GESTALT THERAPY

"The marvel of the perfect melody cannot be explained by starting from elements and building up the form as a sum of relations between these elements. The single tone is what it is in the whole--as part, not as piece; and the whole breathes in every part" (Wertheimer, 1924).

INTRODUCTION:

Theories of counselling have, for the most part, been derived from principles of psychotherapy (Passons, 1975). This also holds true for Gestalt therapy. However, despite the varied theoretical frameworks from which a counsellor may choose to operate, the limitations of their use should be recognised. Rather than serving as fact, the counsellor's theoretical framework - like that of Gestalt should serve as a guideline for understanding and enquiry (Passons, 1975).

Any counselling approach is dependent on who the counsellor is - as the counsellor constitutes the essential instrument of his or her work. Subsequently, it may be argued that the values, needs, and other personal characteristics of counsellors permeates everything they do. Therefore, according to Gestalt therapy, an important first step in the counselling process is for the counsellor to attain a high level of self-awareness (Passons, 1975). "Instead of thinking what a counsellor ought to be, a more constructive approach is for the counsellor to become aware of who they are" (Passons, 1975 p.5). In this way, the counsellor becomes aware of how they can use themselves to help others. In Gestalt therapy, a focus on self-awareness forms one of the important cornerstones of the approach (Sundberg, Taplin & Tyler, 1983).

Gestalt is a German word which connotes a structural entity or whole, which is both different from, and larger than, the sum of its parts (Simkin, 1975). The perceptual relationship between wholes and their parts has been one of the most enduring contentions in psychology (Kimchi, 1992). The debate has been centred around whether the process of perception is occupied first with the overall structure of an object or situation, or whether structural parts are registered first and then synthesized to from the objects of our awareness (Kimchi, 1992). To illustrate this point, a question may be asked as to whether faces are recognised by identifying the constituent features first, such as the eyes, nose and mouth, or by firstly perceiving the overall configuration (Kimchi, 1992). The compound letters in Figure 1 represents an example of global and local processing.

Figure 1.

Gestalt psychology originated from a reaction against the rigorous atomistic method of scientific analysis (Helson, 1987). Gestalt argues that the atomistic approach to science analyzes objects, meanings, values and dynamic processes into meaningless units which have nothing to do with the patterns in which they originally appeared (Helson, 1987). Subsequently, the atomistic method of analysis makes it impossible to describe or derive real wholes from a knowledge of parts. "Since the whole possesses its own specific properties, one can never tell in advance from a knowledge of the parts what the whole will be or how it will behave" (Helson, 1987 p.543).

The Gestalt system of psychology has been in direct opposition to the analytical, stimulus-response, and associative nature of behaviourism (Passons, 1975). According to Gestalt psychology, the criticism of behaviourism lies in its assumption that intelligent behaviour consists of part-activities (Helson, 1987). Gestalt however sees this assumption to be meaningless in itself, because it fails to explain how units or part-activities come to be linked together in meaningful, purposeful behaviour. Therefore, according to Gestalt psychology, "what matters in science is productive penetration, not cataloguing and systematizing" (Wertheimer, 1924 p.323).

Gestalt psychology has tended to focus primarily on the interpretation of external visual and auditory perceptions (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). Although a large body of research has been generated to ascertain whether perception is analytic or wholistic, the debate still remains very active (Kimchi, 1992). Kimchi (1992 p.36) has stated that a critical review of the empirical findings suggests "that all else being equal, processing of the global level of hierarchical patterns precedes, or at least dominates, processing of the local level, to the limit of visual acuity". Research indicates that the mechanisms underlying this process may be sensory, but other findings have suggested attention mechanisms (Kimchi, 1992).

Although the Gestalt system of psychology has made important theoretical advances (especially in the field of organic perception), little attempt has been made by Gestalt theorists to employ the various principles of gestalt formation to the perceptions of one's own feelings, emotions, and bodily sensations (Fagan & Shepherd, 1970). It is this contribution to Gestalt psychology that Frederick Perls made.

GESTALT THERAPY:

Gestalt therapy as such is an approach that has been largely derived from an attempt to integrate into psychoanalytic theory the findings of the Gestalt studies of perception and learning (Nevis, 1987). Frederick Perls began his psychiatric career as a Freudian analyst, and because of his background, there are many important analytical influences present in Gestalt therapy, in addition to numerous differences and criticisms levelled at psychoanalysis (Passons, 1975). As a discipline, Gestalt therapy can be associated to a large extent with the "third force" or humanistic approaches, and developed within the existential-humanistic tradition of psychology (Clarkson, 1989).

Human Motivation

According to Gestalt therapy, the central human activity is the individual's need to give meaning to their perceptions, their experience, and their existence (Clarkson, 1989). According to Perls (1969), every individual or living organism has the fundamental inborn goal to actualize itself. All behaviour therefore derives its purpose from the individual's need to become who they are, and all other biological and social needs are seen as part of this need for actualization (Passons, 1975). Although Gestalt theory does not affirm a universal hierarchy of needs, the need to which a person responds or attends in a current moment can be best understood through the figure and ground relationship.

Figure-Ground Formation

The Gestalt concept of figure and ground refers essentially to the focus of our attention or awareness (Herman & Korenich, 1977). "Ground" illudes to the background or environment of our figural experiences. It is all that which is within the individual's scope of awareness but not the direct focus of attention. "Figure" on the other hand is usually that which is most relevant or meaningful to the individual, and that which attracts the individual's attention in a dominant manner (Clarkson, 1989). The concept of figure and ground can be illustrated in Figure 2 where one is able to see either two faces or one vase.

 Figure 2.

Human needs are seen to operate in the same way as the perceptual figure-ground formation observed in Figure 2. At a given moment, a particular need of a person may emerge from ground to figure and direct the person's behaviour. After the need has been met, it then recedes into ground and the most pressing need in the new moment emerges from the ground as figure (Passons, 1975). This process of formation and completion of a good gestalt goes on in each of us continually when there is good awareness, contact, and integration with the environment (Herman & Korenich, 1977).

The process of the natural flow of needs moving between figure and ground can however become interrupted and frustrated either through fixation or lack of clear figure formation. This results in a fixed Gestalt - or an unfinished experience or situation which demands attention and interferes with good awareness and contact with self, others, or the environment (Clarkson, 1989). Incomplete or unresolved needs and experiences create psychological tension, and when these interruptions become chronic or overwhelming, it may then serve to impede effective physiological, affective, cognitive or behavioural functioning in the current reality of the individual (Clarkson, 1989). The aim of Gestalt therapy is therefore to help the client overcome the barriers that block awareness, thereby allowing the individual to make the best transaction they can (Enright, 1975).

Awareness

An important affirmation of Gestalt is that both figure and ground cannot be perceived at the same moment. Gestalt therapy therefore concedes that the present here-and-now is more important in determining current behaviour than the unconscious (which is seen to be that which is not figural at the moment) (Clarkson, 1989). Gestalt therapy rejects the notion that there is a region of the human mind which is permanently or practically inaccessible to awareness. Rather than alluding to the unconscious, Gestalt therapy prefers to refer to the at-this-moment-unaware (Clarkson, 1989). This concept is much broader than the term 'unconscious' and contains not only repressed material, but material which never came into awareness, and material which has faded or been assimilated into larger gestalts (Clarkson, 1989).

The concept of free flow between the accessible and inaccessible psychological function of man strengthens the holistic view held by Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therefore disagrees with the psychoanalytic account that the mental apparatus is divided into the id, ego, and superego. Gestalt therapy considers it more appropriate to stress the wholeness or integrity of the personality as functioning in particular ways.

Personality

The personality system in Gestalt therapy is rather viewed in terms of the top-dog and the under-dog. The top-dog which is equated to the superego is not opposed to an id or ego, but rather to another personality known as the under-dog (Perls, 1970). The top-dog is righteous, is seen to criticise, and knows what the under-dog should do. The under-dog on the other hand is unsure of itself and fights back against the threatening top-dog using sabotage, evasion and postponement (Perls, 1970).

Despite the top-dog's apparent power, the under-dog usually wins. However, this winning is viewed as negative since individuals merely succeed in stopping themselves from doing what one part of them-self wanted to do (Fantz, 1975). Through awareness of the here-and-now, Gestalt therapy attempts to integrate these selves in order to gain deeper insight into the structure and function of the organism (Simkin, 1975).

Gestalt argues that as long as people persist in remaining and not fully acknowledging what and how they are, real change is believed to be impossible (Fantz, 1975). Therefore in Gestalt therapy, what is of primary importance is the here-and-now experience of the person (Clarkson, 1989). "Focus is on the here-and-now, not the there and then; life is to be lived, not only talked about" (Clarkson, 1989 p.10). Although Gestalt therapy does not exclude the client's past or historical accounts, unlike psychoanalysis it does not make the past foreground, but rather the present (Clarkson, 1988).

Wholeness

Gestalt therapy asserts that human beings can be understood only within the present system of which they are a significant component part. This is because virtually all of a person's behaviour is in some way related to the person-environment complex (Passons, 1975). "It is only the interplay of organism and environment that constitutes the psychological situation, not the organism and environment taken separately" (Perls, 1969 p.12). Gestalt therefore is seen to be one of the earliest psychotherapeutic approaches to incorporate a systems perspective on human problems (Clarkson, 1989).

Furthermore, there is no preconceived concept as to how a person should be (Greenwald, 1975). The emphasis is rather on growth through self-discovery. This is achieved through becoming aware and experimenting with what fits and what does not fit the unique self of each individual (Greenwald, 1975). The objective of Gestalt therapy is therefore to make the client become responsible for their self (Passons, 1975). This however does not mean that one should carry out duties according to someone's expectations, but rather the aim of therapy is to make the client independent of others and to discover that they are capable of performing beyond their expectations (Passons, 1975). It is this awareness and responsibility of the self and for others which gives meaning and pattern to the individual's life (Perls, 1976).

With this assumption of awareness and responsibility, increased response-ability is said to become possible (Clarkson, 1989). Gestalt therapy therefore argues that the more fully people become aware of who they are and what they are doing at each moment, the more freedom they have to experience change and to choose the way they respond to a given situation. "Even if we are not personally responsible for the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we are still responsible for the meaning we give to our lives as we choose our attitudes towards, and behaviour in, such situations" (Clarkson, 1989 p.24-25).

THE COUNSELLING PROCESS:

The objective of counselling therapy is to enhance the person's awareness of the now (Passons, 1975). The therapist must therefore be able to enter into the person's now and react to it by sharing his or her observations and experience of the present. The function of the therapist is not to interpret behaviour but rather, by focusing on the present, the person's most pressing need can be dealt with (Passons, 1975). The therapeutic relationship of the counsellor does not attempt to solve the individual's problems, but rather to help re-establish the conditions under which the individual can best use their own problem solving abilities. "The therapist is therefore an observer, not a mindreader" (Greenwald, 1975 p.110).

The counselling process of Gestalt therapy can be represented by the Gestalt Cycle of Experience (Nevis, 1987). It integrates the behavioural aspects of sensation, awareness, energy mobilisation, contact, and resolution or closure into a complete unit of human experience (Nevis, 1987). The role of the therapist is to help the client become more effective in performing this behavioural sequence.

The Gestalt Cycle of Experience.

Within the Gestalt Cycle of Experience, sensation is marked by the stage when the individual becomes aware of their need for counselling due to some external or internal disequilibrium in their lives (Clarkson, 1989).

This is followed by a heightened sense of awareness to seek information or advice that may help resolve the problem. The first basic therapeutic technique of Gestalt is to teach the client to enter into a heightened state of continued awareness (Naranjo, 1975). Being in touch with one's flow of awareness is an essential aspect of the Gestalt method. Participants are therefore encouraged to tune into what they are experiencing from moment to moment by focusing on sensory data, feelings, emotions and reactions from within oneself and the environment (Greenwald, 1975). This technique however is not the same as introspection which splits the person into observer and observed. Rather it is an attempt to concentrate without judgement and labelling on every new figure which becomes of interest. Awareness training is designed to restore mindfulness, and vitality of living, and to teach the client to focus on the here-and-now (Clarkson, 1989). Furthermore, Gestalt therapy also emphasises first person statements to enhance awareness of the emotional content of what is being said. This also helps the client to take on responsibility for their own feelings and behaviour (Greenwald, 1975).

The phase of mobilisation is characterised when significant aspects of experience have permeated awareness. The figure (or problem) which is most important, significant or urgent has therefore been focused and clarified (Clarkson, 1989). Top-dog/under-dog and two-chair dialogues are considered to be effective techniques for working with introjection, and focusing attention away from the client's emotional state to the situation creating the upset or problem (Clarke & Greenberg, 1986).

The therapist may therefore ask the person to write a dialogue or to role-play, by speaking to the significant person associated with the problem, or with the parts of oneself which are in conflict (Greenwald, 1975). Research has found Gestalt dialogues to be effective in producing conflict resolution (Greenberg & Clarke, 1979; Greenberg & Dompierre, 1981; Greenberg & Higgins, 1980; Greenberg & Rice, 1981) and in assisting in the formulation of decisions (Greenberg & Webster, 1982).

The counselling stage of action is concerned with implementing the appropriate action to satisfy the primary emergent need by organising perceptual, emotional and behavioural activities. Therapeutic techniques involved in this phase may include role-playing behaviour, learning decision-making skills, brain-storming, and dreamwork.

Gestalt therapy adopts a non-interpretive approach to working with dreams. Clients need to interpret the meaning of their own dreams as every image in the dream whether human, animal or vegetable is considered to be a representation of an alienated portion of the self (Enright, 1975). By retelling the dream over again in the present tense, the person may begin to re-experience and reclaim the alienated fragments of the self, accepting them, living with them and expressing them more appropriately (Enright, 1975).

Contact in the counselling process involves full and complete awareness of as many aspects of the problematic situation as possible. This phase may result in the acceptance and completion of the dominating unfinished situation that has produced the problem in the client (Clarkson, 1989).

In the satisfaction stage, the goal of the counsellor is to facilitate the client's experience of satisfaction on completion of the gestalt. The counselling session is marked by enjoyment and integration, and a clear sense of a developmental task well accomplished. This phase may also be marked by the client's learning to let go, accepting when something is good enough, and learning to define what is a good enough relationship, a good enough self-image, and a good enough life (Clarkson, 1989).

Satisfaction leads to the final phase of the counselling process which is concerned with withdrawal. The client prepares for separation from the counselling relationship, and has learnt many of the skills and techniques for enhanced self-awareness and efficient problem solving, which can continue to be used without the guidance of the counsellor (Clarkson, 1989).

GESTALT IN THE WORKPLACE:

Although much of the work with Gestalt therapy has been applied and directed towards understanding and helping the individual, it has also been applied to groups, families and organisations (Nevis, 1987). Gestalt awareness techniques have been applied to sensitivity training in order to explore ways of aiding individuals to perceive themselves more clearly and to make better contact with others.

This general approach to individual development has also been expanded to team building and third party interventions (Nevis, 1987). It has been shown to aid the undoing of erroneous projections that interfere with a clear perception of self and other, and the expression and utilization of feelings in decision making. Furthermore, the Gestalt Cycle of Experience has also shown to provide an extremely useful framework to aid organisational consulting work at all levels (Nevis, 1987). (See Appendix for the basic organisation development intervention behaviours drawn from a Gestalt perspective.)

CRITICISMS OF GESTALT:

In considering the effectiveness of Gestalt therapy, Shepherd (1975) has stated that literature makes little reference to the limitations and contradictions of Gestalt therapy - which is essential to its effective practice. The most immediate limitation of Gestalt identified by Shepherd (1975) is the skill, training, experience and judgement of the therapist. Shepherd (1975) argues that fairly extensive therapeutic experience is required for the effective application of Gestalt techniques.

Furthermore, Gestalt therapy has been found to be problematic with more severely disturbed or psychotic individuals (Shepherd, 1975). It is argued that this is because it is unrealistic to expect that the patient's own growth processes can solve their problems, as well as the social problems they present (Sundberg, Taplin & Tyler, 1983). Rather, Gestalt therapy has shown to be more effective with individuals whose functioning is limited or inconsistent, due to their internal restrictions and minimal enjoyment of living (Shepherd, 1975).

Gestalt therapy's emphasis on awareness, self-support and responsibility has also been criticised. This is because it serves to magnify the role and importance of the individual and understates the importance of ongoing relationships, and the effects of the vocational, institutional, and cultural systems of which the individual is a part (Shepherd, 1975).This could result in relationships being viewed as of secondary importance to the internal happenings of the individual, and the marked influence of family and other external pressures and difficulties could be ignored. Thus, "the emphasis on the patient himself as being solely in possession of the key to his own destiny and happiness can distort the realities of everyday existence" (Shepherd, 1975 p.238).

Finally, Gestalt therapy has been shown to lack empiricism. According to Yontef (1975), there has been an insufficient number of systematic, detailed case histories and a great deal is left to the discretion of the individual therapist. However, because Gestalt therapy is an approach that is selectively and differentially practised according to the personality and needs of the therapist, the patients, and the setting, Gestalt subsequently argues that it challenges everyone to verify and decide for oneself whether the potential use of Gestalt therapy warrants basic research, personal experimentation, or psychotherapeutic application (Yontef, 1975).

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, Gestalt therapy is an approach that emphasises the integration and wholeness of the individual, both behaviourally and spiritually. It has provided a therapy that is exclusively orientated to here-and-now behaviour without excluding awareness variables and without conditioning that behaviour (Yontef, (1975). Gestalt therapy's focus on the awareness of present experience, and its faith and commitment to the self-healing and regenerating forces of the human being, makes it compatible with other humanistic approaches. Gestalt is therefore seen to able to bring immediacy, relationship, and experimentation to the counselling process (Clarkson, 1989).

"Tanzan and Ekido, two Zen monks, were travelling companions on a muddy road during a storm. On their way they met a lovely young girl in a silk kimono who was unable to cross the intersection. Tanzan lifted her in his arms and carried her over the mud putting her down on the other side. Many hours later in the lodging of the temple Ekido confronted Tanzan. He said 'We monks are not meant to go near women. To carry such a young and lovely one was wrong. Why did you do that?' Tanzan replied: 'I left the girl there.... Are you still carrying her?'"(Clarkson,1989 p.16).

REFERENCES

Clark, K. M. & Greenberg, L. S. (1986). Differential effects of the Gestalt two-chair intervention and problem solving in resolving decisional conflict. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 33 (1), 11-15.

Clarkson, P. (1988). Gestalt Therapy - An Up Date. Self and Society, 16 (2), 74-79.

Clarkson, P. (1989). Gestalt Counselling in Action. London: Sage Publications.

Enright, J. B. (1975). An introduction to Gestalt therapy. In F.D. Stephenson Gestalt Therapy Primer: Introductory Readings in Gestalt Therapy. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.

Fantz, R. (1975). Polarities: Differentiation and integration. In F.D. Stephenson Gestalt Therapy Primer: Introductory Readings in Gestalt Therapy. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.

Greenberg, L. S. & Clark, K. M. (1979). Differential effects of the two-chair experiment and empathic reflections at a conflict marker. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 26, 1-8.

Greenberg, L. S. & Dompierre, L. M. (1981). Specific effects of Gestalt two-chair dialogue in intrapsychic conflict in counselling. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 28, 288-294.

Greenberg, L. S. & Higgins, H. M. (1980). Effects of two-chair dialogue and focusing resolution. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 27, 214-221.

Greenberg, L. S. & Rice, L. N. (1981). The specific effects of a Gestalt intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 18, 31-38.

Greenberg, L. S. & Webster, M. C. (1982). Resolving decisional conflict by Gestalt two-chair dialogue: Relating process to outcome. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 29, 468-477.

Greenwald, J. A. (1975). The ground rules in Gestalt therapy. In F.D. Stephenson Gestalt Therapy Primer: Introductory Readings in Gestalt Therapy. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.

Helson, H. (1987). The psychology of Gestalt. The American Journal Psychology, 100, 538-567.

Herman, S. M. & Korenich, M. (1977). Authentic Management. London: Addison-Wesley.

Kimchi, R. (1992). Primacy of wholistic processing and global/local paradigm: A critical review. Psychological Bulletin, 112 (1), 24-38.

Naranjo, C. (1970). Present-centredness: Technique, prescription, and ideal. In J. Fagan & I. L. Shepherd Gestalt Therapy Now: Theory, Techniques, Applications. New York: Harper & Row.

Nevis, E. C. (1987). Organizational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach. New York: Gardner Press, Inc.

Passons, W. R. (1975). Gestalt Approaches in Counselling. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Perls, F. S. (1969). Gestalt Therapy Verbatim. Moab, UT: Real People Press.

Perls, F. S. (1970). Four Lectures. In J. Fagan & I. L. Shepherd Gestalt Therapy Now: Theory, Techniques, Applications. New York: Harper & Row.

Perls, F. S. (1976). The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy. New York: Bantam Books.

Shepherd, I. M. (1970). Limitations and cautions in the Gestalt approach. In J. Fagan & I. L. Shepherd Gestalt Therapy Now: Theory, Techniques, Applications. New York: Harper & Row.

Simkin, J. S. (1975). An introduction to Gestalt therapy. In F.D. Stephenson Gestalt Therapy Primer: Introductory Readings in Gestalt Therapy. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.

Sundberg, N. D., Taplin, J. R. & Tyler, L. E. (1983). Introduction to Clinical Psychology: Perspectives, Issues, and Contributions to Human Service. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Wallen, R. (1970). Gestalt therapy and Gestalt psychology. In J. Fagan & I. L. Shepherd Gestalt Therapy Now: Theory, Techniques, Applications. New York: Harper & Row.

Wertheimer, M. (1924). Forwarded by K. Rietzler (1984). Gestalt Theory. Social Research, 11 (2), 305-327.

Yontef, G. M. (1975). A review of the practice of Gestalt therapy. In F.D. Stephenson Gestalt Therapy Primer: Introductory Readings in Gestalt Therapy. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.

APPENDIX

BASIC ACTIVITIES OF A GESTALT-ORIENTATED INTERVENTIONIST

1. To attend, observe, and selectively share observations of what you see, hear, feel, etc., and thus establish your presence in doing so.

2. To attend to one's own experience (feelings, sensations, thoughts) and to selectively share these, thus establishing your presence in doing so.

3. To focus energy in the client system and the emergence or lack of themes or issues (common figures) for which there is energy; to act to support mobilization of client energy (joining) so that something happens.

4. To facilitate clear, meaningful, heightened contacts between members of the client system (including their contact with you).

5. To help the group achieve heightened awareness of its overall process in completing units of work, and to learn to complete units of work so as to achieve closure around problem areas of unfinished business.

(Nevis, 1987 p.57)