Gestalt in Counseling and Therapy - Article Example

Gestalt in Counseling and TherapyAbstractGestalt is one of the many psychology concepts that deserve further attention specifically its usefulness to counseling and therapy. A German term, originally utilized by Wertheimer and company to construct the so-called Gestalt theory in their effort to explain human behavior, Fritz Perls, in negative reaction to the rigidity of psychoanalysis, exploited the laws of gestalt dynamics in the development of what he termed ‘Gestalt Therapy’ against criticisms of gestalt followers.

Consistent with the basic gestalt premise of unified whole, in gestalt therapy, man is considered a unified being, thus counseling and therapy is based on the understanding of his whole experiences aimed ultimately at the client’s achievement of his/her maturity in dealing with life. Gestalt in Counseling and TherapyOfficially originated by Max Wertheimer and his two students Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka (Atherton, 2009, par. 1; Roeckelein, 1998, p. 209), “gestalt is a German word, which means organized whole, form, shape and pattern.

There is a basic premise that the organized whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Atkinson & Wells, 2003p. 48). “… It accentuates concepts like emergent properties, holism, and context” (Soegaard, 2009, par. 1) as applied in its several varied “organizing principles called gestalt laws” (Boeree, 2000, sec. 5, par. 4). The fundamental of which is the law of prägnanz (Sternberg, 2003, cited in “Gestalt Psychology,” 2009, sec. 4, par. 1) that says: “we are innately driven to experience things in as good a gestalt as possible, [where] ‘good’ can mean many things… such as, regular, orderly, simplicity, symmetry, and so on, which then refer to specific gestalt laws” (Boeree, 2000, sec. 5, par. 4).

Most common of which are the law of proximity, where “… elements tend to be grouped together depending on their closeness” (Pedroza, 2004, par. 3); the law of similarity, where “elements will be grouped perceptually if they are similar to each other” (Soegaard, 2009, par. 7); the law of symmetry, where “symmetrical areas tend to be seen as figures against asymmetrical backgrounds" (Chandler, 1997, cited in Soegaard, 2009, par. 9); the law of closure, where “items are grouped together if they tend to complete a pattern” (Pedroza, 2004, par. 3); and the law of continuation where “the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object” (The Gestalt Principles, n.d., p. 2). But, most of all, “gestalt theory is well known for its concept of insightful learning [as shown in] solving a problem by means of the recognition of a gestalt or organizing principles” (Boeree, 2000, sec. 5, par. 18).

Although being questioned for not being a gestalt follower, Fritz Perls’ creation of ‘Gestalt therapy’ in negative reaction to what he called the “stagnant dogmatism and determinism of psychoanalysis” (cited in “What is Gestalt Therapy,” 2009, par. 1) demonstrated the “significant links and connections between the therapy and the tradition of Gestalt psychology” (Barlow, 1981, sec. 2, par. 1) by depending on the laws of gestalt dynamics, which he regarded “the next step after Freud in the history of psychiatry” (Perls, 1969, p. 34).Consistent with the basic premise of gestalt, “the foundation of the first principle of Gestalt therapy is [no other than] holism” (Latner, 1973, p. 6), which to Perls (1973) words, “…it is the organization of facts or perceptions and not the individual items of which they are composed, that defines them and gives them their specific and particular meaning” (p. 3). In gestalt therapy, man is regarded a unified being.

It acknowledges “all human experiences [to] exist on a continuum with polar opposites, such as passive/aggressive, sad/happy or humility/arrogance, [thus, it] understands psychopathology as an imbalance on one or more of these continuums” (Zimberoff & Hartman, 2003, p. 1). Its focus “is on the here and now, and on how the client is feeling rather than why they feel the way they do” (Atkinson & Wells, 2000, p.51), to ultimately help the client mature (Ibid). “The therapist will use questions such as ‘what are you feeling?

’, ‘what do you want?’ and ‘are you aware of what you are doing?’ to help the client focus in the present” (Patterson, 1986 cited in Ibid). [With] Gestalt therapy's phenomenological perspective and system's orientation… the Gestalt therapist [understood] that regardless of the troubles an individual might present, all behavior is meaningful and has purpose. Both therapist and client can work toward raising awareness by examining the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the behavior in the safety of the therapeutic setting… [on his/her own] the client has a unique organismic opportunity to reevaluate and redirect his life into a more desirable direction as well as accept his inherent strengths and limitations.

(“What is Gestalt Therapy?” 2009, par. 7)ReferencesAtherton, J. S. (2009). Learning and Teaching; Gestalt and learning [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/gestalt.htm Retrieved 8 July 2009Atkinson, Kim and Wells, Catherine. (2003). Creative Therapies. United Kingdom: Nelson Thornes Ltd. ISBN 0 7487 33108.Barlow, Allen R. (1981). Gestalt-Antecedent Influence or Historical Accident. In Joe Wysong (ed). The Gestalt Journal, IV (2), Fall. Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://www.gestalt.org/barlow.

htmBoeree, George. (2000). Gestalt Psychology. Shippensburg University. Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/gestalt.html Chandler, Daniel. (1997). Visual Perception. World Lecture Hall.Gestalt Psychology. (2009). Wikipedia. Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestalt_psychologyLatner, J. (1973). The Gestalt Therapy Book. New York: The Julian Press, Inc.; (1976) U.S.A.: Bantam.Pedroza, Carlos. (2004) Visual Perception: Gestalt Laws. The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, San Diego State University.

viewed 7 July 2009 retrieved from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/visualperc1/start.htmPerls, Fritz S. (1969). In and Out the Garbage Pail. Lafayette, California: Real People Press; (1972) New York: Bantam Books.--------------- (1973). The Gestalt Approach and Eyewitness to Therapy. Palo Alto, California: Science and Behavior Books; (1976) New York: Bantam Books.Roeckelein, Jon E. (1998). Dictionary of Theories, Laws and Concpets in Psyhology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Soegaard, Mads. (2009).

Gestalt principles of form perception. Interaction-Design.org. Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/gestalt_principles_of_form_perception.htmlSternberg, Robert. (2003) Cognitive Psychology (3rd ed.). Thomson Wadsworth.The Gestalt Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm What is Gestatlt Therapy? (2009). Gestalt Institute of Rhodes Island. Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://www.gestaltri.com/whatis.

htmlZimberoff, Diane and Hartman, David. (2003). Gestalt therapy and Heart-Centered therapies. Journal of Heart Centered Therapies, Spring. Retrieved 7 July 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FGV/is_1_6/ai_101762678/