Gestalt Therapy Paper

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Recommended: Application of gestalt therapy

Devereux Arizona offers outpatient counseling services to children from birth to age 18 and their families. Clients are referred through Mercy Maricopa (MMIC) and receive Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System benefits (AHCCCS). Clients are treated for a variety of emotional and behavioral issues. Counseling services are provided in schools, home and office settings. I am a clinical intern in the outpatient clinic. I facilitate or co-facilitate therapy sessions with clients under a counselor’s supervision. I also co-facilitate a pre-teen boy’s socialization group. Presenting Problems and Strengths: Michael is a 14 year-old Native American male referred for counseling services for physical aggression that occurs a few times a month; substance use of smoking marijuana and/or drinking alcohol a few times a month, and relationship difficulties with his mother. Michael has been engaging in aggressive behaviors in the form of hitting or punching peers, verbally or physically threatening teachers, and destruction of property a few times a month, according to self, parent, and school …show more content…

One of the main techniques of Gestalt therapy is the “empty chair” technique. This technique allows the client to practice expressing feelings to a specific individual by imagining talking to that person. Results from Paivio and Greenberg (1995) show that using an “empty chair” dialogue can help clients reduce interpersonal distress. The client was taught how to use “I statements” (“I feel ___ because of ____”) (Burr, 1990). The client was then directed to make those statements towards an imaginary target. This process allowed the client to express his anger in a safe and therapeutic environment (Burr, 1990; Paivio & Greenberg, 1995). One ethical issue in using this technique is that the client could have an overwhelming experience of

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