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Your Trainer : Karen Booth Your Trainer : Karen Booth Gestalt Therapy Weekend 1 Copyright © Central Coast Gestalt Academy 2019 V.1 Introduction to Gestalt Therapy Hypnotherapy Training Australia 2017 “The idea of Gestalt Therapy is to change paper people to real people” Fritz Perls THE MEANING OF THE WORD GESTALT German word not easily translated into a single English word. shape pattern whole form, configuration. “It connotes the structural entity which is both different from and much more than the sum of its parts” (Clarkson, P. Gestalt Counselling in Action) WHAT IS GESTALT THERAPY? THE OBJECTIVE OF GESTALT THERAPY IS TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO LIVE A FLEXIBLE AND CREATIVE LIFE FREE FROM FIXED PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR THAT LIMIT THEIR GROWTH AND REDUCE THEIR SENSE OF SATISFACTION IN LIFE. GESTALT THERAPY ALSO ENCOURAGES SELF RESPONSIBILITY BY INCREASING SELF AWARENESS IN RELATION TO THE FIXED PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR. GESTALT THERAPY IS HOLISTIC IN ITS APPROACH, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE WHOLE PERSON – THE MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT . Why Study Gestalt? Greater insight into what may be the root of an issue Develop more effective strategies Advantage over other counsellors & therapists Greater spectrum of clients Flexibility or techniques in your toolbox GESTALT PRAYER I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations And you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, And if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful. If not, it can’t be helped. (F. Perls, 1969a, p. 4) This weekend we will be covering: • The history of Gestalt • Existentialism • Phenomenology • Awareness • Here and Now • Figure/ground • Contact and the contact cycle • Contact boundary • Contact functions • Responsibility • Responsible language Hypnotherapy Training Australia History of Gestalt Therapy Founders Gestalt Therapy was developed by Fritz Perls and Laura Perls (Lore Posner). Fritz was born in 1893 into a Jewish family. He had a background in psychoanalysis and theatre. Lore was born in Germany in 1905. She had a background in in Gestalt psychology and dance. In 1942 they wrote their first book together Ego, Hunger & Aggression. Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline joined Fritz and Lore in New York and co-authored Fritz’s seminal book Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality, in 1951. Fritz and Lore (Laura) founded the first Gestalt Institute in 1952 (with the help of Paul Goodman), running it out of their Manhattan apartment. Laura Perls It is important to mention that although Lore contributed greatly to the development of GT, the recognition she received was very poor in comparison to Fritz. Perhaps this was partly due to the ‘showman’ quality of Fritz. Fritz Perls Laura Perls Early Influences ▪ Perls served in the German Army during World War I. After being injured he was educated as a medical doctor ▪ During that time he became an assistant to Kurt Goldstein (who CREATED HOLISTIC THEORY OF THE ORGANISM) ▪ Perls went through psychoanalysis with Wilhelm Reich (known for his focus on the body and ‘character armour’) and became a psychiatrist ▪ Perls assisted Goldstein at Frankfurt University where he met Lore (Laura) Posner who earned a doctorate in Gestalt Psychology ▪ They fled Nazi Germany together in 1933 and settled in South Africa ▪ Fritz joined the South African army, serving as a military psychiatrist. ▪ During his time in South Africa he was greatly influenced by Jan Smuts and his ideas on ‘holism’ Principle Influences Fritz Perls Kurt Goldstein: Organismic Theory, Holism Wilhelm Reich: Character Armour, Body Awareness Kurt Lewin : Field Theory Jacob Moreno: Psychodrama, Experimentation Korzybski: Semantics - linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. Sigmund Friedlander: Differential Thinking Creative Indifference Jan Smuts: Holism & Evolution Freud: Psychoanalysis Laura Perls Gestalt Psychology - Perception, Figure/Ground, Unfinished Business Ludwig Klages & Feldenkrais - Dance and Movement Martin Buber - Relationship, I-Thou, Dialogue Paul Tillich – Existentialism The Broader Field Carl Jung’s Psychology (polarities, shadow) Zen Buddhism and the works of Alfred Korzybski (here and now) 60’s Human Potential Movement Maslow Personal growth Openness Authenticity Free expression Emotional focus Holism People power EXISTENTIALISM DEFINITION Existentialism is a philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings have full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own lives. Existentialism • Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasises individual existence, freedom and choice. • It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational world. • It focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. •Existentialism believes that individuals are entirely free and must take personal responsibility for themselves (although this responsibility can be anxiety provoking or can come with feelings of angst). •It emphasizes action, freedom and decision as fundamental, and holds that the only way to rise above the essentially absurd condition of humanity (which is characterized by suffering and inevitable death) is by exercising our personal freedom and choice Philosophers of Existentialism •Freidrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 1844- 1900 •– concept of individualism, life affirmations and God is dead •Soren Kierkegaard 1813- 1855 devout Christian who held the belief that one should take a leap of faith even though there is no proof of God •Martin Buber 1878 – 1965 Promoted the need for mutual respect and dignity among all human beings. •Martin Heidegger 1889- 1976 The individual interprets a personal world of meaning – environment, social and individual “who am I?” •Jean-Paul Sartre 1905- 1980 a student of Heidegger, an atheist, held the concept of being and nothingness, freedom and existence precedes essence. •Maxine Greene 1917 – 2014 concept of wide - awakeness and being reasonable. Supported arts and humanities – the state of being human. Phenomenology Phenomenology refers to the awareness of the ‘here and now’ experience which is uniquely one’s own. It is the experience of the ‘actual’, opposed to the imagined, the feared or the anticipated. Phenomenology can be defined by three components: Awareness The ‘here & now’ experience Figure/ground. Awareness In Gestalt terms ‘Awareness’ refers specifically to the three zones of awareness experienced in the present moment, those being: The Inner Zone: feelings/emotions and bodily sensations. The Middle Zone: thoughts, imagination, memories, analysis, judgements and so on. The Outer Zone: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Here and Now Gestalt therapy emphasises awareness of the ‘actual’, that is, to be fully present in the moment - the ‘here-and-now’. This does not mean the exclusion of the past or the present, but rather, the relevance that they have is only in relation to the present experience. “….a basic condition for the Gestalt here-and-now is the inclusion of remembering, imagining, and planning as present functions.” (Polster, 1987, p.171) Figure/Ground In whatever situation we find ourselves in we are engulfed with sensory information from all directions. So what is it that draws our attention to one thing above all others? Figure/Ground THE spontaneous selection of an object/subject from its environment. Our selection is made by our unique ‘field’ of perception and our drive to complete and satisfy our needs. 3 Principles of Phenomenology 3 Principles of Phenomenology – this approach is trying to stay as close as possible to the client’s experience, to stay in the here and now moment rather than interpreting the client’s behaviour. The phenomenological method of enquiry is broken down into 3 components being: Epoch Description Horizontalism Epoche • Bracketing your own judgments, values, meanings. • Remain in the here and now moment to avoid the danger of making hasty meaning of the clients experience. • To be free from pre conceived ideas, perceptions, attitudes and judgements Examples- • Jim tells you his mother has just died from cancer • Kathryn says she has been promoted to a position with more responsibility • Miles tells you he has hit his 7 year old daughter • Keiko announces she is to have an arranged marriage to a man she has never met E.g. clients says “My father died”, Therapist: (That's sad). Bracketed Therapist: How do you feel about that? Or Therapist: I notice your voice seems light when you say that Client: I feel good Therapist: (that's strange/weird). Bracketed Therapist: Can you say more? Client: I'm relieved, he was in so much pain and now he's out of that pain, which is good. Description Describe the sensory data your see both in your client, in yourself and between you (relational data). Typical interventions may be: I’m noticing that ……. You seem to be ……… You look ……… I’m aware that ………. By following and describing emerging figures and themes of the client, you are tracking, i.e. following unfolding movement of phenomenological process over time. Horizontalism In theory, all things phenomena are equal but we do have to make decisions about what phenomena we chose to ask about. Theory of the obvious where we do not assume any hierarchy of importance of what you are observing. Example – Therapist – I notice you are looking out the window a lot while you talk about your wife Client – yes I suppose I am. I have been noticing the top of that beech tree and it seems so far away and somehow that’s comforting Therapist – How is it more comforting? Client – I don’t like talking about my wife and the divorce. Somehow talking to you makes it more real and I feel angry as I don’t want to admit its over. In this example the therapist gives equal weight to the phenomenon of looking out the window and to the content of the words. Active curiosity Although this is not formally part of the phenomenological approach, it is believed that by holding active curiosity as an essential part of the role of the Gestalt therapist.
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