{"id":49057,"date":"2017-12-07T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=49057"},"modified":"2023-03-14T04:21:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T04:21:09","slug":"what-is-gestalt-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-gestalt-therapy.htm","title":{"rendered":"What is Gestalt Therapy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_49058\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/16502044973_6dff4b0557.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49058\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-49058\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/16502044973_6dff4b0557-400x268.jpg\" alt=\"what is gestalt therapy \" width=\"400\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/16502044973_6dff4b0557-400x268.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/16502044973_6dff4b0557.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/16502044973_6dff4b0557-180x120.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-49058\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hmoong\/16502044973\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Kh\u00e1nh Hmoong<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Gestalt therapy is quite unique in the field of psychotherapy. It is\u00a0 more about<\/strong>\u00a0<em>experiencing<\/em> than analysing, and more about<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/present-moment-secret-better-mood.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> the present moment<\/em><\/span><\/a> than your past.<\/p>\n<p>By no means a newcomer, gestalt therapy was developed as far back as the 1940s, and was very popular in the 60s and 70s. It is now enjoying a renaissance as\u00a0<strong>new<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>research begins to show the effectiveness of many of gestalt&#8217;s core concepts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800080;\">What is Gestalt Therapy?<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #666699;\">What if you are actually seeing your entire life, and yourself, through a smokescreen of past experiences, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-thinking.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">negative thoughts<\/span><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-perspective.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">perspectives<\/span><\/a> that aren\u2019t even your own?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Gestalt&#8221; is a German word that has many meanings, one of which is\u00a0<em>whole.\u00a0<\/em>Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that aims to return you to wholeness and to your full potential by<\/strong> <strong>removing the blocks to your self-awareness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It does this by creating experiences in the therapy room that bring you out of the past and your negative thoughts, and into the present moment and your true feelings, thoughts and actions.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_49060\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4406270749_4dec147c54.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49060\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-49060\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4406270749_4dec147c54-400x290.jpg\" alt=\"what is gestalt therapy? \" width=\"400\" height=\"290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4406270749_4dec147c54-400x290.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4406270749_4dec147c54.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-49060\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/gisele13\/4406270749\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">gisele13<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Usually placed under <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/the-humanistic-approach.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> humanistic approach<\/span><\/a>, gestalt psychotherapy can and often is used alongside other forms of therapy, including <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-integrative-therapy.htm\">integrative psychotherapy<\/a> <\/span>and art or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dance-movement-psychotherapy.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">dance therapy<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800080;\">The goals of gestalt therapy<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Gestalt therapy aims to help you achieve the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>understand what is going on in your life right now<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-listen-to-yourself.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">recognise what your real thoughts and feelings are<\/span><\/a> versus what you tell yourself to believe<\/li>\n<li>recognise how your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/cognitive-distortions.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">negative thought patterns<\/span><\/a> are blocking you from knowing yourself<\/li>\n<li>understand your behaviours and how they make you unhappy<\/li>\n<li>recognise and work towards your potential<\/li>\n<li>feel more self aware and take personal responsibility<\/li>\n<li>feel integrated and whole<\/li>\n<li>learn to get your needs met while still respecting the needs of others<\/li>\n<li>find solutions for present-day problems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800080;\">How is Gestalt Therapy different than other forms of psychotherapy?<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_49066\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49066\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-49066\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"what is gestalt? \" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6185499670_504cc60293-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-49066\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wansinkphotography\/6185499670\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Suus Wansink<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>So how does gestalt compare to other sorts of therapy?<\/p>\n<h3>1. It is present-moment based.<\/h3>\n<p>When gestalt therapy was originally created,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/freuds-main-theories-psychoanalysis.htm\">psychoanalytical therapy <\/a>was still in its heyday, with its belief we heal by going to the past and what we then felt.<\/p>\n<p>Gestalt therapy came along and instead asked, &#8216;<em>how do you feel in this exact moment<\/em>?&#8217;.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #993366;\">Gestalt therapy suggests we heal the past by bringing it into the present. To find freedom from old pain and anger, we need to feel those feelings <em>now<\/em>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Today, with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/mindfulness-techniques.htm\">the rise of mindfulness<\/a><\/span> and<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/cbt-mbct-difference.htm\"> MBCT<\/a><\/span>, more and more therapists integrate present-moment awareness, and hundreds of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/meditation-and-the-brain.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">studies around mindfulness<\/span><\/a><strong> now show that present-moment awareness is effective at treating psychological issues<\/strong> that range from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/quiz-stressed-or-depressed\">depression<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-psychological-trauma.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">PTSD<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/adult-adhd-quiz\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ADHD<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Your therapist is in partnership with you.<\/h3>\n<p>Like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-schema-therapy.htm\">schema therapy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-person-centred-counselling.htm\">person-centred therapy<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-cognitive-analytic-therapy.htm\">cognitive analytic therapy<\/a>, gestalt moves away from the therapist\/patient model. A gestalt therapist is by no way there to try to change you, but merely to facilitate your growth of self-awareness.<\/p>\n<h3>3. It is experiential.<\/h3>\n<p>Many talk therapies focus around, well, talking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gestalt therapy does of course involve dialogue. But it is dialogue that arises from what you are currently experiencing &#8211; the focus is on the direct experience you have in the therapy room.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While some therapies see you talking about how you felt and thought a few days, months, or even years ago, in a gestalt session you&#8217;ll do &#8216;exercises and experiments&#8217; with your therapist that have you engaging with how\u00a0you are thinking, feeling and behaving right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You might still approach your past experiences, but with a lens of present-moment experience, such as<\/strong> by acting something out. Or you might even find yourself talking to different, past parts of yourself\u2026 see the chair method in the next section.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Important concepts of gestalt therapy<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In order to best understand gestalt therapy, it helps to understand the ideas that drive it. Here are some of the main ones:<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">We are not made up of separate parts.<\/span><\/strong> Remember, \u2018gestalt\u2019 refers to wholeness. Gestalt thearpy does not see as us a mind vs body, body vs soul, or even as either thinking or feeling. <b>It believes we work as a whole<\/b>, and focuses less on differentiating \u2018parts\u2019 of someone and more on the way our whole being responds to the environments around it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">We also aren\u2019t separate from what\u2019s around us.<\/span><\/strong> Just as we are not made up of separate pieces, we also cannot deny the influence of the environments we live in and the people around us we relate with.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">To be healthy and happy, we need to be aware.<\/span><\/strong> If our esteem is too low to trust ourselves, or we are blinded by past experiences and fantasies, we stand very little chance of being able to choose and change our responses and environments.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">To be aware, we need to be present<\/span><\/strong>. If we are always worrying about the past or future we can\u2019t be conscious of our real thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">Responsibility is key.<\/span> <\/strong>Blaming others leaves us powerless. We need to learn how to get our needs met while still respecting the needs of others and take charge of our choices.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Gestalt Therapy Methods<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>So what are some of the methods that Gestalt Therapy uses to help you experience yourself fully, in the now moment?<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_49062\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49062\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-49062\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/1393105082_b58b6f0ff0-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"what is gestalt therapy\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/1393105082_b58b6f0ff0-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/1393105082_b58b6f0ff0-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/1393105082_b58b6f0ff0.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-49062\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/herruwe\/1393105082\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Uwe Strasser<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h3>The empty chair technique.<\/h3>\n<p>If you are at all into self development, you might have heard of \u2018the chair method\u2019 at some point. It\u2019s been borrowed by many coaches, but actually comes from gestalt therapy.<\/p>\n<p><em>You are asked to imagine yourself, or parts of yourself, on an empty chair sitting across from you, and communicate with this other part. You then switch chairs, and communicate to yourself from the role of the other part.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Role-play.<\/h3>\n<p>For example, if you have a big interview you are scared about, you could practise what it might be like.<\/p>\n<h3>Dreamwork.<\/h3>\n<p>Instead of analysing dreams for unconscious meaning like psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy sees dreams as a chance for further self-awareness. You might ole-play things from your dreams, or \u2018talk to\u2019 different characters or objects from your dreams, and see what you think and feel doing so.<\/p>\n<h3>Body language.<\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Not quite a technique per se, but an important part of gestalt therapy is observation of all the ways you are in the present moment and what that might mean for you. Gestalt therapists will often observe and bring into the dialogue your body language. &#8220;I noticed you keep rubbing your fingers as you speak, what would your fingers say if they could talk?&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800080;\">What can gestalt therapy help you with?<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/anxiety-vs-depression.htm\">anxiety<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/depression-help-guide.htm\">depression<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/self-esteem-help-guide.htm\">self-esteem<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/healthy-relationships-help-guide.htm\">relationship difficulties<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/living-with-pain-chronic.htm\">physical pain<\/a><\/span> (headaches, back pain).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Would you like to try Gestalt therapy, or work with an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-integrative-therapy.htm\"> integrative therapist<\/a> using integrative techniques? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.com\/\">Harley Therapy <\/a>now connects you with therapists across the UK and worldwide via online.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-117271 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-150x150.png\" alt=\"Andrea M. Darcy mental health expert\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-50x50.png 50w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673.png 268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Andrea M. Darcy<\/b> is a mental health and wellbeing expert and writer. She also runs a consultancy helping people find their perfect therapy and therapist, and is a huge fan of the Gestalt chair method. Follow her on Instagram for useful life tips @am_darcy<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gestalt therapy is quite unique in the field of psychotherapy. It is\u00a0 more about\u00a0experiencing than analysing, and more about the present moment than your past. By no means a newcomer, gestalt therapy was developed as far back as the 1940s, and was very popular in the 60s and 70s. It is now enjoying a renaissance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":49058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[398],"tags":[24,196,326],"class_list":["post-49057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-types-of-therapy","tag-humanistic","tag-mindfulness","tag-types-of-therapy","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is Gestalt Therapy? - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is gestalt therapy? It&#039;s different than other forms of psychotherapy, in ways now proven to be effective. 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Darcy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-gestalt-therapy.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-gestalt-therapy.htm\",\"name\":\"What is Gestalt Therapy? - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-gestalt-therapy.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/what-is-gestalt-therapy.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/16502044973_6dff4b0557.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-07T11:00:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-14T04:21:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is gestalt therapy? 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