Gestalt Theory

The German psychoanalysts Fritz and Laura Perls together with the American intellectual Paul Goodman, developed Gestalt therapy in the early 1950’s. It emerged against a backdrop of explosive changes in Europe, politically and culturally, in 1930s and 40s. Its focus on humanistic therapy with ideas about the “self” and awareness at its core, was in stark contrast to other authoritarian psychotherapeutic approaches that aimed to conform people to social norms. Gestalt therapy has since continued to evolve and adapt to the ongoing changes of the society, making it as potent a therapy now as when it was coined. Just as there are changing fashions for clothes, interior design and hairstyles, there are changing fashions in what is acceptable and respectable behavior. Therapy modalities have to follow suit and keep up with the changes so that the therapy is conducted within a structure that is relevant for the individual client in her or his society. Gestalt therapy is extremely well suited for this adaptation as it is rooted in the moment-to-moment experience of the given environment. In other words, the therapist and client are not seeking to obtain growth within an isolated bubble of therapy, but rather within the context of all the sociological, political and biological factors that impact any particular client.    

Definition of “Gestalt”

The word Gestalt means “shape” or “form” and refers to perception of a structure. In other words, Gestalt refers to a “whole” that is composed of two or more parts (like  figure and ground) that are so integrated that we cannot recognize them as parts, but only as one whole object. Our experiences in the world are a result of how we organize the stimuli from our environment into subjective figures or “wholes.” In more simple terms we can describe figure as the result of how the brain organizes all the incoming stimuli at any given moment. The formation of the figure is influenced by our need and fears, likes and dislikes, which are all archived in our brains. In interpersonal situations the figure that forms is colored by our strongest interpersonal needs, longing, aversions and fears. 

By being fully present to the experience of the interpersonal therapeutic field the client can achieve awareness of habitual formations of figure, and thus create options for change and healthier interpersonal relations. 

What is Gestalt Therapy?

Gestalt therapy is vibrant, creative, fluid, relational and highly effective in creating change and growth. The essence of Gestalt therapy is the focus on human experience, the moment rather than the past, and the how rather than the why. The therapist is not there to correct, judge or advice, but to engage authentically with the client in the therapist/client field. The therapist aims to support the client in cultivating awareness of themselves and their actions, moment-to-moment, through experiencing. Achieving awareness opens up the client’s possibilities to make changes. For example, unaware feelings from childhood or past relationships can get in the way of how you relate to family, friends or romantic partners. Similarly, unaware behavior may get you in trouble at work or among friends. Becoming aware of blocked feelings or unconscious behavior through experiencing changes the perspectives of how you see people, situations and things.  This provides new opportunities for how to act and react differently to familiar situations, as well as how to make different choices for with whom you choose to engage and interact.  

Self in Gestalt Therapy

The individual is, from a Gestalt perspective, never seen as an isolated entity, but as an organism that is always in mutual interaction with its environment, or in Gestalt terms, always contacting the environment. The meeting place between the organism and the environment is called the “contact-boundary,” and this is where experience and “self” occurs. 

The experience of “self” is not a fixed sculpture, but rather a process that emerges from the act of contacting (experiencing) the environment. Another way of thinking about the concept of self is to always think of “self” as a relational phenomenon. This means that “self” never exists in isolation; it always emerges as an experience out of a relational context, which refers to all the elements (animate and inanimate) existing in the immediate field. 

To the curious person Gestalt therapy is a perfect modality as it provides the structure to discover your “self” ongoingly through the mere act of staying present to each interaction you have with the world. 

Contact-Boundary

The word “boundary” is in regular use associated with a border between two or more things, but in Gestalt therapy the contact-boundary is the actual experience of “self” in interaction with the environment. It can be the experience of breathing air into the lungs, of having some part of the skin touched by another person or by the wind, or the experience of interacting with another person. 

In the non-Gestalt world, “contact” is associated with the state or fact of being in touch, or communication, while in Gestalt language contact and contacting is referring to experience and experiencing. When we say there is interruption of contact, it means there is an interruption in the experience of the “whole.” All contact is creative and dynamic, and it is the act of contacting (experiencing) that creates growth. 

Contact is thus the experience of the boundary of the organism and its environment. Depending on the given situation, meaning the meeting between you and the environment (a person, landscape, a painting etc.), your experience of yourself will have different colors and textures. This exemplifies the beauty of Gestalt theory, as it offers endless opportunities for growth, change and discovery of who you are and what you are capable of. 

Organism/Environment Field

The interaction between the organism (you) and environment is called the “organism/environment field,” also known in a therapeutic context as the “therapist/client field.” Therapist and client are in this case both parts of a co-created dynamic field. This field does not consist of individuals, objects or things, but is an ongoing, ever-changing process that emerges as a function of the particular circumstances of the organism/environment in the here and now. The field is best described as an experience of the immediate situation, and sensations, feelings, thoughts, fears, fantasies, confusions, smells, tastes, memories, images, sounds and other phenomena, are all vitally important parts of the immediate field. Whatever is in one person at a given moment is part of the field of the other as well. The act of contacting (experiencing) the field leads to the emergence of the self. As a therapist in the therapist/client field, one’s job is not to be an observer or authoritative interpreter, but to be part of the field and engage in a mutually meaningful effort. It is the therapist’s ability to be fully present to the ongoing experience of this co-created field that provides the foundation for an intuitive and creative therapeutic process.

Fixed Gestalts

Human behaviour is frequently driven by what feels familiar, even if this fails to bring fulfillment or happiness. Many of you might find yourselves repeating patterns that might lead to anxiety, depression and loneliness. The gestalt term for habitual patterns driven by lack of awareness is “fixed gestalts.” For example, you find yourself in the “same” relationship with a different person over and over, but lack the awareness of what are the feelings and the attractions underlying your actions. Similarly, unaware feelings from past relations to family and friends can block you from creating fulfilling friendships in the present. Through contacting (experiencing) the interactive field these blocked feelings can become part of an aware and conscious experience and fixed gestalts can release. The newborn awareness opens the window to a new view with options for different choices, be it of friends, romantic partners or activities.