Gestalt Therapy

Frederick "Fritz" and Laura Perls

Our dependency makes slaves out of us, especially if this dependency is a dependency of our self-esteem. If you need encouragement, praise, pats on the back from everybody, then you make everybody your judge.
- Frederick "Fritz" Perls

Frederick "Fritz" Perls and Laura Perls are the founders of Gestalt Therapy. His outlook on therapy, and the quotes I found during research, hit such a chord with me. I sat and read his quotes for about 20 minutes thinking...wow, I wish he were around to counsel me!

The goals of Gestalt Therapy are to help the client focus on the moment instead of focusing on the past. Therapy helps the client learn how to make choices and also to enhance their sense of self abd self esteem.

The key concepts of this therapy method are holism, figure-formation process, awareness, unfinished business and avoidance, contact, and energy. The client is urged through these methods to experience the here and now of life and accept all the parts that make them who they are.

Sincere apologies for Abe Lincoln giving you the finger...but the video is great and helped me to connect how Gestalt Therapy can be seen in different ways. A client is asked to look at themselves as a whole, all aspects of themselves. It is the same with many of the images and pictures in this clip. Most, when looking at just a piece of the picture, you can not see what the whole picture reveals. But when you step back and look at the entire picture, you can see images that can not be seen otherwise. It is the same with an individual, if you look at just one aspect of a person, you do not get a full understanding of who that person is. Perl was looking to show clients that they need to look at all sides of themselves and appreciate their self worth for the whole person that they are.

The techniques of this therapy are formed through the relationship between the therapist and the client. In counseling, situations that come up will help to give both the client and the therapist ideas on exercises and experiments that will advance the sessions and assist the client in their self awareness.

Reference

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Belmont, C.: Brooks/Cole,

Cengage Learning.