Gestalt Therapy

GESTALT THERAPY

GESTALT THERAPY

• HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

                             The origins of gestalt therapy are found in three Germans whom Perls studied. Perls saw an individual perceptions in terms of the Gestalt dichotomy of figure-ground and established  his theory on that premise. Another important historical influence on Gestalt therapy is the existential movement in philosophy and psychology.

                              Gestalt Therapy was first used in a psychological context. It also emphasizes the expansion of awareness, freedom and Here and Now. The three founder of this therapy percepts the three principle of similarity, proximity and closure. The principle of similarity pertains to the perceptual field, while in proximity, determines how they are seen and in principle of closure, it describes the need to complete unfinished figures.

• VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

                               Perls believed that people developed in relation to their environment, and he divided this development into the social, psychophysical and spiritual stages. Gestaltists believe that a healthy personality is the result or a person's experiences forming a meaningful whole. This occurs when there is a smooth transition between those sets of experiences that are immediately in the focus of awareness and those that lie in the background.

• MAJOR METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

                            Gestalt techniques include increasing the awareness of "body language" and of negative internal "messages"; emphasizing the client's self-awareness by making him or her speak continually in the present tense and in the first person; concentrating on a part of a client's personality, perhaps even on just one emotion, and addressing it (or asking the client to address it) as if it were sitting by itself in the client's chair; the creation by the therapist of episodes and diversions that vividly demonstrate a point rather than explaining in words. A therapist may choose from the following list of methods that Gestalt Therapist usually use:

• Dream Work
• Converting Questions to Statements
• Using Personal Pronouns
• Assuming Responsibility
• Playing the Projection
• The Empty Chair
• Making The Rounds
• Exaggeration
• Confrontation

• FUNCTION OF THE THERAPIST

                     The function of the therapist is to serve as a catalyst for change without assuming the responsibility for change within the clients. The Gestalt Therapist here plays an active role that often frustrates the clients demands for support and help, forcing them to rely on their own resources. The therapist also provides a "safe emergency" which allows their clients to feel safe enough to work toward self-support while playing the empty chair.

                     The therapist must not try to be a better therapist but to be who they are and helping their clients to do the same. 

• MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

                In this therapy, people characterized by a lack of awareness, self-responsibility, contact with environment, denial of needs, and so on. When they fail to utilize their own capacity for self-regulation spend their energy on acting helpless, depending upon others, or manipulating the environment in countless ways. The result is an anxious state of temporal insecurity originating when the self is unable to determine the boundaries between the individual and the environment.

•  CRITICAL ANALYSIS     

                  The Gestalt therapy features a holistic emphasis on the integration of fragmented parts of the personality. Other than any theory, it stresses more on the unity of mind, body, and feelings. This therapy is useful in treating clients with physical disabilities and also for the clients containing internalized anger that can help them gain awareness of inner conflicts and of unfinished business.

RIZA GEGA

RESHIELLE JANE MOLINA

NIRE ANN PIZARRAS

AILENE RUBIA

ARLYN TORRES

BEED III-A

CAMARIN CAMPUS

learning questions

Psychonalytic Therapy


Questions:
1. Why does Psychoanalysis become a long, intense and expensive process?
2. How does Freud interprets dream and apply it in his therapy?
3. Why does Freud tend to emphasize the past experiences of the client rather than on present?
4. what does psychoanalytic therapy be criticized by others?
5. Why does the therapist encourages clients to talk about more on childhood experience rather than on present experiences?

Existensial Therapy

Questions:
1.How does Existentialism is alternately religious, atheistic and at the same time, anti-religious?
2. How can Existential Therapy recognize to humans their need and existense?
3. Why does Existentialist do not believe that there is a set of rules or standards in decision making even though this therapy emphasizes on making decisions?
4. In what way does Existentialists have helped the professional community although its main focus is the existence of individual itself?
5. How does Existential therapy can show the essence of individual's existence?

Adlerian Therapy


Questions:
1. Why does Adler preferred to believe that human behavior is pulled by the future?
2. What is the connection of social interest in Adler's individual Psychology?
3. What does Adler mean that personal goals do not exist as actualities but as potentialist?
4. If the main purpose of the therapy is the client. how come that it attempts to make the counselor perform a "miracle" in the therapy?
5. What does dream analysis of Freud become different in Adlerian's method of analyzing dreams?

Person-Centered Therapy


Questions:
1. Unlike the other therapy that focuses on the past experience of the client, why does person-centered therapy focuses on present rather than the past?
2. Why does person-centered approach need to be limited to individual counseling sessions?
3. Why does person-centered counseling also called a non directive counseling?
4.What makes person-centered influential to the other counselors nowadays and used as a basic as well?
5. How does technology contributed to Roger's practice of counseling?


Gestalt Therapy

Questions:
1. Why does gestalt therapy tends to focus on present rather than on past and future?
2. Can we say that the persons that are manipulating may have lack of awareness and responsibility?why?
3. How does Gestalt related to existential therapy?
4. What makes the dream work (method of therapy) different from the other therapy that uses dream to analyze the problem of the client?
5. In treating clients with physical disabilities, how does Gestalt therapy become particularly useful for those who are in denial or hostility phases of adaption?


Transactional Analysis

Questions:
1. How does psychological hunger motivates people to transcend patterns of behavior that begin early in life?
2. What is the difference between Freud's iceberg model to Berne's ego conscious states?                               3.According to Transactional analysis, what part of us directs behavior?
4. What are the advantages of using Transactional analysis in treating problems of  young children?
5. How can TA language creates a tendency to confuse labeling with counseling? 

 Behavior Therapy

 Questions:
 1. Why does Behavior Therapy describe as having a long past but a short history?
 2. In the function of therapist, how come that the counselor becomes very active in counseling?
3. One of the major methods of the therapy is the "token economies". What does the word token pertains to? 
 4. Why does Behavior Therapy does not deal with the total behavior of person?
 5. Why does critics of behavior therapy see this as in humans?

Rationale-Emotive Therapy

Questions
 1. How does ABC theory works on the process of RET?
 2. How does emotional consequence related to activating events and beliefs of the client?
 3. How does ABC theory connected to DEF?
 4. What are the similarities of RETin Cognitive theory approach?
 5. How does irrational thinking of the client turns into rational thinking?