Fritz Perls was the main originator and developer of Gestalt therapy.

Whereas Freud’s
view of human beings is basically mechanistic, Perls stressed a holistic approach to
personality. Freud focused on repressed intrapsychic conflicts from early childhood,
whereas Perls valued examining the present situation. The Gestalt approach focuses
much more on process than on content. This process involves Gestalt therapists putting
themselves as fully as possible into the experience of the client without judgment,
analyzing, or interpreting, while concurrently holding a sense of one’s individual,
independent presence.
Gestalt Therapy
● Gestalt therapy is associated with Gestalt psychology, a school of thought that
stresses perception of completeness and wholeness.
● The term gestalt means whole figure.
● Gestalt therapy emphasizes how people function in their totality.
● The initial goal is for clients to expand their awareness of what they are
experiencing in the present moment. Through this awareness, change
automatically occurs.
● The approach is phenomenological because it focuses on the client’s perceptions
of reality and existential because it is grounded in the notion that people are
always in the process of becoming, remaking, and rediscovering themselves.

● Gestalt therapy focuses on the lived experience of individuals and acknowledges

their capacity for growth and healing. It emphasizes the importance of
interpersonal contact and insight in facilitating this growth. By paying attention to
how individuals experience their existence, Gestalt therapy helps clients develop
a deeper understanding of themselves and their interactions with others, leading
to personal growth and healing.
● Perls emphasized the importance of focusing on the present moment rather than
delving into past events or analyzing why a person behaves in a certain way.
According to Perls, understanding one's current behavior and experiences is
essential for self-awareness and personal growth.
● In Gestalt therapy, awareness is not just about gaining insight or reflecting on
one's thoughts and emotions through introspection. It involves actively engaging
with the present moment, being mindful of one's sensations, perceptions, and
interactions with the environment.
● Clients are expected to do their own seeing, feeling, sensing, and interpreting, as
opposed to waiting passively for the therapist to provide them with insights and
answers.

● Contemporary relational Gestalt therapy stresses dialogue and the I/Thou

relationship between client and therapist. Therapists emphasize the therapeutic
relationship and work collaboratively with clients in a search for understanding.
 ● Gestalt therapy emphasizes direct experiencing over talking abstractly. It's
experiential, with clients engaging directly with their thoughts, feelings, and
actions in interaction with the therapist. Practitioners prioritize being fully present
during sessions, believing that genuine contact fosters growth between client and
therapist.
View of Human Nature
● Gestaltists believe that human beings work for wholeness and completeness in
life. Each person has a self-actualizing tendency that emerges through personal
interaction with the environment and the beginning of self-awareness.
● The quality of contact with aspects of the external world (for example, other
people) and the internal world (for example, parts of the self that are disowned)
are monitored
● Fritz Perls (1969a) practiced Gestalt therapy paternalistically. Clients have to
grow up, stand on their own two feet, and “deal with their life problems
themselves”
● Perls’s style of doing therapy involved two personal agendas:
○ 1.moving the client from environmental support to self-support. This
involved empowering the client to take responsibility for their own
thoughts, emotions, and actions, rather than depending solely on external
factors for validation or guidance.
○ 2.reintegrating the disowned parts of one’s personality. This means
helping the client acknowledge and embrace all parts of themselves,
including those that may have been suppressed or denied. By
reintegrating these disowned parts, individuals can achieve a more holistic
and authentic sense of self.
● Fritz’s good friend and psychiatrist colleague Arnie Beisser (1970) suggested that
authentic change occurs more from being who we are than from trying to be who
we are not. Beisser called this simple tenet the paradoxical theory of change.
We are constantly moving between who we “should be” and who we “are.”
Gestalt therapists ask clients to invest themselves fully in their current condition
rather than striving to become who they should be. Gestalt therapists believe
people change and grow when they experience who they really are in the world

HOLISM- In Gestalt therapy, the focus is on the whole person rather than any specific
aspect. Therapists consider thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body sensations, memories,
and dreams as interconnected components of a person's experience, aiming to address
them holistically.
FIELD THEORY- They observe cues like gestures and tone to understand this
background, known as "attending to the obvious." By examining how the parts relate
and how the individual interacts with their environment, therapists seek integration and
awareness.
FIGURE-FORMATION PROCESS-
For example, imagine seeing a woman on a hill in the distance. You do not see her
clearly but receive an overall impression of this figure: a Gestalt. As you move closer,
you gain more awareness of this figure and she becomes increasingly clear and more
detailed: you see her face and the way she buttons her blouse.

In therapy, contemporary Gestalt therapists help clients explore their experiences

similarly. They facilitate the client's movement toward (getting closer to understanding)
and away from (gaining distance or perspective) the focal point of their interest or
concern, which can be likened to the woman on the hill. This process is influenced by
the client's current needs and priorities.
ORGANISMIC SELF-REGULATION- The figure-formation process in Gestalt therapy is
closely linked to the principle of organismic self-regulation. This principle suggests that
individuals naturally seek equilibrium, but this balance can be disrupted by needs,
sensations, or interests that arise. Organisms, including humans, will try to regulate
themselves using their own abilities and the resources available in their environment.
In therapy, clients may become aware of aspects of themselves or their
experiences that disturb their equilibrium, prompting them to seek change or growth.
Gestalt therapists guide clients' awareness toward these emerging "figures," which
represent the focal points of therapeutic work. By focusing on these figures and
exploring them in depth, clients can gain insight, restore equilibrium, and facilitate
personal growth and change.

Contact and Resistances to Contact

In Gestalt therapy contact is necessary if change and growth are to occur. Contact is
made by seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving. Effective contact means
interacting with nature and with other people without losing one’s sense of individuality.
Prerequisites for good contact are clear awareness, full energy, and the ability to
express oneself. Contact between therapist and client are key to Gestalt therapy
practice
In Gestalt therapy, both contact and withdrawal are seen as vital to healthy functioning.
Contact allows us to engage with our environment and others, while withdrawal enables
self-reflection and preservation. Therapists also address interruptions, disturbances,
and resistances to contact, which are coping mechanisms developed unconsciously but
can hinder authentic experiences of the present. These resistances, when chronic, often
lead to dysfunctional behaviors. Therapy aims to bring awareness to these patterns and
facilitate more authentic engagement with the present.
Introjection- When we introject, we passively take in what the environment offers without
actively discerning our own desires or needs. This can lead to a state where we rely on
external authorities or sources to dictate what is best for us, rather than pursuing our
own aspirations. In essence, introjection can constrain our energy and autonomy,
limiting our ability to shape our lives according to our own authentic values and goals.