theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy psych422 chapter8: gestalt therapy
TRANSCRIPT
View of Human Nature
Self-reliance and reintegration Dialogue b/w client and therapist (therapist has no agenda Spontaneous; here and now experience Human nature is rooted in existential philosophy,
phenomenology, and field theory Individuals have the capacity to self-regulate in their
environment The process of “reowning” parts of oneself that have been
disowned
The Now Existential & Phenomenological – it is
grounded in the client’s “here and now” Initial goal is for clients to gain awareness
of what they are experiencing and doing now Promotes direct experiencing rather than the
abstractness of talking about situations Rather than talk about a childhood trauma the
client is encouraged to become the hurt child
The Now Ask “what” and “how” instead of “why” Our “power is in the present”
Nothing exists except the “now” The past is gone and the future has not yet arrived
For many people, the power of the present is lost They may focus on their past mistakes or engage in
endless resolutions and plans for the future
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
Pay attention on the bodily experience because if feelings are unexpressed they tend to result in physical symptom
Result: Preoccupation, compulsive behavior, wariness
oppressive energy and self-defeating behavior Solution: get in touch with the stuck point.
Contact and Resistances to Contact CONTACT – interacting with nature and with other
people without losing one’s individuality Contact (connect) and Withdrawal (separate)
RESISTANCE TO CONTACT – the defenses we develop to prevent us from experiencing the present fully Five major channels of resistance:
Introjection • Deflection Projection • Confluence Retroflection
Contact and Resistances to Contact
Introjection: uncritically accept others’ belief and standards without thinking whether they are congruent with who we are
Projection: the reverse of introjection; we disown certain aspect of ourselves by assigning them to the environment
Retroflection: turning back to ourselves what we would like to do to someone else Directing aggression inward that we are fearful to
directing toward others.
Contact and Resistances to Contact Deflection: A way of avoiding contact and
awareness by being vague or indirect. e.g., overuse of humor
Confluence: less differentiation between the self and the environment. e.g., a need to be accepted---to stay safe by going
alone with other and not expressing one’s true feeling and opinions.
Clients are encouraged to become increasingly aware of their dominant style of blocking contact
Energy and blocks to energy Pay attention to where energy is located, how it is
used, and how it can be blocked Blocked energy (resistance):
Tension some part of the body; numbing feelings, looking away from people when speaking, speaking with a restricted voice
Recognize how their resistance is being expressed in their body
Exaggerate their tension and tightness in order to discover themselves
Therapeutic Goals Increasing Awareness and greater choice Awareness includes knowing the environment,
knowing oneself, accepting oneself, and being able to make contact.
Stay with their awareness, unfinished business will emerge.
Therapist’s function and Role Increase clients’ awareness Pay attention to the present moment Pay attention to clients’ body language,
nonverbal language, and inconsistence b/w verbal and nonverbal message (e.g., anger and smile)
“I” message
Client’s Experience in Therapy Therapist no interpretation Client making their own interpretation Three-stage (Polster, 1987)
Discovery (increasing awareness) Accommodation (recognizing that they have
a choice) Assimilation (influencing their environment)
Relationship Between Therapist and Client
The quality of therapist-client relationship Therapists knowing themselves Therapists share their experience to clients in the
here-and-now Therapist Use of self in therapy
Therapeutic techniques and procedures
The experiential work Use experiential work in therapy to work through the
stuck points and get new insights
Preparing client for experiential work Get permission from clients Be sensitive to the cultural difference (e.g., Asian
cultural value: emotional control) Respect resistance (e.g., express emotionsfear of
lose control, could not stop, or weakness)
Therapeutic techniques and procedures Increase awareness about the incongruence
between mind and body (verbal and nonverbal expression)
The internal dialogue exercise Making the rounds Rehearsal exercise Exaggeration exercise Staying with the feeling The Gestalt approach to dream work
Therapeutic techniques and procedures
The internal dialogue exercise Top dog (critical parent) and underdog (victim) Empty-chair (two sides of themselves)
Making the rounds Go around to each person and say “What makes it
hard for me trust you is……”
Rehearsal exercise Reverse the typical style (e.g., behave as negative as
possible)
Therapeutic techniques and procedures
Rehearsal exercise May get stuck when rehearsing silently or internally Share the rehearsals out load with a therapist
Exaggeration exercise Exaggerate gesture or movement, which usually
intensified the feelings attached to the behavior and makes the inner meaning clearer.
Staying with the feeling Go deeper into the feelings they wish to avoid
Therapeutic techniques and procedures The Gestalt approach to dream work
Not interpret or analyze dreams Bring dream back to life as though they were
happening now The dream is acted out in the present to become
different parts of the dream Projection: every person or object in the dream
represents a projected aspect of the dreamer. Royal road to integration Dreams serve as an excellent way to discover
personality No remember-refuse to face what it is at that time
From a multicultural perspective Contributions
Work with clients from their cultural perspectives
Limitations Focus on “affect”
Asian cultural value: emotional control Prohibiting to directly express the negative
feelings to their parents.
Summary and Evaluation Contributions
Present-centered awareness Pay attention on verbal and nonverbal cures Bring conflicts or struggles to actually experience
their conflict and struggles Focus on growth and enhancement See each aspect of a dream as a projection of
themselves Increase awareness of “what is” Empirical validation for the effectiveness