Gestalt therapy: what is it and on what principles is it based?

Many times we associate the psychotherapy to a form of intervention that can only be of use to people with serious psychological problems or health.

It is possible that this is so due to the confusion that exists when differentiating concepts such as psychology and psychiatry, or by the way in which the media and audiovisual fictions portray psychotherapists: people who only enter the scene to help unhappy people, who do not achieve their goals and who, in many cases, are at risk of social exclusion.

However, this is not so. Among other things, because there are psychological approaches whose objective is to provide the necessary therapeutic tools so that people can tend to self realisation and to the creation of a meaning for their own actions. It is the case of the Humanistic Psychology, within which we find a well-known type of therapy: the Gestalt therapy.

What is Gestalt Therapy like?

The Gestalt therapy, or Gestalt therapy, is a type of psychological therapy that is framed in the category of Humanist Psychology in the sense that it assumes the way in which humanistic thought conceives the human being, his goals and the range of needs of him and potentialities. Also, as its name suggests,

collects the theoretical principles ofGestalt Psychologyand uses them to propose a form of psychotherapy.

The main responsible for the development of this type of psychotherapy are authors such as Paul goodman, Isadore From and especially Fritz perls Y Laura perls. Since the consolidation of Gestalt Therapy in the mid-20th century, much work has been done to extend its applicability beyond clinical psychology as We understand it classically, and that is why it is possible to find forms of this therapy in interventions on specific communities, organizations or work dynamics.

Definitely, Gestalt Therapy has flourished extending to a large number of social and human fields to put into practice the principles of Gestalt in all kinds of objectives. That is why, although this type of therapy is related to the idea of ​​personal development, it is not limited to the field of classical psychological consultation, but can be understood as a tool to redefine the lifestyles in your whole.

You can learn more about Fritz Perls and his thoughts by entering this article:

• "Biography of Fritz Perls and his contributions to Psychology"

The principles of Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the way in which the things that are experienced are formulated mentally, rather than worrying about the content of what happens to us. This means that from this type of therapy the importance falls on the shape in which something is experienced, and not so much in that "something" itself. It is not intervened from questions such as "what happens to us?", But from "how does it happen to us and how do we experience it?" It is an approach that highlights the role of subjective sensations, since it starts from the approaches of Humanist Psychology.

This emphasis on the processes over the content and the subjective over the objective can be deployed in three theoretical principles: "here and now" experimentation, the awareness and the responsibility.

1. Here and now

From Gestalt Therapy it is assumed that human beings perceive everything that happens to us as a unified experience. This means, among other things, that our idea of ​​what is in the future and the past are nothing more than projections of how we live in the present. In short, by working our way of thinking about the present, we will be intervening on our ways of considering the future to come and the way in which we look back to review the past.

This idea, by the way, is supported by some investigations what made the psychologist famous Gordon H. Bower.

2. Awareness

Gestalt Therapy is essential to take note of what happens to oneself. Only in this way will it be possible to detect new ways of formulating the experience of the here and now in terms that bring us closer to self-realization..

Looking at our own experiences and thoughts allows us, on the one hand, to be better by recognizing our own style when it comes to experimenting, and on the other hand, having more decision-making power when it comes to changing our way of seeing things. things. In other words, it could be said that being honest with our way of experimenting allows us to develop a better Emotional intelligence.

3. Responsibility

Becoming aware of your own acts and styles of experiencing things also implies assuming the consequences of those choices. From the acceptance of the errors and the hypothesis of the risks, autonomy is gained. This opens the range of options and the conception of meanings in which one can act, from an existential perspective.

Irresponsibility is considered the result of an illusion, a denial of the present and a refusal to become aware. That is why Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the need to take responsibility, not to improve coexistence with others, but to be freer and better able to give meaning to our lives.

Definitely, Therapists who adhere to Gestalt Therapy understand that their interventions must focus on the autonomy and potential of the person. A good way to experience what happens can be to know how to guide oneself through that jungle of possible options, of ways of conceiving one's own existence.

Criticisms of this practice

Gestalt Therapy has been harshly criticized, among other things, for not having a unit of analysis concrete, with which it is possible to work experimentally without getting lost in words without definitions clear. This fact, which has to do with the attempt to approach the subjectivity of this form of intervention (starting from rigid definitions could leave out part of the reality of the patients, according to this perspective) makes that the effectiveness of the therapy.

On the other hand, the markedly eclectic character of Gestalt Therapy also creates misgivings, given that it does not base its proposals on a unified and systematized theoretical system, as the behaviorist perspective does, for example. In addition, his inspiration in Freudian psychoanalysis, based on the idea that there are parts of the psyche that conflict, it is also seen as part of an inheritance of thought that falls outside the science.

Bibliographic references:

• Brownell, P., ed. (2008) Handbook for Theory, Research, and Practice in Gestalt Therapy, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Castanedo, C. (1993). Six approaches to psychotherapy. Modern Manual. Mexico.
• Ginger, S. (2005). Gestalt. The art of contact. Integral - RBA. Barcelona.
• Martina. (2007). Gestalt Psychotherapy Practical Manual. Desclée de Brouwer. Bilbao.