Frederick Perls and the Beginning of Gestalt Thought - Assignment Example

?Gestalt Therapy Frederick Perls and the Beginning of Gestalt Thought Frederick “Fritz” Perls was a Jewish psychiatrist and psychotherapist who created and developed Gestalt therapy. Perls served in the German army in WWI but he and his family fled from Germany during the Hitler regime (Perls, 2012). Perls would move to the Netherlands and then to South Africa. In 1941, Perls wrote the book Ego, Hunger, and Aggression which provided insight into his methods. He would serve four years in the South African army as a psychiatrist, and then he and his family moved to New York. His wife would become very important to his work (Perls, 2012). In 1947, the book, Gestalt Therapy was published and many people read and adopted his methods. This was a totally different idea in psychotherapy at the time. Perls left New York and moved to California where he began his work with the Esalen Institute. He would eventually create many lectures, seminars, and workshops on his methods; he would also create the Gestalt Institute in Canada (Perls, 2012). Perls and his wife Laura, would begin the Gestalt Therapy Institute in New York in 1952. From this point, Perls and his wife were helping clients learn to unblock attitudes and beliefs that they had formally held so they could live life more freely. They defined the word, gestalt as “something which is greater than the sum of its parts” (Perls, 2012, para. 3). In order to understand the gestalt (event) in a person’s life, the individual must analyze the situation and all of its various parts to understand how it fits the situation that the individual is experiencing now. Beginnings of Therapy and Historical Content Gestalt Therapy was originated by Frederic and Laura Perls in the 1940s. The theory is both phenomenological and existential in its expression (Yontef, 1993). The nature of Gestalt Therapy puts the therapist in the position of helping the client stay in the now moment with what they are feeling, thinking and perceiving instead of drawing on perceptions or feelings from the past. Gestalt therapists expect the client to take personal responsibility for their own therapy and will assist them by using several interventions. Gestalt therapy uses phenomenological theory that suggests that the individual must become aware of where they are in the present moment. In using this theory, Gestalt therapy assumes that the client is able to understand the difference between what is happening them now as opposed to those things that are a part of the past. The goal of the therapist is to assist the client in finding an awareness of what is going on with them. The therapist guides the individual into a variety of experiments that help them develop awareness and insights into their situation (Yontef, 1993). When existentialism is added to Gestalt therapy, it states that people are always evolving and never standing still. This means that the individual must always take responsibility for themselves and their actions in order to create an opportunity for growth within themselves (Yontef, 1993). Techniques of Gestalt Therapy There are a variety of techniques that are used in Gestalt therapy. This section will discuss those techniques and the criticism that the therapy has experienced over the years. Central to the therapy are exercises or what Perls called, “experiments”. Harman (1974) states that there is a difference between exercises and experiments. Exercises in this context are provided to groups or individuals with specific instructions as to what to do. In many of these situations, the client is asked to fantasize in some way in a scene or in some type of situation. The individual is then asked to describe the situation that they experienced as though it were happening now, in the present moment. In Harmen’s (1974) understanding, the experiment moves the individual into a deeper understanding of themselves. The individual is asked to do something that will bring them into a stronger awareness of themselves and the situation they are experiencing. As an example, an individual may be asked to clothes their eyes and imagine something. The idea of the experiment is to “confirm or disprove something doubtful, to test, to discover something unknown…” (Harmen, 1974, p. 258). Zimberoff & Hartman (2003) state that Gestalt therapies understand that “human experience exists on a continuum with polar opposites” (p. 94) and this means that people will experience issues like sad/happiness or fear/comfort and many other issues. This means that in any situation an individual is either balanced or not and if they are experiencing an imbalance they must do something to bring them back to a positive space. Specific Exercises used by Gestalt Therapists Within these experiments or exercises, there are several techniques. Five techniques are listed here: Body awareness – the individual becomes aware of their body and their emotions. They are asked to identify where in their body they feel the emotion. The body also is able to tell the individual the emotions they are feeling and this brings them into an awareness of what is going on (Zikmberoff & Hartman, 2003). The “empty chair” technique – when a client expresses that they have a conflict with another person, an empty chair is set in front of them. They are to pretend the individual is sitting in the chair, and they are instructed to say what needs to be said to this individual. This technique is used to clarify the feelings of the client and to help them become aware of what they are feeling at any given time. The application of this technique can help the client find different behaviors toward the individual, they can become ore aware of their feelings and the client is able to react differently in their daily life to situations that may come their way (Ramya, 2007). To Gestalt therapy, dream work is also important to help a client become more aware of what they are thinking and feeling. In dream work, a client will be asked to identify with every aspect of the dream. As an example, if a client says they had a dream about a house, the therapist would ask the client to start by saying, “I am the house” and see how that feels. They would continue with different aspects of the dream. By doing this, the individual is able to relate to hidden aspects of their lives or feelings, find new ways of expression and eventually will be able to find personal power within the process (Daniels, 2005). I/You exercises ask the client to center themselves quietly and focus only on their breathing. They are only to perceive a sense of themselves. This is a simple meditation technique, but it can be met with resistance. If there is resistance, the individual will be asked, after this exercise, to focus on the resistance (Naranjo, 1993) . In this way, the client is able adjust their mind to what is in the present. Often this exercise will be done prior to beginning work. The two-chair technique is another type of exercise that Gestalt therapists use for a variety of issues. Wagner-Moore (2004) suggest that this techque is most used when an individual is showing that they have a conflict within themselves. As an example, when a client may feel one way on the outside, but feel differently on the inside. Wagner-Moore (2004) give the example of a woman who wants to be married but at the same time feels that they should stay single so they can stay independent . The two chair technique allows a client to work with the experiencing self that holds the “wants, needs and gut level emotions” and the internal critic that holds the “shoulds” part of the self that encourages the “negative evaluations of the self” and the information from society, to work together (Wagner-Moore, 2004, p. 184). The client will work with the therapist to experience both sides of the split until it is worked out to a space where the client can experience change. There are a variety of techniques that the therapist can use during the course of these sessions, and the point of all of them is to stop the resistance in the client so they can experience a more open and honest life. Key Concepts of Gestalt Therapy There are several key concepts that are present in Gestalt therapy that are important to explore. The concept of wholeness and integration means that all aspects of the client are observed as one unit. This means that the mind, body, emotions and so forth are all aspects of the same unit. Integration means that the individual will find how to integrate the mind, body, emotions and so forth while they are in therapy, because this is the main focus. The Gestalt therapist is helping the client find those parts and bring them together (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2010). As stated previously, awareness is another key concept. The individual that becomes aware of who they are and what they are doing has a better chance of finding a healthy way to interact with their world. Clients who lack awareness do so because they are caught in the past, future or fantasies that they bring with them to the counseling situation. Also, some of these clients have low self-esteem which prevents them from also being aware of their surroundings (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2010). Energy is important to Gestalt therapy in terms of how it is used in the body or how it appears in the body. In this situation, the client may have blocks of energy in their body that stops them from becoming aware. These blocks can appear as resistance to something that the client needs to face (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2010). Another concept, growth disorders, explains why clients are often unaware of the world around them. The problems that the client is having may be emotions that are not allowing them to move forward. The emotions trap the individual in such a way that they are unable to cope with normal changes as they appear in their daily life (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2010). The last key concept is that of unfinished business means that there are things or situations in a person’s life that they have not fully finished. Often this has to do with people in their lives that may have hurt them in the past. The client must finish this business so that they will be able to live better in the hear in now; otherwise, they have a tendency to resent the past (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2010). Criticism of Gestalt Therapy Much of the criticism for Gestalt therapy seems to be dependent on the researcher or therapist’s theoretical orientation. Therapists who are involved in non-confrontational styles suggest that Gestalt therapy is too confrontational (Janov, 2005). Other theorists believe that the focus on the here and now stops the therapist from understanding the developmental contexts that have been present for the client (Jacobs, 2002). The point of Gestalt therapy is to make sure that the developmental information does not stop the individual from moving forward. By staying in the here and now, developmental information that surfaces, can be dealt with in the present moment and then eliminated. Mundis (2010) adds to the idea that Gestalt therapy is confrontational by stating that many critics saw Perls as becoming very “violent and aggressive with patients” (para. 15). The reason that many of his critics during the time thought he was being violent and aggressive was because their orientation to this process was Rogerian in nature. Under Rogerian theory, if the client became upset, the therapist was to do something different. In Perl’s orientation, having the client upset was a way to create a space for them to have a breakthrough (Mundis, 2010). Of course, both methods (Rogerian and Gestalt) worked, but in very different ways. Some critics felt that Perls liked the attention that he received from his patients and that he was more a “showman” than someone who was actually helping patients become better (Mundis, 2010). Conclusion In this researcher’s opinion, Gestalt therapy is a very good type of theory to use. It is more confrontive than other types of therapy but the individual does gain an understanding of themselves. It seems that this therapy has been used in many ways to help clients with specific issues and many researchers have used Gestalt therapy as an additional type of therapy for certain issues. In reflecting on this therapy, it was this researcher’s idea to understand how and if this therapy is being used today. There are several examples of use with different other models. As an example, Jacobs (2009) used humor with Gestalt therapy to work with a 13 year old girl whose parents had abandoned her in an orphanage. Jacobs found that using humor with a child when the child became angry during a sessions helped the child and the therapist deflect the anger that was being exhibited. Jacobs (2009) also found that the deflection was important to the sessions because “it can take the heat out of responses where the situation needs cooling down” (p. 504) and allows the client to become aware of what is really going on. This would seem to be an important issue to deal with in many situations, especially when working with children. Children can become easily angered and humor, if used appropriately, would stop the child from striking out in anger. Tonnesvang, Somner, Hammink & Sonne (2010) studied the use of cognitive therapy with Gestalt therapy to see whether these two therapies could be integrated into a fuller more robust model. The authors found that these two therapies were compatible because they were very similar in their phenomenological approach and they were able to work in conjunction with each other. This is probably why so many therapists use cognitive behavior therapy with Gestalt because they complement each other. Another area that Gestalt therapy has been used is group therapy. There are different methods used but this method is very successful in group work. Melnick and Fall (2008) suggest that therapists must understand that there is a difference in group work. Groups will automatically change the intimacy level and there will be multiple perspectives given on any topic. The major focus of the group is still on improvement for each member and the group must work together to this end. In reading this article, it was very interesting that the authors showed that group dynamics are very different than individual dynamics. The therapist must be able to manage the rules within the group and to organize group members in an effective way to help them achieve positive movement toward change. Gestalt therapy seems to also be a versatile program. A study by Botha and Dunn (2009) used a board game to begin the first aspects of counseling. The authors used the board game to establish rapport, “sensory stimulation, and for “discovering the child’s process” (p. 260). This is intriguing information because it would set the stage for the counselor to continue work with a child. The author’s developed a board game to be used with children during play therapy and this could be a very important addition to the field of Gestalt therapy. This researcher also looked at the aspects of Gestalt therapy that has been used to work with a variety of issues with children and adults. As an example, emotional injuries have played a major problem for many people today. Greenberg, Warwar and Macolm (2008) studied this issue and found that those individuals who worked with emotion focused therapy using Gestalt techniques were able to move past their emotional injuries. The authors used the empty-chair technique to help their clients and found this to be a very effective method. Gestalt therapy is a major therapy that is still used today. It is an important therapy that helps many clients. The therapist would have to understand this therapy well so that they understood how to work well with a client. References Abbatiello, G. (2006). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and metaphor. Perspectives In Psychiatric Care, 42(3), 208-210. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6163.2006.00074.x Australian Institute of Professional Counselors. (2010). Gestalt Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/?p=184 Botha, E., & Dunn, M. (2009). A board game as a Gestalt assessment tool for the child in middle childhood years. South African Journal of Psychology, 39(2), 253-262. Daniels, V. (2005). Fritz Perls and Gestalt Therapy. Lecture Notes. Retrieved from http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/Gestaltsummary.html Brownell, P. (2010). Gestalt therapy: A guide to contemporary practice. Springer Publishing. Retrieved from 104557_Brownell_CH000_i-xxviii_PTR.indd Greenberg, L. J., Warwar, S. H., & Malcolm, W. M. (2008). Differential effects of emotion-focused therapy and psychoeducation in facilitating forgiveness and letting go of emotional injuries. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(2), 185-196. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.55.2.185 Harman, R. L. (1974). Techniques of Gestalt therapy. Professional Psychology, 5(3), 257-263. doi:10.1037/h0037289 Hoss, R. (2005). Image activation dream work. Retrieved from http://dreamscience.org/articles/Image_Activation_Dreamwork.pdf Jacobs, S. (2009). Humour in Gestalt therapy -- curative force and catalyst for change: a case study. South African Journal Of Psychology, 39(4), 498-506. Jacobs, L. (2002). It’s not easy to be a field theorist: Commentary on “cartesian and post-cartesian trends in relational psychoanalysis”. Gestalt! 6(2), Summer. Retrieved from http://www.g-gej.org/6-2/jacobsreview.html Janov, A. (2005). Chapter 12: Gestalt Therapy: Being here now, keeping unfinished business unfinished. Grand Delusions: Psychotherapies without Feeling. Retrieved from http://primaltherapy.com/GrandDelusions/GD12.htm Melnick, J., & Fall, M. (2008). A Gestalt approach to group supervision. Counselor Education & Supervision, 48(1), 48-60. Mundis, A. S. (2010, April 28). Criticisms of gestalt therapy: as done by Fritz Perls in particular. Impossible Real Blog. Retrieved from http://impossiblereal.com/?p=334 Naranjo, C. (1993). Gestalt Exercises. Retrieved from http://www.claudionaranjo.net/pdf_files/gestalt/gestalt_exercises_english.pdf Perls, F. (2012). Fritz Perls. The Fritz Perls Institute. Retrieved from http://www.fritzperls.com/ Ramya, C. N. (2007, January 22). The ‘empty chair’ technique. Changing Minds. 22 January 2007. Retrieved from http://changingminds.org/articles/articles/empty_chair.htm Tonnesvang, J., Sommer, U., Hammink, J., & Sonne, M. (2010). Gestalt therapy and cognitive therapy—Contrasts or complementarities?. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 47(4), 586-602. doi:10.1037/a0021185 Yontef, G. (1993). Gestalt therapy: An introduction. In Awareness, Dialogue, and Process by Uontef, G. (1993). Retrieved from http://www.gestalt.org/yontef.htm Wagner-Moore, L. E. (2004). Gestalt Therapy: Past, Present, Theory, and Research.Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(2), 180-189. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.41.2.180 Zimberoff, D. & Hartman, D. (2003). Gestalt therapy and heart-centered therapies Journal of Heart-Centered Therapies, 2003, 6 (1) 93-104. Retrieved from http://www.ptintensive.com/images/Journal_6-1_Gestalt_Therapy.pdf Read More