Gestalt Therapy
The person most in control is the person who can give up control.
FRITZ PERLS
Gestalt therapy, developed in the early 1950s, is alive, dynamic, spontaneous and creative. The word Gestalt refers to a perception of a “whole,” composed of two or more parts that are so integrated that we cannot recognize them as so. In the context of people, the meaning of the “whole” refers to seeing and treating the whole person; body, mind, emotions, sensation, sexuality and spirit. Gestalt therapy focuses on the act of experiencing, and on cultivating awareness of your feelings, behavior and actions in a moment-to-moment process.
Gestalt therapy focuses on the present, but acknowledges the past with the mindset that the past can color your present experience. Unhealed wounds, unfinished affairs or blocked emotions can shadow the present and prevent you from living life fully. Awareness brings clarity to unconscious emotions and behavior, and mediates empowerment and options to change disruptive and paralyzing behavior patterns.
The principles of Gestalt therapy, provides a model for how to live life. The foundation on which it rests; awareness, experience and the interpersonal field, can be applied to any relational situation in life, be it in the context of romance, friends, family, or professionally. Thus any interaction, when done with awareness, is an opportunity for growth.
Gestalt Theory
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.