Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy is a process-based approach that is based on the understanding that
individuals have to be understood first in the context of their relationship with the
environment. The cornerstone of this therapy is responsibility, choice, awareness.

Gestalt Therapy Methods

Gestalt therapy uses a variety of methods. One of them is asking questions. The
therapy asks the client questions pertaining to their present situation (Mann, 2020). For
instance, a client may be asked to answer a question about how they feel regarding a certain
issue at the moment. Making clients to be conscious of the present moment is at the core of
Gestalt therapy.

Another technique that Gestalt therapy uses is experiments. The goal of the
experiments is to promote self-awareness of the individual. The experiments that the
individual plays may be in the form of homework, enactment, or role play (Mann, 2020). In
role playing, the therapist asks the client to embody or play another person. In this way, the
client learns how to feel empathetic toward the person that they are embodying. Empathy is
important in Gestalt therapy because it helps the therapist to understand how the client
interacts with other people.

An example of the use of experiments in Gestalt is the treatment of man who often
feels insecure when in social situations. To overcome his insecurity, the therapist gives him
an experiment of speaking to an imaginary person that he does not normally speak to. In
performing this experiment, the man will have to spend time thinking about what he might

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say to that person. Such thinking promotes self-awareness and increases the self-confidence
of man in social situations.

In addition to experiments, Gestalt therapy also uses confrontation as a technique. The
practice of confrontation involves the therapist guiding the client to confront another person
in a hypothetical scenario (Mann, 2020). Gestalt therapy uses this technique because it helps
the client to self-express. According to Gestalt therapy, self-expression has positive impact on
external relationships.

Body work is another method that is used in Gestalt Therapy. In this method, the
therapist may request the client to perform some body movements, dance, or perform some
physical activities (Mann, 2020). These physical activities are usually conducted in addition
to normal therapy sessions. Their goal is to help the client to find wholeness and balance.

Why Gestalt Therapy is Rarely Used in its Pure Form

There are various reasons why Gestalt Therapy is rarely used in its pure form. One of
them is that its theatrical and confrontational techniques have limited effectiveness (Mann,
2020). Additionally, the power of the therapists over clients has been found to be
problematic. Some fear that the therapists may abuse their power over their clients.

Appropriate Model for the Case Scenario

The most appropriate model for the case scenario is existential therapy. Existential
therapy is used to provide solutions to people dealing with inner conflicts that are related to
various deep issues that human face, such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. The therapy
seeks to help a person to better understand themselves and in so-doing become better
decision-makers (Van Deurzen & Arnold-Baker, 2018). In the case scenario, Brent is

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struggling with anxiety. He is worried about his daughter’s life in university. His worry is
that his daughter may not perform well academically and may make poor choices. Therefore,
Brent is suffering from anxiety. Existential therapy is appropriate model for the case scenario
because it deals with one of the deep issues that humans deal with – freedom and the
responsibility that comes having freedom (Van Deurzen & Arnold-Baker, 2018). In the case
scenario, Brent is anxious about the ability of his daughter to effectively make use of the
freedom that she will have when in university.

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References

Mann, D. (2020). Gestalt therapy: 100 key points and techniques. Routledge.

Van Deurzen, E., & Arnold-Baker, C. (2018). Existential therapy: Distinctive features.
Routledge.