Abstract
Gestalt Therapy
Basic Ideas
Theory explaining how we perceive certain patterns
Example of a cartoon: how a cartoon is a collection of pictures but we see it as a moving video and not as single pictures, thus we see things as a whole
Our brain likes to group things together or separate them
We perceive stimuli in connection with one another and in reference to their context
Whole is not the same as its parts.
Introduction to Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy involves being “here and now” and also imagination; imagining that the person you have a problem with is in front of you. First thing that a Gestalt Therapist would do is bring the client into the moment, making the clients think about the present thoughts and present situation. This makes the clients sit with the experience. Exaggerated and increased awareness of somatic expressions are used in the therapy, to aware clients of their hand movements and make them realize how “silly” these hand movements are. This makes a person realize that they are over exaggerating a problem; make it simple and it will fall into place and will make sense.
Making clients feel like an expert is another technique used in the therapy. Therapists ask the clients to analyze themselves- using questions like “What do you think is going on in your head?” or “Why do you think you are feeling this way?”
Gestalt therapists try and initiate contact with inner experiences of the clients. They do this by asking the clients to accept and take responsibility for the hand movements and cognitive behaviors shown by them. Therapists analyze the clients by the physical behaviors and the clients’ way to relate these movements to their inner experiences.
The awareness of somatic expressions help the clients to jolt out of habits of perception, the therapists make the clients realize that they might be exaggerating the normal problems and...