Gestalt Therapy: what is it and what are its principles?

Have you heard of Gestalt Therapy? Here is a summary of its postulates.

We often associate psychotherapy with a form of intervention that can only be useful for people with serious psychological or health problems.

It is possible that this is so because of the confusion that exists when it comes to differentiating concepts such as psychology and psychiatry, or because of the way in which the media and audiovisual fictions portray psychotherapists: people who only enter the scene to help unhappy people, who do not achieve their goals and who, in many cases, are at risk of social exclusion..

However, this is not the case. Among other things, because there are psychological approaches whose aim is to provide the necessary therapeutic tools so that people can tend towards self-realization and to the creation of a meaning for their own actions. This is the case of Humanistic Psychology, within which we find a very well known type of therapy: Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt Therapy.

What is Gestalt Therapy?

The Gestalt Therapy, o Gestalt Therapyis a type of psychological therapy that falls into the category of Humanistic Psychology in the sense that it assumes the way in which humanistic thought conceives human beings, their goals and their range of needs and potentialities. Moreover, as its name indicates, it includes the theoretical principles of Gestalt Gestalt Psychology and uses them to propose a form of psychotherapy..

The main authors responsible for the development of this type of psychotherapy are authors such as Paul Goodman, Isadore From and, especially, Fritz Perls y Laura Perls. Since the consolidation of Gestalt Therapy in the mid-twentieth century, much work has been done to extend its applicability beyond clinical psychology as we understand it classically, and therefore it is possible to find forms of this therapy in interventions on communities, organizations or specific work dynamics.

In short, Gestalt Therapy has flourished by extending to a great number of social and human fields to put Gestalt principles into practice in all kinds of objectives.. That is why, although this type of therapy is related to the idea of personal development, it is not limited to the field of classical psychological consultation, but can be understood as a tool to redefine lifestyles in its entirety.

You can learn more about Fritz Perls and his thought by entering this article:

• "Biography of Fritz Perls and his contributions to Psychology".

The principles of Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the way in which the things we experience are mentally formulated, rather than being concerned with the content of what happens to us.. This means that from this type of therapy the importance falls on the form in which something is experienced, and not so much in that "something" itself. Intervention is not based on questions such as "what happens to us", but on "how does it happen to us and how do we experience it? It is an approach that emphasizes the role of subjective sensations, since it is based on the approaches of Humanistic Psychology.

This emphasis on processes over content and on the subjective over the objective can be deployed in three theoretical principles: the experimentation of the "here and nowthe awareness and responsibility.

1. Here and now

From Gestalt Therapy it is assumed that human beings perceive everything that happens to us as a unified experience.. This means, among other things, that our idea of the future and the past are nothing more than projections of how we live in the present. In short, by working on our way of thinking about the present we will be intervening on our ways of thinking about the future and the way in which we look back to review the past.

This idea, by the way, is supported by research that made the psychologist Gordon H. Bower famous. Gordon H. Bower.

2. Awareness

In Gestalt Therapy, it is essential to take note of what is happening to oneself. Only in this way will it be possible to detect new ways of formulating the experience of the here and now in terms that bring us closer to self-realization..

Looking at our own experiences and thoughts allows us, on the one hand, to be better at recognizing our own style when it comes to experimenting, and on the other hand, to have more decision-making power when it comes to changing our way of seeing things. In other words, it could be said that being honest with our way of experiencing allows us to develop a better EQ.

3. Responsibility

Becoming aware of one's own actions and styles of experiencing things also implies assuming the consequences of these choices.. From the acceptance of mistakes and the hypothetization of risks, autonomy is gained. This opens the range of options and conception of meanings in which one can act, from an existential perspective.

Irresponsibility is considered the fruit of an illusion, a denial of the present and a refusal to become aware. That is why Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the need to assume responsibilities, not only to improve our coexistence with others, but also to be freer and more capable of giving meaning to our lives.

In short, therapists who adhere to Gestalt Therapy understand that their interventions must focus on the autonomy and potential of the person.. A good way of experiencing what is happening can be useful to know how to guide oneself through this jungle of possible options, of ways of conceiving one's own existence.

Criticisms to this practice

Gestalt Therapy has been harshly criticized, among other things, for not having a concrete unit of analysis, with which it is possible to work experimentally without getting lost in words without clear definitions. This fact, which has to do with the attempt to approach the subjectivity of this form of intervention (starting from rigid definitions could leave out part of the patients' reality, according to this perspective) means that the effectiveness of the therapy cannot be guaranteed either.

On the other hand, the markedly eclectic character of Gestalt Therapy also creates misgivingsIt does not base its proposals on a unified and systematized theoretical system, as the behaviorist perspective, for example, tries to do. Moreover, its inspiration in Freudian psychoanalysis, based on the idea that there are parts of the psyche that are in conflict, is also seen as part of a heritage of thought that remains outside of science.

Bibliographical references:

• Brownell, P., ed.(2008) Handbook for Theory, Research, and Practice in Gestalt Therapy, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Castanedo, C. (1993). Six approaches to psychotherapy. Manual Moderno. Mexico.
• Ginger, S. (2005). Gestalt. The art of contact. Integral - RBA. Barcelona.
• Martín, A. (2007). Manual práctico de Psicoterapia Gestalt. Desclée de Brouwer. Bilbao.