child and adolescent counseling chapter 7

Chapter Gestalt Therapy Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind Dr Seuss © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Outline the development of Gestalt therapy and Fritz Perls • Explain the theory of Gestalt therapy including its core concepts • Discuss the counseling relationship and goals in Gestalt therapy • Describe assessment, process, and techniques in Gestalt therapy • Demonstrate some therapeutic techniques • Clarify the effectiveness of Gestalt therapy • Discuss Gestalt play therapy © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Overview Gestalt Therapy Fritz Perls • The Nature of People • Theory of Counseling • Counseling Method • Cross Cultural Application • Managed Health Care © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Fritz Perls • A native of Germany • Childhood of questioning and rebellion • Degree from Friedrich Wilhelm University in 1921 • Worked in South Africa for 12 years and there formulated all the ideas he would later call Gestalt therapy • Lived in New York, Miami, California and British Columbia © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Gestalt • A German term that cannot be translated exactly into English, but explained as: • A form, a configuration or a totality that has, as a unified whole, properties which cannot be derived by summation from the parts and their relationships It may refer to physical structures, to physiological and psychological functions, or to symbolic units (English & English, 1958, p 225) © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A The Nature of People • The most important areas of concern are the thoughts and feelings that people are experiencing at the moment • Normal healthy behavior occurs when people act and react as total organisms • Many people fragment their lives, distributing concentration and attention among several things at one time © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A The Nature of People • View of human nature is positive • People are capable of becoming self-regulating beings who can achieve a sense of unity and integration in their lives • “Lose your mind and come to your senses” • Awareness alone can be curative • With full awareness self-regulation develops and the total person takes control © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A General principles for healthy functioning Valuing the here-and-now in order to experience each minute fully Embracing self-awareness and experience, understanding and accepting all parts of self Prizing wholeness or responsibility and understanding life is a process; as people mature they move past old ways and become more self-sufficient, self-observing, and self-understanding (Fall et al., 2004) © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A People cause themselves problems by not handling their lives in these ways: • Lacking contact with their environment • Confluence: incorporate themselves into others or the environment into themselves • Unfinished business: unfulfilled needs, unfinished situations © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Cause of problems • Fragmentation: inability to find what one needs caused fragmentation • Top/under dog: split between what they should and what they want to • Polarities: need to resolve conflicts between existing polarities © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Five Types of Polarities Physical: masculine-feminine, and parasympathetic-sympathetic nervous system Emotional: pleasure-pain, love-hate, excitement-depression, love-hate Mental: Parent-child, feeling-reason, top dog-underdog Spiritual: intellectual doubt – dogmatism Inter-Individual: man-woman, black-white, Christian-Jew © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Theory of Counseling The five layers of neurosis (counseling stages) Phony Layer: Trying to be what they are not Phobic Layer: Aware of the fears that force the Phony game Impasse Layer: Shed environmental supports of their game without a better way to cope with fears and dislikes Implosive Layer: Aware of how they limit themselves and begin to experiment with new behaviors Explosive Layer: Discover unused energy tied up maintaining a phony existence © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Theory of Counseling Body language – project thoughts onto empty chair as significant person Direct experience of the here and now – Integration and maturation – Gestalts as new needs Help people help themselves grow up Integration is creating whole person whose behavior matches their inner state People should: grow in awareness – take responsibility for their actions – move from environmental support to self support © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A A sampling of counseling methods • “I” language: Disallow “you” as in “you know how it is” • Substitute “won’t” for “can’t” Insist on client taking responsibility • Substitute “what” and “how” for “why” “what you feel” not “why you feel” • No gossiping: talk to people not about people Use an empty chair to talk to © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A A sampling of counseling methods • Change questions to statements “I should” not “do you think I should” • Take responsibility: Right now I feel _and I take _ % of the responsibility • Sentence completion “I help/hurt myself when I _ © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Sampling of counseling methods • Bipolarities – Top/under dog or I should vs I want o o o Use an empty chair for a discussion Client sits in one chair to defend “I should” Moves to another chair to discuss “I want • My greatest weakness o Write a paragraph on my greatest weakness and why it is a strength © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Decision Making SYNERGISE SYNTHESIZE TOP DOG “I SHOULD” UNDER DOG “I WANT” COMPROMISE © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling method Integrate thoughts and feelings For three closest people write • “I resent _” • “I demand _” and • “I appreciate _” © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling methods Fantasy Games for creating awareness • Client fantasizes being an animal and tries to understand what it feels like • Wise person: client asks and answers one question to/from a wise person © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling Methods Dream Work • Dreaming is an awareness of the world • Pieces of a dream are fragments of a personality that must be integrated • Describe a dream – list the objects – client gives a voice to each part and has them converse © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Gestalt Play Therapy • Concern of therapy is the integrated functioning of all aspects of the child so that senses, body, emotions, and intellect are well coordinated in a creative adjustment • A dance that sometimes the counselor leads and other times the child leads • Contact is having the ability to be completely present in a situation © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Gestalt Play Therapy • Goal is to restore the child’s natural functioning and self-regulatory processes • Experiencing the contacting process leads to integration, choice and change © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Gestalt Play Therapy Focus on development of inner strength and confidence in the child through opportunities to make choices, achieve mastery, own their projections, participate in imaginative play, and expel aggressive energy appropriately © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Cross-cultural Applications • Works well for some and offends others (such as cultures where emotions are not expressed) • Dedicated to lifestyle change rather than problem resolution: If you learn how to behave, the problems will take care of themselves • Present oriented but past can be dealt with using empty chair • People are responsible for their lives – no victims – discounts the past • Counselor must (in all cases) adapt to the culture and world view of their clients © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Managed Health Care Managed health care companies would have difficulties with this approach because of the lack of specificity How you know when therapy is finished? When the client has achieved the open honest manner of interaction Can be viewed as instant cure because that sometimes happens quickly © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A [...]... Brooks/Cole, A Counseling method Integrate thoughts and feelings For three closest people write • “I resent _” • “I demand _” and • “I appreciate _” © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling methods Fantasy Games for creating awareness • Client fantasizes being an animal and tries to understand what it feels like • Wise person: client asks and answers one question to/from a wise person © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling. .. Goal is to restore the child s natural functioning and self-regulatory processes • Experiencing the contacting process leads to integration, choice and change © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Gestalt Play Therapy Focus on development of inner strength and confidence in the child through opportunities to make choices, achieve mastery, own their projections, participate in imaginative play, and expel aggressive energy... list the objects – client gives a voice to each part and has them converse © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Gestalt Play Therapy • Concern of therapy is the integrated functioning of all aspects of the child so that senses, body, emotions, and intellect are well coordinated in a creative adjustment • A dance that sometimes the counselor leads and other times the child leads • Contact is having the ability to be... way to cope with fears and dislikes 4 Implosive Layer: Aware of how they limit themselves and begin to experiment with new behaviors 5 Explosive Layer: Discover unused energy tied up maintaining a phony existence © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Theory of Counseling 1 Body language – project thoughts onto empty chair as significant person 2 Direct experience of the here and now – Integration and maturation – Gestalts... Physical: masculine-feminine, and parasympathetic-sympathetic nervous system 2 Emotional: pleasure-pain, love-hate, excitement-depression, love-hate 3 Mental: Parent -child, feeling-reason, top dog-underdog 4 Spiritual: intellectual doubt – dogmatism 5 Inter-Individual: man-woman, black-white, Christian-Jew © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Theory of Counseling The five layers of neurosis (counseling stages) 1 Phony... _and I take _ % of the responsibility • Sentence completion “I help/hurt myself when I _ © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Sampling of counseling methods • Bipolarities – Top/under dog or I should vs I want o o o Use an empty chair for a discussion Client sits in one chair to defend “I should” Moves to another chair to discuss “I want • My greatest weakness o Write a paragraph on my greatest weakness and. .. Brooks/Cole, A A sampling of counseling methods • “I” language: Disallow “you” as in “you know how it is” • Substitute “won’t” for “can’t” Insist on client taking responsibility • Substitute “what” and “how” for “why” “what do you feel” not “why do you feel” • No gossiping: talk to people not about people Use an empty chair to talk to © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A A sampling of counseling methods • Change questions... some and offends others (such as cultures where emotions are not expressed) • Dedicated to lifestyle change rather than problem resolution: If you learn how to behave, the problems will take care of themselves • Present oriented but past can be dealt with using empty chair • People are responsible for their lives – no victims – discounts the past • Counselor must (in all cases) adapt to the culture and ... here -and- now in order to experience each minute fully Embracing self-awareness and experience, understanding and accepting all parts of self Prizing wholeness or responsibility and understanding... People • Theory of Counseling • Counseling Method • Cross Cultural Application • Managed Health Care © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Fritz Perls • A native of Germany • Childhood of questioning and rebellion... move past old ways and become more self-sufficient, self-observing, and self-understanding (Fall et al., 2004) © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A People cause themselves problems by not handling their lives