What is Gestalt Therapy?
A relational, body-aware approach to self-understanding
The word Gestalt comes from German and means figure, form or whole. Paradoxically, when I try to explain what Gestalt therapy is, I often find myself thinking about its different elements. This can suggest a splintering rather than wholeness, but it also reminds me of the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt therapy was originally developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and others in the 1940s. Perls initially trained in psychoanalysis before developing a different therapeutic framework, influenced by psychoanalysis, existentialism, field theory and Wilhelm Reich’s bodywork.
Ask a Gestalt therapist what Gestalt therapy is, and you may get a different answer each time, depending on which aspects speak most strongly to them. Here, I want to focus on what matters most to me and how it shapes my work with my clients.
Gestalt Therapy Begins in the Here and Now
As a Gestalt Therapist, my starting point is always in the Here and Now.
As you tell me what you are experiencing, I might ask: What are you noticing as you speak? What thoughts are present? What feelings? Do you feel angry, frustrated, disappointed or defeated?
And then: what do you do with those feelings? Do you allow them to be there? Try to express them? Or perhaps criticize yourself and push them away?
One of the first things I do as a therapist is help clients become more aware of what they allow into their awareness and what they leave out - perhaps because something feels too painful, too uncomfortable, too inconvenient.
Why Awareness Matters
Naming your feelings, becoming vulnerable with another person and being witnessed can already bring about significant healing. Many people have learnt to stay quiet for fear of rejection, abandonment, criticism or shame.
Gestalt therapy encourages you not only to recognize that your feelings matter, but also to develop the courage to bring them into awareness. Over time, you may begin to feel safe enough to share them, even when they are uncomfortable or difficult.
A Dialogic and Relational Approach
I am often deeply impacted by what my clients tell me. As a Gestaltist therapist, I work dialogically. This means that when appropriate, I may share something of my own experience and remain open to genuine dialogue rather than hiding behind a traditional “therapist screen”.
I remember that, when I was a client, I initially found this unsettling. I wondered how I could lean on someone who felt sad when I felt sad, or hopeless when I felt hopeless.
Weren’t therapists supposed to stay neutral? Wouldn’t we simply get lost in the negative feelings?
Over time, I came to understand that the therapist’s presence is one of the key components in the client’s healing journey.
The Therapist Does Not Stand Outside the Relationship
What brings people to therapy is often a lack of emotional attunement in their relationships elsewhere. The Gestalt therapist therefore brings their whole self to the encounter, with a willingness to be present both with their client and with their own experience.
The therapist does not analyze the client, claim to know more about their experience or position themselves as the expert on their life.
I might notice patterns or themes that seem relevant, but I offer these as hypotheses that you can question, adjust or reject if they do not feel right.
In this way, therapy becomes something we facilitate together. You gradually come to know yourself more intimately and become the expert on your experience. This is part of what makes Gestalt therapy so empowering.
Gestalt Therapy Includes the Body
Words such as somatic, embodiment and nervous system have become increasingly familiar in recent years. Trauma is also less stigmatized, although its long-term impact can still be misunderstood.
I often say to my clients, “Trauma doesn’t have a shelf life.”
It does not necessarily matter how long ago something happened. When trauma is triggered, a person may experience it as though it is happening in the present.
Thoughts, Feelings and Bodily Sensations
You may have heard the terms top-down or bottom-up. A top-down approach generally explores thoughts whereas a bottom-up approach begins with physical sensations, feelings and nervous system responses, before attempting to understand or make meaning of them.
Gestalt therapy is distinctive because, although it is a talking therapy, it also includes the body. It can therefore bridge these two approaches.
Some people are highly embodied but find it difficult to understand their experiences. Others – particularly in Western society- live mostly in their heads, thinking and analyzing while struggling to notice what is happening in their bodies.
Gestalt therapy allows the therapist to tailor therapy to each individual rather than expecting everyone to engage in the same way.
Becoming more attuned to sensations and feelings can be valuable whether or not trauma is the focus of therapy. I often notice that people have become extremely good at recognizing their thoughts but have come to equate thoughts with feelings.
Part of the work can be learning to recognize the difference between the two and developing an awareness of both.
Experiments Rather Than Techniques
One aspect of Gestalt therapy that is often mentioned is the empty-chair technique. The word technique, however, makes me uncomfortable because it suggests doing something to achieve a particular outcome.
In Gestalt therapy, the emphasis is on awareness, which is why Gestaltist therapists often use the word experiment instead.
Experiments are invitations to try something new or take a manageable risk within the safety of the therapy room. They might involve noticing a physical sensation, expressing something that has remained unspoken, trying a different response or exploring conflicting parts of yourself.
Experiments can be powerful because they emerge organically from what is happening between therapist and client. They are not techniques pulled from a toolbox according to a formula.
The therapist’s awareness, feelings and resonance while being with the client are central to the work. This is why Gestalt cannot simply be reduced to a collection of techniques or isolated exercises.
Gestalt is a philosophy and a way of being with another person. It is why you often hear therapists say, “I am a Gestaltist.”
Could Gestalt Therapy Be Right for You?
Gestalt therapy may appeal to you if you have already developed insight into yourself but still feel something is missing.
Perhaps you understand your patterns intellectually, but continue to feel disconnected from your emotions, your body or your sense of what you want. You may function well and appear successful to others while privately feeling dissatisfied, stuck or unsure how to make meaningful changes.
Gestalt therapy offers a space to slow down and pay attention to what is happening beneath the surface. Rather than trying to turn you into somebody different, the work can help you understand yourself more fully and recognize where greater choice may be possible.
Taking the Next Step
If you are curious about Gestalt therapy, you can read more about how I work or what to expect from an initial session.
You can also contact me if you would like to arrange an initial session. You do not need to arrive with a clear explanation of what is wrong or what needs to change. We can begin with what you are unhappy about and explore the rest together.
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