The Gestalt model of therapy is quite unique, if you are looking to try something different.
Gestalt therapy sees the individual as a connected and embedded part of the “field”. The field includes everything that is existing around, and influencing the person, including biology, family, community, the universe etc. The experiential field is an ongoing process, there is constant movement between the interrelated parts. This is described as “contact”, and is the central concept of this model. Gestalt therapy aims to restore healthy flow and balance within the natural contact process.
In the Gestalt model, you are not required to endlessly repeat your past stories in dialogue. We work from the belief that all patterns of your past that are still affecting your life today, will naturally emerge in the “here and now”. We explore what is alive within you right now. We trust that it carries everything that you need to further your healing process.
The therapist has a more involved role in this model of therapy, they bring forth their own experience of the client. The therapist openly discusses their thoughts, feelings, and ideas; with clinical judgment. What emerges between the two individuals is the material that is used in the therapeutic process.
Gestalt therapy offers unique techniques and experiments that are effective in opening up new ways of processing old patterns. It is truly a body oriented approach, as these techniques ask you to embody the awareness of the ongoing issue, and amplify this embodiment in order to draw out hidden or suppressed parts. This is done through personification, imagination, exaggeration, and more. For example, the “2 chair technique” , the person moves back and forth between two chairs. Each chair represents a specific voice or part of the client. This technique uses awareness to explore each voice fully. New realizations can emerge from this process, as old patterns are disrupted and reintegrated.
I recommend this model if you are
Feeling stuck in old habit and patterns
Value an equal and authentic relationship with therapist
Tired of repeating old stories
Want an alternative to traditional talk therapy
Open to body work and movement
