Gestalt therapy is an existential and phenomenological approach developed in the 1940s-1950s by Fritz and Laura Perls. The central premise is that people should be viewed holistically as a whole consisting of mind, body, and emotions. The initial goal of Gestalt therapy is to increase a client's awareness of what they are experiencing in the present moment. Therapists use supportive, accepting, and challenging techniques like experiments and roleplaying to help clients gain insight into their behaviors and increase present-moment awareness.

1. THERAPY
Gestalt
Perls
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 8th Edition
GAC 102

2. perls
Fritz and Laura
• Developed in in 1940s and 1950s
• Their foundational premise is
that people are best thought of
as a whole entity consisting of
body, mind, and emotions best
viewed through their own eyes.
FRITZ PERLS
Psychiatrist and
Psychoanalyst
LAURA PERLS
Psychotherapist

3. therapy
Gestalt
•Is an existential, phenomelogical,
and process-based approach
•The INITIAL goal: is to gain awareness
of what they experiencing and how
they are doing it.

4. theory
Gestalt
In the nutshell, this approach focuses on
Here and now The what and how The i/thou of relating

5. therapy
Gestalt
The majority of today’s Gestalt therapists employ a style that is
• SUPPORTIVE
• ACCEPTING
• EMPHATHIC
• DIALOGICAL
• CHALLENGING
Therapists devise experiments designed to increase clients of what they
are doing and how they are doing it.
AWARENESS- how individual behave in the present moment is far more
crucial to self-understanding than why they behave as they do
FIELD- ENVIRONMENT

6. therapy
Gestalt
• It is lively and promotes direct experiencing
rather than the abstractness of talking about
situations.
• Value being “FULLY PRESENT” during the
therapeutic encounter

7. COUNSELING
Gestalt
• A phenomenological approach that
emphasizes that people must be understood
holistically and contextually
•Develops present moment awareness of and
direct contact with their internal world and the
environment

8. framework
Gestalt
GESTALT
THERAPY
THE
THERAPEUTIC
PROCESS
HERE AND
NOW
PRINCIPLES
RULES FOR
THERAPISTS
TECHNIQUES

9. View of human nature
Gestalt
• Is rooted in existential philosophy, phenomenology and field theory.
• Genuine knowledge is the product of what is immediately evident in the
experience of the perceiver.
• By becoming aware, clients become able to make informed choices and live a
more meaningful experience.
• Basic assumption is that Individuals have the capacity to self-regulate when they
are aware of what is happening in and around them.
• The client will move toward increased awareness, contact, integration (Brown,
2007)

10. holism Field theory
• German word meaning Whole or completion
• All of nature is unified and whole
• Gestalt Therapists are interested in the
whole person and on integration of
thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body and
dreams
- present-centered
- Authentic contact “I, Thou, Here and Now”
- Layers of Neurosis (defense against reality)
- Ground and figure
• People are seen in their context
• People exist in a context that is constantly
changing
• Meaning depends on the relationship
between figure and the content
- How is this person’s problem a function of their situation?
- How this person (and their problem) shape their environment?
Some principles of gestalt therapy theory

11. Of neurosis
Layers
CLICHÉ LAYER- COMPLIANT
PHONY LAYER- PLAYING ROLES, FAKE
IMPASSE LAYER- HELP ME!
IMPLOSIVE LAYER- WHO AM I?
AUTHENTIC/EXPLOSIVE - GENIUNE

12. Figure-formation process Organismic self-regulation
• Describes how the individual
organizes experiences from moment
to moment
• The dominant needs of an individual
at the given moment influence this
process.
GESTALT- the ”whole” of the experience
GROUND (background)-
undifferentiated field which we don’t
pay attention to
FIGURE- emerging focus of attention
(foreground)
• Humans are organisms
• Involves making choices and adjustments
to adapt to present circumstances and
needs
• Involves regulating based on the needs
that arise from a need, sensation or
interest
• Organisms will do their best to regulate
themselves given their own capabilities
and the resources of their environment
(Latner, 1986)
Some principles of gestalt therapy theory

13. now
• Emphasizes on learning to
appreciate and fully experience
the present moment.
• ”POWER IS IN THE PRESENT”-
Polster and Polster (1973)
PHENOMENOLOGICAL INQUIRY-
involves paying attention to what
is occurring now.
-ask questions “what and how”
the

14. business
Unfinishe
d
- When figures emerge from the background but are not completed and
resolved, individuals are left with it.
-”These incomplete directions do not seek completion and when they get
powerful enough, the individual is beset with preoccupation, compulsive
behavior, wariness, oppressive energy and much self-defeating behavior.”
(Polster & Polster, 1973, p. 36)
- The need to have a psychological closure to conflicy, scenarios and
relationships

15. Resistance to contact
Contact &
CONTACT- Lifeblood for growth
- for it to be effective it has to interact
with nature and other people without
losing one’s sense of INDIVIDUALITY

16. Resistance to contact
Contact &
5 kinds of contact boundary disturbances that interrupt the
cycle of experience:
1. Introjection
2. Projection
3. Retroflection
4. Deflection
5. Confluence

17. Resistance to contact
Contact &
1. Introjection- what the environment provides rather than
clearly identifying what we need or want.
2. Projection- we disown certain aspects of ourselves by
assigning them to the environment
3. Retroflection- consist of turning back onto ourselves what
we like to do someone else or doing to ourselves what we
would like someone else to do it for us.
4. Deflection

18. Resistance to contact
Contact &
4. Deflection- process of distracting or veering
off, so that it is difficult to maintain a
sustained sense of contact.
5. Confluence- blurring differentiation
between self and the environment.

19. Therapeutic process
the
It's a form of therapy that focuses on the present
moment rather than past experiences. Gestalt therapy is
the idea that people are influenced by their present
environment. Each individual works to achieve personal
growth and balance. Gestalt therapy focuses on the use of
empathy and unconditional acceptance.
Source: www.webmd.com

20. Therapeutic process
the
6 methodological components we considered
VITAL or INTEGRAL to gestalt therapy:
a. The continuum of experience
b. The here and now
c. The paradoxical theory of change
d. The experiment
e. The authentic encounter
f. Process-oriented diagnosis

21. Here and now principles
Here and now: This is the individual
living in and being conscious at the
moment rather than worrying about
or the future.

22. BASIC GOAL- assisting client attain greater
awareness
AWARENESS- knowing the environment,
knowing oneself, accepting oneself, being to
make contact.

23. Through the creative involvement in Gestalt process,
Zinker (1978) expect clients will do the following:
• Move toward the increased awareness of themselves
• Gradually assume ownership of their experience
• Develop skills and acquire values that will allow them to
satisfy their needs without violating the rights of
others.
• Become more aware of all their senses
• Learn to accept responsibly for what they do, including
accepting the consequences of their actions.
• Be able to ask for and get help from others and be able
to give to others.

24. Rules for therapists
Gestalt
1. Invite clients into an active partnership
2. Engage clients to increase their awareness, freedom,
and self-direction
3. Encourage clients to attend to their sensory
awareness in the present moment
4. To pay attention to client’s body language
5. To place emphasis on the relationship between
language patterns and personality.

25. Rules for therapists
Gestalt
The most important goal of Gestalt Therapy is that
Gestalt Therapists do not aim to change their clients.
The therapist's role is to assist clients in developing
their own self-awareness of how they are in the
moment. This will therefore allow them to rectify
affecting his or her life.
Source: www.aipc.net.eu

26. THERAPEUTIC
TECHNIQUES
◦ CONFRONTATION
◦ REMAINING IN THE PRESENT
◦ QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS TO ENHANCE AWARENESS
◦ USING LANGUAGE TO INCREASE AWARENES
◦ NONVERBAL BEHAVIORS
◦ ROLE-PLAYING
◦ ENACTMENT
◦ DREAMS
◦ ATTENDING TO FEELINGS
◦ SELF-DIALOGUE ( empty chair and two chair)
◦ HOMEWORK

27. goals
◦ BECOME PSYCHOLOGICALLY
MATURE
◦ ADDRESS ANY UNFINISHED
BUSINESS
◦ INCREASE ACCEPTANCE OF
RESPONSIBILITY
◦ ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH THE
WORLD
◦ INTEGRATION DUE TO INCREASE IN
AWARENESS
◦ LIVE IN THE HERE AND NOW
•BECOME ASSERTIVE AND CONFIDENT

28. together
let's
work