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Different perspectives of psychology
Different perspectives of psychology
Strength and weakness of gestalt therapy
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I am choosing to write about gestalt therapy. Gestalt’s founding theorists were Frederick (Fritz) S. Perls and Laura Posner Perls. In 1952 Fritz and Laura and other associates established the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt theory is an existential, phenomenological and process-based theory made on the basis that people must be understood in the setting of their ongoing relationships with their atmosphere. Awareness, choice, and responsibility are the base fundamentals of the theory. Contemporary gestalt therapy is sometimes called relational gestalt therapy which stresses a dialogue and relationship between a client and a therapist must be had. Fritz is often seen in one of two ways, either people are in awe of him or find him tough and aggressively confrontational. Today’s gestalt therapists seek to be more supportive, accepting, respectful, dialogical, and empathic and challenging (Corey, 2013). The main goal (though this theory is not as goal-oriented as some other theories) of this theory is to expand a client’s awareness of their here and now. The attempt is to get the client to become more aware of what they are thinking, feeling, and doing. A big saying that is often said when thinking of gestalt therapy is that people are always …show more content…
It also does not have clearly defined or elaborated theory of human development. Something that might also hinder progress with gestalt therapy is that if a client has trust issues the relationship between the client and therapist may not form or may not form correctly making this approach much more difficult. A gestalt therapist must not be too sensitive, have good timing, empathy, creativity, and respect for their client (Corey,
Therefore, Experiential Family Therapy is a non-traditional therapy. According to Goldberg and Goldberg (2012), another weakness is that, the clinicians who use Experiential Family Therapy only focus on the family members’ experiences to come out with an outcome on the problem. Another weakness is that, in Experiential Family Therapy, the therapist pushes the clients to confront their issues, and does not offer a solution. In this therapy, the client is pressed to confront heir issues and find answers to their problems, instead of helping them to find solutions for their current
My theory will include both directive and non-directive approaches, focusing on building a supportive client-therapist relationship, a full lifestyle assessment and understanding of the client’s belief system, as well as engaging in a strength based, goal-oriented practice which focuses on changing thoughts and choices, through education to the client and building self-regulation within the
...In this specific style, the therapist tends to have the most success in gaining knowledge of the patients feelings of inadequacy, fear of intimacy, and low self esteem.
I was drawn into the Brice family's story and by the end of the book I cared about them and felt as if I knew them. I appreciated the author's no holds barred, realistic portrayal of the therapist and client relationship. Not only is the reader drawn into the subject's inner world, the reader is also pulled into the world of the therapist and given a ring side seat into the cognitive operation of the therapist mind. Napier and Whitaker lay out the theories that inform their practice. For example, they identify, feedback spirals, triangulation, transference, and enmeshed identities, for the reader and then demonstrate through the narrative, methods for assisting families in leaping over these
As this book points out, and what I found interesting, the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client, can be even more important than how the therapy sessions are conducted. A therapists needs to be congruent. This is important because a client needs a sense of stability. To know what is expected from him or her while being in this transitional period of change. In some cases this congruency may be the only stability in his life, and without it, there is no way of him trusting in his t...
Throughout this semester, we have discovered some of the greatest psychoanalysts who have influenced and affected the mental health field forever. With their theories they have shaped the understanding of the human condition and how it develops. The purpose behind these methods of treatments is to help people discover, change, and progress in life. Through self-awareness people are able to achieve this progress. Psychoanalytical treatment gives patients the opportunity to examine these assumptions, understand their origins in their lives, modify them if necessary, and make better choices for themselves (AmericanPsychoanalyticAssoication). The doctor who stood out and who I understood the most was Erik Erikson, the founder of the “Identity Theory.” As for the literary figure I chose that connects to Erik Erikson’s theory is a well-known American writer and poet, Sandra Cisneros.
Many gestalt therapists are against assessments or favor a gestalt version of an assessment (Brownell, 2010). Despite the lack of general assessments for gestalt therapy, therapists focus on four concepts during treatment: phenomenological method, dialogical relationship, field-theoretical strategies, and experimental freedom. Phenomenological method is used to bring awareness to the client. The therapist observes the client’s actions, such as if they choose to roll their eyes. He or she will describe these details out loud and treats each action with equal value. The dialogical relationship is where the therapist is honest and upfront with the client, instead of taking on a persona. The therapist also accepts however the client chooses to portray themselves. Field theoretical strategies enable the therapist to interpret a person’s character as dynamic rather than static. Lastly, experimental freedom is the concept that gestalt therapy is more than just talk. The therapist can experiment and try something new with the client as the therapy persists (RGI, 2013).
One of Anderson et al.’s (2010) key points is summed up in the following statement: “The contextual view holds that psychotherapy orientations (and other forms of healing) are equivalent in their effectiveness because of factors shared by all” (p. 145). They posit that four key factors are responsible for this success: the healing setting, the therapeutic myth, rituals prescribed by the therapeutic myth, and an emotional relationship in which one person is able to confide in another (p. 145-152).
The rapport and friendship built throughout this movie is vital to the success of the therapy exhibited here. This is a great example of Gestalt therapeutic approach and helps to identify most of the techniques incorporated. The techniques and ways of gently confronting but pushing a client all the way through are very beneficial to each viewer of this film.
The most concise way to characterize Gestalt psychology is to say that it deals with wholes and its given data are what have been called phenomena. It is because of their strong phenomenological orientation, which explains that wholes are experienced by conscious man and not in parts. For example, in perceiving a melody one gets a melodic form, not a string or a note, a unitary whole that is something more important than the total list of its parts. This is the way experience comes to man, organizing it into significant structured form.
The goal of this therapy is to focus on the past traumatic memories that are contributors of the traumatic problem, disturbing present situations and the necessary skills that could be beneficial to the client for the future (Shapiro, 2014). The focus of this therapy is to provide effective psychotherapy treatment without need to expose the client to detailed description of the traumatic event (Shapiro, 2014). Some of the other goals of this therapy is to strengthen positive beliefs, eradicate negative physical events, and ascertain skills needed for functioning and integrating learning (CEBC, 2015).
Gestalt therapy is existential, phenomenological, and process-based approach created on the premise that individuals must be understood in the context of their ongoing relationship with the environment. Awareness, choice and responsibility are the cornerstone of practice (Corey, 2013).
In existential the focus is on assisting individuals on becoming authors of their own lives with the philosophical framework of what it means to be human. Psychodrama allows individuals to explore problems through role play to develop new behavioral skills. Gestalt therapy warrants the here-and-now, bringing unfinished business to the present, allowing individuals to deal with those problems now. Person-centered approach concentrates on self-exploration, learning to accept one’s self, and determining avenues to take to change. Collectively, I found the most valuable and meaningful aspects of experiential and relationship oriented approaches to be self-exploration and bringing unfinished business to the present to help individuals deal with those problems
Another noteworthy feature of this approach is the chance to empathize. In most forms of therapy, empathy is not used: why would you want to add more conflict to an already difficult situation? Well, as counterintuitive as it may seem, it does have standing. By definition empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of another person. In this context empathy serves as an indirect way for readers to relive and recall their own experiences. The power of empathy is often overlooked. “Humans and other higher primates appear to be predisposed to empathy, to respond emotionally to [a] secure sense of self . . .” (O’Conner). This is significantly better than just plunging into one’s past without buffer material. This feature is also what makes
Fritz and Laura Perls are responsible for the founding of gestalt therapy in the 1940’s. From there on, Gestalt has contributed significantly to the field of psychotherapy, counseling, and personal development. When therapist uses this method, his or her ultimate aim is to ensure the client achieves personal growth and development. To achieve this outcome, gestalt utilizes existential philosophy and phenomenology. In summary, this form of therapy aims to empower the patient to use his internal and external senses for the purposes of developing personal responsibility and a self-supportive system (Franzke 1999; Corcoran & Daly 2008).