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Strength and and weakness of gestalt therapy
Case study for gestalt therapy
Strength and and weakness of gestalt therapy
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Gestalt therapy is a type of therapy used to deepen our awareness of ourselves. According to O’Connor and Braverman, (2009) “Gestalt" implies wholeness. “Gestalt therapy is a process-oriented, experiential therapy that is concerned with the integrated functioning of all aspects of the person: senses, body, emotions and intellect.” Gestalt therapy can be described as process active, experiential work and can help shed light on suppressed feelings by helping us focus our awareness on feelings in the present. In working through negative the client can realize negative behavior patterns that may have become ingrained. Understanding the relationship between what we tell ourselves (bad gestalts) and negative thought processes and can become a part of the healing process. Through this form of therapeutic process, individuals can become better equipped to understand themselves and make better or healthier choices, creating a unity of mind, body and spirit. When Gestalt theory is applied to taking of responsibility for problematic life experiences, the experiential work lies in assisting the client in taking ownership, self-examination, then making choices and resolving difficulties. When theory is applied to a play therapy relationship, the therapist enters into a partnership with the child, in a process where goals focus on empowerment of the child. This process is described in Oaklander, (2011). “Anger is the most misunderstood of all the human emotions. We tend to think of anger as basically distasteful and abhorrent -- something that we would rather not experience.” Oaklander posits that anger is a direct and unique expression of self, and the basic attempt to defend an inner personal boundary. ... ... middle of paper ... ....47-Other dysfunctions of sleep stages or arousal f from sleep. Retrieved from http://www.icd9data.com/2011/Volume1/290-3 19/300-316/307/307.47.htm Kalff, Dora. (2003) Sandplay: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Psyche. Temenos Press, Cloverdale, CA. Lowenfeld, M. (1991) Play in Childhood. MacKeith Press, London. Miller, A. (1975) Albert Einstein and Max Wertheimer: a Gestalt psychologist's view of the genesis of special relativity theory. History of science; an Annual Review of Literature, Research and Teaching 13 (2): 75–103. Oaklander, V. (1988) Windows to Our Children: A Gestalt Therapy Approach to Children and Adolescents. The Gestalt Journal Press; Gouldsboro, Maine. Oaklander, V. (2011) The many faces of Anger. The Violet Oaklander Foundation, Retrieved from the internet 11/2/2011, from http://www.vsof.org/links.html
This study looked at the therapeutic relationship and its influence in the process of Child-centered play therapy (CCPT). An exploratory single subject quantitative-qualitative design was used to examine therapist relational variables and their associations with changes in children’s behavior in CCPT (Hilliard, 1993; Jordans, Komproe, Tol, Nsereko, & De Jong, 2013). Specifically, we examined changes in levels of therapist process variables and their corresponding relationships with changes in children’s behaviors within and between cases to better understand therapeutic processes that impact child behavior, as well as the therapeutic relationship.
Psychoanalysis is a unique form of psychological treatment founded by Sigmund Freud and later modified by his followers including Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, and Harry Stack-Sullivan (Wedding & Corsini, 2013). Although there is no one psychoanalytic theory Wedding and Corsini (2013) tell us that there are basic principles that tend to be found throughout different psychoanalytic perspectives. They note that psychodynamic perspectives emphasize ideas of the unconscious and the ability to increase choice by facilitating an awareness of unconscious motivations. Psychodynamic perspectives tend to focus on the client’s use of defense mechanisms like projection, reaction formation, splitting, intellectualization, repression, transference, and resistance as a way of avoiding painful fantasies, feelings, and thoughts (Wedding & Corsini, 2013). Such perspectives embrace the assumption that people are ambivalent about change and emphasize the importance of exploring that ambivalence (Wedding & Corsini, 2013). In addition, the therapeutic relationship is viewed as a vehicle of change; one that can be used for exploring both unconscious (primary) and conscious (secondary) self-defeating processes and actions (Wedding & Corsini, 2013). Transference and countertransference are viewed as essential therapeutic tools (Wedding & Corsini, 2013). Psyc...
...the patient’s feeling it and knowing it.” In other words, the therapist must attend to both the client’s core affective experience and what makes that experience frightening or painful. This stance is informed by the affective phenomena of empathy, affect contagion, affective attunement and resonance, and the reaching of a coordinated affective state. Ultimately, the therapist’s affective response to the client’s experience serves to amplify the client’s affective state. The therapist must come alongside the client, allowing the client to feel deeply understood and as though someone is offering to help. The client no longer feels an unwanted experience of aloneness and the anxiety that accompanies it. This stance effectively eliminates resistance on the client’s part, and the patient finds him or her self naturally wanting to share even the hidden parts of the self.
Tom, a depressed client stated that he had a negative part of himself, who tends to withdraw from others and is compounded by his occasional drug usage. As a Gestalt practitioner, I would take the client’s history and gather impressions of their environmental field; the role peers have played in the process, and the emotional factors. This would lead to ascertain whether there are unsatisfied needs due to separation from their peers or drug usage which may upset the balance of her moods. Due to the holistic nature of Gestalt therapy, other influences will be assessed. Gestalt therapy is the preferred therapy in this case because it assists the client get in touch with himself, tap into ways to release tensions, and discover alternative ways to satisfy their
The clients will be asked as a group to recall any other times they have had these feelings, with the therapist validating and normalizing clients’ feelings, explaining interactions between childhood trauma and self-image, expectations of others (including difficulty trusting), and any feelings related to power (Slotoroff, 1994). The therapist will ensure that a thorough follow-up of intense emotional provocations is provided for each client for the rest of the sessions. A recorded musical listening exercise while painting or drawing will close this session, taking pieces that evolve from this potentially angry emotional place to a more contemplative, and then a more joyous
Many gestalt therapists are against assessments or favor a gestalt version of an assessment (Brownell, 2010). Despite the lack of general assessments for gestalt therapy, therapists focus on four concepts during treatment: phenomenological method, dialogical relationship, field-theoretical strategies, and experimental freedom. Phenomenological method is used to bring awareness to the client. The therapist observes the client’s actions, such as if they choose to roll their eyes. He or she will describe these details out loud and treats each action with equal value. The dialogical relationship is where the therapist is honest and upfront with the client, instead of taking on a persona. The therapist also accepts however the client chooses to portray themselves. Field theoretical strategies enable the therapist to interpret a person’s character as dynamic rather than static. Lastly, experimental freedom is the concept that gestalt therapy is more than just talk. The therapist can experiment and try something new with the client as the therapy persists (RGI, 2013).
“It states that all people strive towards growth and balance. Gestalt therapy is like person-centered therapy in a way, as well as in its emphasis on the therapist’s use of empathy, understanding, and unconditional acceptance of the client to enhance therapeutic outcomes. According to gestalt therapy, context affects experience, and a person cannot be fully understood without understanding his or her context (GoodTherapy.org.2017)”.
The rapport and friendship built throughout this movie is vital to the success of the therapy exhibited here. This is a great example of Gestalt therapeutic approach and helps to identify most of the techniques incorporated. The techniques and ways of gently confronting but pushing a client all the way through are very beneficial to each viewer of this film.
In consequence, humanists and existentialists argue that people who mostly receive judgment and criticism for their behaviors are more vulnerable to developing a psychological disorder because they fail to recognize their worth (Comer, 2016, pg. 110). Overall, the humanistic-existential treatment model objective is to change clients’ harsh self-standards as they gain self-awareness and self-acceptance by valuing and giving meaning to their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Comer, 2016, pg. 110). The main types of therapy for this model are client-centered therapy, gestalt therapy, and existential therapy. In these type of treatments, practitioners avoid giving personal remarks and their opinions, because they allow the client to control the session by creating a supportive and warm atmosphere in which clients are able to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths while critiquing themselves honestly in an attempt to find their own solutions (Comer, 2016,
A hundred years ago, a young married couple sat at a kitchen table talking over the items of the day while their young boy sat listening earnestly. He had heard the debate every night, and while there were no raised voices, their discussion was intense. It was a subject about which his parents were most passionate - the electrodynamics of moving bodies in the universe. The couple were of equal intelligence and fortitude, working together on a theory that few people can comprehend even to this day. Mileva Maric Einstein was considered to be the intellectual equal of her husband Albert, but somehow went unrecognized for her contributions to the 1905 Papers, which included the Special Theory of Relativity. The stronger force of these two bodies would be propelled into the archives of scientific history, while the other would be left to die alone, virtually unknown. Mrs. Einstein was robbed. She deserved to be recognized for at least a collaborative effort, but it was not to be. The role which society had accorded her and plain, bad luck would prove to be responsible for the life of this great mathematician and scientist, gone unnoticed.
Gestalt therapy is existential, phenomenological, and process-based approach created on the premise that individuals must be understood in the context of their ongoing relationship with the environment. Awareness, choice and responsibility are the cornerstone of practice (Corey, 2013).
Gestalt and TA concept have been widely recognized for their role in psychotherapy. In this context, they provide the therapist with a framework which can be used to help their patients overcome mental problems and issues. As result, personal growth and development is likely to be attained. Their significance is illuminated by the fact that both of them encourage the patient’s ‘here and now’ awareness, which is fundamental in personal development (Brenner 2000).
There are too many children with anger problems in society and this is in fact proving to show difficulty in the home, in school, and with peers. A variety of behaviours are occurring, such as bullying, acting out, angry outbursts, fighting, harming self, and destruction of objects. These behaviours affect the individual as well as those around them. In order to improve the individual, play therapy needs to be implemented.
Gestalt will help Maria with her resentments and traumatic experiences. This therapy is an existential and processed based approach. Clients need to have awareness of their experience at this current moment. Gestalt therapy helps people experience growth and healing through interpersonal and insight contact. Also, this therapy focuses on the here and now the clients present. They are expected to do their own working in noticing their feelings, sensations and interpreting. Gestalt also looks at the unresolved business of the client’s
The most concise way to characterize Gestalt psychology is to say that it deals with wholes and its given data are what have been called phenomena. It is because of their strong phenomenological orientation, which explains that wholes are experienced by conscious man and not in parts. For example, in perceiving a melody one gets a melodic form, not a string or a note, a unitary whole that is something more important than the total list of its parts. This is the way experience comes to man, organizing it into significant structured form.