EDGC 671 Theory Review Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC Gestalt Therapy Frederick (Fritz) Perls

EDGC 671Theory Review

Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCCDean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC

Gestalt TherapyGestalt Therapy

Frederick (Fritz) PerlsFrederick (Fritz) Perls

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The Gestalt PrayerThe Gestalt PrayerI do my thing and you do your thing.I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this worldI am not in this worldto live up to your expectations,to live up to your expectations,And you are not in this worldAnd you are not in this world

to live up to mine.to live up to mine.You are you, and I am I,You are you, and I am I,

and if by chance we find each other,and if by chance we find each other,it's beautiful.it's beautiful.

If not, it can't be helped.If not, it can't be helped.

(Fritz Perls, 1969)(Fritz Perls, 1969)

Fritz Perls(1893 - 1970)

Perls developed and popularized Gestalt therapy, after his training as a psychoanalyst in Berlin, then Austria. He moved to South Africa, establishing a training institute for psychoanalysis there before developing his unique theoretical approach.

Fritz Perls

His work emphasized a phenomenological and subjective approach to therapy, noting that many of us split off our experience (thoughts, sensations, emotions) that are uncomfortable. One goal of his work is to move people into owning their experience and developing into a healthy gestalt (or whole). Perls’ book Gestalt therapy verbatim is an interesting description of this approach drawn from transcripts of his work.

Theory Overview

Awareness is the key.

Key Figure: Frederick (Fritz) Perls (1893-1970).

The approach is an experiential therapy that stresses here‑and‑now awareness and integration of the fragmented parts of personality.

It focuses on the “what and how” of behavior and the role of unfinished business from the past in preventing an effective functioning in the present.

Philosophy and Basic Assumptions: The philosophy is rooted in existential philosophy and humanistic psychology. It stresses the unity of mind, body, and feelings. The basic assumption is that individuals are responsible for their own behavior and experiencing. The approach is designed to assist a person to more fully experience the present moment and to gain awareness of the “how and what” of behavior…not the “Why”….

Key Concepts: Acceptance of responsibility, the concept of the here‑and‑now, direct (as opposed to talked about) experiencing, awareness, avoidance, unfinished business from the past, and dealing with the impasse.

Therapeutic Goals: The goal is to challenge the

client to move from environmental support to self-support and assist the client in gaining awareness of moment to moment experiencing, which is curative. With awareness the client is able to recognize denied aspects of self and thus proceed toward re‑integration of all parts of the self.

Therapeutic Relationship: The therapist assists the client in experiencing more fully all feelings and enables the client to make his or her own interpretations. The therapist does not interpret for the client but focuses on the “what and how” of the client's behavior. The client identifies his or her own unfinished business from the past that interferes with present functioning by re‑experiencing past situations again as though they were happening at the present moment.

Techniques and Procedures: Many techniques are designed to intensify direct experiencing and to integrate conflicting feelings. The approach stresses confrontation of discrepancies and the ways the client avoids responsibility for his or her feelings. The client engages in role‑playing but, by playing out all the various parts and polarities alone, gain greater awareness of the conflicts within himself or herself.

Applications: The approach is well suited to group work, but it can be used also for individual counseling. It is applicable to teaching/learning situations in elementary/secondary classrooms. It can be applied to most populations as long as clients are willing to cooperate.

Contributions: encouraging direct contact and expression of feelings, the approach de‑emphasizes abstract intellectualizations of one's problems. Intense experiencing can occur quickly. Therapy can be relatively brief. The approach recognizes the value of working with the past as it is important to the here‑and‑now. It focuses on the recognition of one's own projections and r\the refusal to accept helplessness. It give attention to nonverbal and body messages. It stresses doing and experiencing as opposed to merely talking about problems in a detached way.

Limitations: The approach tends to be anti‑intellectual to the point that cognitive‑thinking factors are discounted. It lends itself to becoming a series of mechanical exercises behind which the therapist can stay hidden. It can be misused as a set of gimmicks. It is not grounded in solid theory. A possible danger is that of stressing a "do your own thing" philosophy to the extent of promoting a sense of irresponsibility toward others. "Pure" Gestalt therapy restricts group interaction. The therapist could possibly manipulate the client with some powerful techniques.

The concept of Work

For Perls, the concept of work had a special meaning. He would ask if a client wanted to work. Often done in a group the invitation to “Work” means to take a risk, self disclose, or otherwise become engaged with the therapist on a one-to-one basis in the center of the group (also known as the “Hot-seat”.)

Perls is credited with establishing Gestalt Therapy. However, his wife Laura Perls and Paul Goodman helped develop and refine his ideas. He founded the Gestalt Institute in 1952. Through the years, various other theorists have developed the model further. (Gladding, 2004)

Perls compares the unfolding of the adult personality to the peeling of an onion. In order for individuals to achieve psychological maturity, they must strip off five layers of neurosis. The layers are: the phony, the phobic, the impasse, the implosive, and the explosive.

Perls believed we become fragmented and choose not to deal with uncomfortable things. He believed we need to bring unfinished business to the present and deal with it in the here and now. (Owen, 1996)

The techniques revolve largely around two sets of guidelines which are “rules” and “games”. There are few rules which are discussed at the beginning of therapy. However, there are many games limited only by the leaders imagination and creativity.

The rules are not intended to be a list of dos and don’ts. They

simply provide a way of unifying thought with feeling. They are

designed to facilitate the maturation process.

The rules are:

1. The Principal of the Now- It says all of us spend a lot of time in the past or dreaming about what will happen in the future. The most effective means of dealing with the past is to bring it into the present.

2. I and Thou- Says that true communication involves both the sender and the receiver. The therapist directs the patient to face his reluctance to send his or her message directly to the receiver. He is asked to become aware of the difference between talking to and talking at the listener.

3. “It Language and I Language”- This is the baseline of responsibility. This rule deals with responsibility and involvement. It is common for us to refer to our bodies and/or acts in the third person “it” language. By changing “it” language to “I” language we learn to identify more closely with the behavior in question and to assume responsibility for it.

Changing it to I is and example of many of the Gestalt game techniques. As the client participates in this game he/she is more likely to see himself as an active agent who does things rather than a passive person to whom things somehow happen.

4. Use of the “Awareness Continuum” the “How of Experience”- This is basic to Gestalt. It allows you to get rid of speculations and get in touch with what your body is telling you. This is Gestalt’s best way of leading the client away from the emphasis on the why of behavior and towards the what and how of behavior.

5. No Gossiping- This rule is designed to promote feelings and to prevent avoidance of feelings. Gossiping is talking about an individual when he/she is actually present and could be addressed directly. We often gossip about people when we have not been able to handle direct feelings they have aroused in us.

The no gossiping rule is another technique to facilitate direct

confrontation of feelings.

6. On Asking Questions- Often when the client asks a question it is a way of avoiding true feelings. Most often the questioner doesn’t seek information. Therapists have the client change the question into a statement.

Games are therapeutic. They are introduced by the therapist to help move the client along. Games such as “I have a secret” or “I take responsibility” are good as group warm-ups at the beginning of a session. We need to be aware of the games we play and be free to substitute satisfying for non-satisfying games.

The “Games” of Gestalt Therapy.....

Many of the major techniques used in Gestalt Therapy are couched in the form of games. Each of these is useful for assisting in the creation of “here and now” awareness and provide avenues for blocked material.


Games of Dialogue: Top Dog / Underdog: Simply a dialogue game in which the client is asked to play out both sides of a split of conflict. Top Dog is roughly equivalent to the psychoanalytic superego. Top Dog moralizes, specializes in “shoulds”, and is generally bossy and condemning. Underdog tends to be passively resistant, make excuses, and finds reasons for delay.


Making the Rounds: Simply put, a client is asked to make a statement to every member of the group. “I can’t stand anyone in this room” may be followed by the therapist saying, “Could you go around to everyone and say that to them, personally?” The act of saying something to each and every person often turns on the light of awareness.


Unfinished Business: When unfinished business is detected the therapist may ask a client to “finish it”, here and now often by role playing a two part dialogue. This technique is frequently used in situations where resentment exists.


I Take Responsibility: A simple game in which client(s) are asked to add “...and I take responsibility for it” to each statement they make. What seems at first blush to be mechanical, and even foolish, is soon seen as one heavily laden with meaning.


Reversals: This technique is frequently used to emphasize how we use emotion to avoid dealing with problems. Essentially the technique requires a client to adopt the opposite personality of the one they portray in the session.


Exaggeration: Similar to the above but with exaggeration of the portrayed personality style.


May I feed you a sentence?: The therapist will give to the client a sentence to say and then ask how he feels saying it....or what he feels saying it. If the proposed sentence is emotionally evocative or key, spontaneous development will be supplied by the client.


Complete the Sentence: Sentence prompts are provided to clients who must complete the sentence and in so doing, often make discoveries about themselves and others.


The “I Have a Secret” Game- This game helps to get feelings out in the open and resolve the problem to get closure. It permits the exploration of feelings of guilt and shame. Each person thinks of a personal secret. They don’t share the secret but imagine how they feel others would react to it.


Playing the Projection Game- Many seeming perceptions are projections. The client says “I can’t trust you.” He/she is asked to play the role of an untrustworthy person in order to discover his own inner conflict in this area.


Retreating to Safety: When the client wishes to withdraw in fantasy to be any place or situation in which he/she feels secure. He/she describes the scene and his/her feelings there. When he/she is asked to open his eyes and “come back to the group” the on-going work is then resumed.


Rehearsal- A great deal of thinking consists of internal rehearsal and preparation for playing our accustomed social roles. The experience of stage fright simply represents our fear that we will not conduct our roles well. The group plays the game of comparing rehearsals with each other making members more aware of the preparation involved in improving our social roles


Another approach that is not a rule or a game but is important to Gestalt therapy and symbolized much of Perls underlying philosophy is the principal of “Can you stay with this feeling?” The technique is used at key moments when the client refers to a feeling, mood, or state of mind that is unpleasant and he wants to get rid of it quickly.


Perhaps he is at a point where he or she feels confused, frustrated, or discouraged. The therapist says, “Can you stay with this feeling?” The patient will be asked to elaborate the what and how of his feelings. At these moments it is necessary to help the client distinguish between what he or she imagines and what he or she perceives.

The concept of Time

What happened yesterday is gone forever and can never be recovered.

Tomorrow is not yet here….

All that we have is this moment…to be fully lived and tasted….one’s life should be a long string of fully lived moments.

Gladding, S.T. (2004). Psychoanalytic, Adlerian, and humanistic theories of counseling. In M. Harlan (Ed.), Counseling a comprehensive profession (pp. 204-208). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Nisenholz, B. & Peterson, J.V. (1995). Theoretical approaches to counseling and psychotherapy. In R. Short (Ed.), Orientation to counseling (pp. 214-249). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Owen, D.W. (1996, August). Overview:Gestalt Therapy. Paper presented during Theories of Counseling class, Prestonsburg, KY.

Weikel, W.J. (1999, January). The rules and games of Gestalt Therapy. Paper presented during Group Counseling class, Prestonsburg, KY.

Resources Available Online: Wikipedia (2008). Gestalt therapy from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 01-28-08 Available:

(http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestalt_therapy)

Yontef, G. (1993). Gestalt Therapy: an introduction. 01-28-08 Available: http://www.gestalt.org/yontef.htm

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EDGC 671 Theory Review Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC Gestalt Therapy Frederick (Fritz) Perls