Body and Gestalt therapy
“The only way out is through”
– Fritz Perls
Fritz Perls, the founder and developer of Gestalt therapy from the late 1940s, believed that there was only one way out of suffering, and that was through suffering! Gestalt is the German word for wholeness – a form that cannot be divided as it loses its essence.
Gestalt therapy is a process-based approach founded on the premise that individuals must also be understood in the context of their relationships, such as family, friends, work, home, etc.
Gestalt therapy helps you uncover the contexts you are part of, maintain, create, and are influenced by, allowing you to discover who you are on all levels Gestalt therapy focuses on the connections between your experiences and your behaviour – whether expressed in words, actions, emotions or body language.
What does it mean when Gestalt therapy is described as holistic?
As your psychologist, I am interested in the whole you – your thoughts, emotions, behaviour, body, memories and dreams. The therapy is therefore holistic and not defined in relation to a specific mental health problem. The starting point is you as a whole person struggling with life, not the problems themselves. This means that we pay attention to the physical, biological, social and psychological parts as a whole to identify where the development potential lies. All these aspects are considered as a whole in order to address the root of your challenges.
In this form of therapy, the focus is on the “here-and-now” and on “I” as opposed to “YOU”. It’s important that you take ownership of what you feel. This shift in focus from the general “YOU” to “I” makes a huge difference to how you experience it in your body. This fosters a connection between what you’re telling yourself and what you’re truly feeling in your body.
Old and forgotten experiences = unfinished business
When old and forgotten experiences appear as blocked energy, they may manifest as anger, hatred, pain, anxiety, grief, guilt, shame or betrayal. You may not be fully aware of these emotions and therefore not realise how they are preventing you in having a healthy relationship to yourself and to others. Often there are unmet needs and desires that have not been fulfilled at a certain time or age in life – we could call this “Unfinished business”.
Goals of body and Gestalt therapy
In Gestalt therapy, you are encouraged to explore and focus on the parts of yourself that often remain in the background and that you may not be fully acquainted with. I see you as the EXPERT of YOU, and you are guided during therapy to shift your attention to parts of you in a space of openness and awareness in the present moment. My function is to guide, observe and share the observations experienced in the therapeutic space with you.
During therapy, we’ll work together through support, acceptance, empathy, respect and dialogue to explore and understand what lies behind the themes you’ve chosen to work on.
The therapy room becomes a “laboratory” where you can discover and explore your own relationship with different themes, creates awareness and insight.
The toolbox
Empty chair exercises, writing exercises and dream work are just some of the techniques in the “toolbox” that you will be presented too during the therapy. In Gestalt therapy, we don’t use chair exercises or similar techniques until the feeling of trust have been established. It’s essential that we have good chemistry and that you feel confident in both the therapy method and my role as your therapist. I have also further developed the classic “empty chair exercise” from Gestalt therapy, and you will therefore be presented with a version that is adapted to you so that the exercise itself seems more accessible.
What can Gestalt therapy help you with?
- A better insight into your personality and greater self-acceptance
- Integrating the polarities within you – see the repressed sides
- Explore your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and attitudes
- Befriend your worst side and practise kindness and compassion towards yourself
- Identify the aspects that affect you from the inside and outside
- Discover where your self-development potential lies
- Recognise and take responsibility for the choices and options you have
How can I help you make a change?
I don’t have all the answers to your challenges, but I can offer you that I support you on the journey to explore where your focus drifts and discover a more integrated way of relating to yourself and the world around you.
Are you curious about how body and Gestalt therapy might work for you? Then get in touch so we can organise the therapy together.
