Get A Gestalt Perspective Of Crisis Debriefing - Gestalt International - Gisc

The basic assumption of Gestalt therapy is as is the case with humanistic psychology, that the person is embedded in a social and ecological field. It is only in contact with his environment that growth, development and finding meaning occurs.

Criticism of Gestalt Therapy Although it is a spontaneous approach, the mood of the treatment may not be suitable for all clients and even too aggressive for some. There is also a controversial lack of monitoring during the interaction.

Gestalt therapy was based in part on Goldstein's concept called Organismic theory. Goldstein viewed a person in terms of a holistic and unified experience; he encouraged a "big picture" perspective, taking into account the whole context of a person's experience. The word Gestalt means whole, or configuration.

Another common exercise in gestalt therapy is the exaggeration exercise. During this exercise, the person in therapy is asked to repeat and exaggerate a particular movement or expression, such as frowning or bouncing a leg, in order to make the person more aware of the emotions attached to the behavior.

The only limitation of gestalt therapy is that it may not help with the psychological effects of hereditary behaviors. Neither does it help with psychological factors that are not influenced by an individual's thoughts.

Research suggests that Gestalt therapy is effective at treating symptoms of depression and anxiety, and it may help people gain confidence and increase feelings of self-efficacy and self-kindness. 8 It is often a helpful way to structure group therapy.

While there is evidence of the effectiveness of gestalt therapy, it's almost all anecdotal. That is, rather than rigorous, academic, peer-reviewed studies using large sample sizes, most studies on gestalt therapy tell the story of one person or, sometimes, a small group of people.