Gestalt Theory

The objective of Gestalt Therapy is to enable the client to become more fully and creatively alive and to be free from the blocks and unfinished issues. Gestalt therapy falls in the category of humanistic psychotherapies. Gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now, the therapist-client relationship, and personal responsibility. In Gestalt therapy, it is only possible to truly know oneself as we exist in there here and now and in relation to other things. This focus on the experiential present moment, is in contrast to the other therapeutic approaches which look at the past, the unknown, and even the unknowable. 

One therapy intervention that Gestalt therapy uses is THE EMPTY CHAIR TECHNIQUE. When a client goes to a Gestalt therapist, there is commonly an empty chair placed in the room. The chair serves as an important function. When the client expresses a conflict with another person through this technique, the client is directed to talk to the other person who is imagined to be sitting in an empty chair beside or across from the client. This helps the client to understand and express the feeling more thoroughly. By doing this, is stimulates the client's thinking which highlights their emotions and attitudes. For example, If a client has an issue with their father, the therapist would ask the client to imagine their father sitting in the chair and ask them to say what they would like to say if their father was sitting right there in front of them. 

The cognitive goal of this process is to get the client to come to an understanding about how the imaginary person will be thinking about the same issues.

The behavioral goal for the client to to come out with new behaviors in the supportive environment of the therapy and then they expand their awareness. 

Unfinished Business

Feelings about the past are unexpressed. These feelings are associated 

with distinct memories and fantasies. Feelings not fully experienced linger in the background and interfere with effective contact. It is important to pay attention to the bodily experience because if feelings are unexpressed they tend to result in a physical symptom.

Dreamwork in Gestalt therapy can be lively and exciting. We discover meanings and connect with our deeper feelings and energies by "living portions" of our dreams. This dreamwork facilitates personal growth and healing. There are a few steps to approach while analyzing these dreams: 

Step 1: Tell The Dream

Step 2: Notice What Stands Out 

Step 3: "Become" Part Of The Dream

Step 4: Dialogue