Gestalt is a German word meaning the whole and the sum of all the parts, and the symbolic configuration or pattern of elements, that make up the whole.
Gestalt therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach, devised by Fritz Perls in the 1940's. Perls, originally a Freudian analyst, was also influenced by the principles of Gestalt psychology and existentialist philosophy. His insights helped to form the human potential movement that began in the 1960's. Gestalt therapy draws on the belief that people have a natural predilection towards health, but old patterns of behaviour and fixed ideas can create blocks interrupting the natural cycle of wellness, therefore effecting communication with others.
In its purest application, Gestalt therapy addresses what is happening in the moment, bringing into awareness an individual's representation of the self, his/her response and interaction with others. Perls believed that only by living in the present is the client capable of taking responsibility for his/her actions. The belief is that to be fully present in the here and now creates within the client the potential for more excitement, energy, and the courage to live life directly. How the individual resists contact in the here and now, or how they resist change, is the rich resource from which the skilled therapist draws upon, as are certain modes of behaviour or symptoms that the client regards as undesirable or unsatisfactory. The skilled Gestalt therapist makes effective and efficient interventions to bring the client into awareness of not only what is happening and what is being said but also body language and repressed feelings. Gestalt techniques often include acting out scenarios and dream recall.
Related UKCP modality sections:
Humanistic and integrative psychotherapies |
