Neutral view of humans
Humanistic
Existential
Emphasize individual choice and responsibility

Holistic:
People cant be separated from their environment
People cannot be divided into parts there is no
separation between the mind and body

Human Motivation
Behavior is motivated by the drive to satisfy:
Biological needs
Psychological needs
Interpersonal needs

Humans regulate behavior to facilitate

growth

Central Constructs
Contact
Assimilation
Contact Boundary

Needs
Gestalt
Figure
Ground

Central Constructs
The cycle of awareness

Central Constructs
Polarities
Contact Disturbance
Introjection
Projection
Confluence
Retroflection
Isolation
Deflection

Theory of the Person

Initially a variation of the developmental
theory of psychoanalysis
Current gestalt theory has little
developmental or personality theory
Childhood events that inhibit satisfaction of
needs are acknowledged

Psychological Health and

Dysfunction
Health
Is interconnected with the environment
Is aware of needs
Is able to satisfy needs
Takes responsibility for choices
Assigns meaning to experience

Psychological Health and

Dysfunction
Dysfunction (Dis-Ease)
Denying what is unpleasant
Emotions are symbolic of unmet needs
Has unfinished business

Nature of Therapy
No Formal Assessments
Role of Counselor
Authentic
Remains aware of his/her experience of the client

Role of Client
Continuously engages in the process of self-discovery
Takes what is offered in therapy and tests it to see if it
fits other aspects of his/her life

Nature of Therapy
Goals
Client is to gain awareness
Client applies what is learned in therapy to
his/her life

Process of Therapy
Relationship
Provides a medium through which awareness is
explored

Increase Awareness
Interruptions in awareness are what brings the client to
therapy

Experiment
Allow clients to try things out in the safe atmosphere of
therapy

Process of Therapy
Techniques
Therapist selfdisclosure
Dialogs
Playing the projection
Exaggeration
Reversals

Techniques
Dream work
Working with polarities
Awareness training
Making the rounds
I Take Responsibility

Evaluation
Qualities
Precise
Testable
Stimulating
Empirical validity

Research Support
Outcome research
Theory-testing research

Issues of Individual and

Cultural Diversity
Pros
Counselor works with
the client in the
context of his/her
environment
Awareness and
personal power

Cons
Individualism
Expressiveness
Self-disclosure
Lack of focus on
content