What is Gestalt Therapy?

Gestalt Therapy is a humanistic, holistic, person-centered form of psychotherapy that is focused on the current context of your life. The word Gestalt itself refers to the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this approach, the emphasis is placed on perception and how we place meaning and make sense of our unique world and experiences. Expressing current feelings and actively taking personal responsibility are the two key points that Gestalt hones in on. The goal of Gestalt Therapy is to reach the authenticity of self.

It focuses on:

• Self Awareness

• The embodiment of bodily sensations

• Acknowledging and working through your current environment and life stressors

Gestalt Therapy is focused on the here and now. If the past is brought into a session it is encouraged through the therapeutic process to explore how it relates to how you may be currently feeling, or currently going through. The empty chair and two chair techniques are particularly popular in Gestalt Therapy and are versions of “self-dialogue.” Role-playing and enactment are sometimes used in Gestalt Therapy as well. Many of the Gestalt Therapy techniques are integrated into several other therapeutic modalities.

What does it encourage?

• Staying Present

  • This technique promotes greater awareness of your experiences and being the world, and processing how things are here and now

• Self-Awareness and Growth

  • Throughout our lives, we learn how to survive experiences that may be painful by creating emotional blocks, that push things out of our awareness so that we can move forward. This technique promotes working through blockages to increase awareness in identifying, challenging, and moving through these blocks so we can find integrated healing and personal growth.

• Personal Responsibility

  • A key in this approach is encouraging you to own and accept your experiences. Through this technique, you will be encouraged to challenge patterns of thinking, and how to create meaning about your lived experience. This gives you a greater sense of control in your experiences, learning how to better regulate your emotions, and interact with the world.

• Self-Regulation and Growth

  • By working through emotional blocks and owning your full lived experience, you can gain a greater sense of control in your experiences, learn how to better regulate your emotions, and interact with the world.

How Can Gestalt Therapy Help?

Research suggests that gestalt therapy can be effective for treating a variety of conditions including anxiety and personality disorders and is as effective as other psychotherapy approaches.

Some of the benefits include:

• An improved sense of self-control

• Better ability to monitor and regulate mental states

• Better awareness of your needs

• Better tolerance for negative emotions

• Improved communication skills

• Improved mindfulness

• Increased emotional understanding

 What is a Gestalt Therapy Session Like?

Some therapy approaches tend to focus on the therapist as an expert on distress and symptoms. The client has more of a learning role, as the therapist shares their knowledge about what they are experiencing and how to heal.

In Gestalt Therapy, we work with the knowledge that you are the expert on you. You have the space to safely explore your experiences and feelings without fear of judgement. In the Gestalt session, you are encourage to bring all of your emotion and experience into the room to be processed in the moment within the therapeutic process. We will collaborate to increase self awareness and challenege the roadblocks that have been getting in the way of healing.

Some techniques we may use in session are:

Role Playing

Through role-playing you will be invited to imagine and participate in a conversation with another person, or an aspect of yourself that may be feeling or experiencing a strong emotion or sensation. By promoting dialogue between these parts, or other people, insights can be made, and meanings that bring more self awareness to your lived emotional experience promoting inner healing.

Embodiment of Emotions

Talking about an emotion is different than experience an emotion. During session when feelings are brought up, I will encourage you to locate where that feeling is in your body. Bringing awareness to how your emotional experience expresses itself in the body helps you stay present in the moment and process emotions more effectively.

Creative Arts

Incorporating visual art making can help you gain awarness, stay present, and learn to process the moment as it occurs. Art making paired with Gestalt allows for diaolgue to occur between the art product and you leading to more deeper understanding of your emotions and experience.

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