gestalt
gestalt
You are a beautifully complex person. Sometimes, your ability to be fully who you are becomes hindered by unhealed wounds, unwanted pressures, limiting habits, and claustrophobic labels. The Gestalt approach helps you understand exactly what keeps you weighed down. There is less reliance on simply talking about issues because, as Vessel Van Der Kolk states, “We use our minds not to discover facts but to hide them.” Instead, we tap into all parts of your experience including struggles are made active in the room and faced head on with experiences coupled with skillful guidance. This leads to greater self-awareness and response-ability. By creating room for something new, there is a way to grab hold of life and choose your own path.
Gestalt is an approach with the ultimate goal of providing a path towards wholeness and vitality. To get there, we use all parts of who you are in the process, finding valuable information in your words, emotions, body, and non-verbal expressions. We often discover forces that have shaped who you are, both in life enhancing ways and elements that have served to hold you back. This journey often reveals internal conflicts or parts of you that have been minimized or misunderstood. In Gestalt therapy, we honor it all and through our exploration, you can develop a sense of self and build the components that will help you lead a meaningful life.
Core Elements of Gestalt
- Rather than only talking about your needs, the focus is on experiences that emphasize curiosity and flexibility. This creates room to explore untapped resources, promote self-awareness, and discover new possibilities.
- Use a range of experiences which may include metaphors, fantasy, imagery, visualizations, enactment, ritual, and the full expression of feeling.
- Repair or enhance the ability to experience physical sensations and feelings.
- Reveal and address blocks that prevent needs getting met.
- Separate outside and erroneous evaluations from your self-concept
- Strengthen the ways you can connect with others.
- Consider needs in context because you are not separate from your environment (family, culture, friendships, work, etc.)
- Encourage proactive rather reactive responses. With awareness and options come greater potential to have response-ability
- As you explore and discover (or rediscover) who you are and what potential is before you, there will be enduring support, kindness, and encouragement every step of the way.
