GESTALT THERAPY

One of the most interesting approaches was introduced by Fritz Perls. It was his workshops which first really put Esalen on the map. The Esalen Institute was the world's first growth centre, and people came to it from all over the world.

What Perls did was to make everything very immediate. He was always emphasising the here and now. People would start telling him about their lives or their problems and he would stop them, saying - "Do you hear the quality of your voice? Can you hear the fear in it?" - or - "What is your right foot doing? What would it say to you, if it could talk?" This threw people out of their familiar story, their familiar mood, their favourite ways of engaging with other people, and forced them to attend to wha was going on with them in the present.

With Perls, awareness was the key to everything. He would say that better than trying to change something, the thing to do was simply to be aware of it - fully aware, deeply aware - and with that awareness the thing could change of itself, if that's what was needed.

He would not allow people in his workshops to talk about other people not in the room. He dismissed that as gossip and avoidance. You would have to talk to the other person, as if they were here and now in the room. What this does is to raise the emotional intensity of whatever you are saying considerably: many people now recognise the importance of this.

He insisted that people took responsibility for all their actions. If someone had a pain in the neck, he would get the person to say "I am giving myself a pain in the neck" and then go on to get the person to say how, exactly how, they were giving themselves that pain. So most of his later work was one-to-one therapy conducted within a group.

Sometimes in this way he would discover a split in the person - one part gives the pain, the other part receives it. This conflict might take a number of forms. Quite often it takes the form of a top dog trying to dominate an underdog; the top dog manipulating wih threats, the underdog manipulating with whining and avoidance. Working through this sort of conflict and achieving some more useful integration can be extremely valuable and therapeutic.

This is all based on an existential philosophy which says that life is a series of choices. We are responsible for all the choices we made, and we experience the results of our choices. I ofen feel that many people talk about existential therapy, but Perls is the only one who actually shows us how to do it.

During the course of gestalt therapy, whether in a group workshop or in one-to-one work, the client may experience catharsis, followed by an amazing feeling of getting in touch with his or her real self - the self as opposed to the self-image. This may give us what Perls calls the "mini-Satori" - a peak experience which is essentially mystical in nature. Perls died in 1970 but he was one of the most influential leaders in the whole field.

Since he died gestalt therapy has continued to develop, particularly in the area of one-to-one work not carried out in groups. Some of the younger people are now quite critical of Perls, regarding him as too intrusive and too concerned with immediate results. They are now adopting a more long-term perspective which is much less concerned with catharsis and more concerned with the whole contact cycle.

The contact cycle is an idea which has long been a part of the gestalt approach, but has been puushed into a much more important position recently. The idea is that all experience of anything we want or need goes through a sequence of stages:

(1) We are at rest, and our field of consciousness is undifferentiated;
(2) A need or want emerges (which could be physical, psychological or spiritual). We may or may not have to clarify exactly what this need is before proceeding. Once the need is clear, this arouses us and points us towards the sources of possible need satisfaction;
(3) Our energy has now been mobilized, and we scan the field for possible sources of satisfaction. Depending on the need, this might be a brief process or might require the making of enquiries of various kinds;
(4) We choose one, under whatever constraints may be operating, and move towards it to get it;
(5) We make contact with the object of choice, and experience it;
(6) We judge it to be suitable or unsuitable, and either continue with it or go back to (3) for further scanning;
(7) We experience satisfaction;
(8) We withdraw, and our energy now goes inwards, fully digesting the experience. We are now ready for a new cycle to begin.

The point made by gestalt therapy is that something can go wrong with each of these stages.

(1) Some people can never reach the point of rest.
(2) Some people are not aware of their needs.
(3) Some people cannot mobilize their energy.
(4) Some people cannot make a choice between alternatives.
(5) Some people cannot fully experience anything.
(6) Some people cannot discriminate between what is good for them and what is not.
(7) Some people cannot experience satisfaction.
(8) Some people cannot withdraw. So each of these points on the cycle suggests a possible problem area, and by understanding the cycle we can understand better exactly what the problem is.

BOOKLIST

Clarkson P (1989) Gestalt counselling in action Sage, London. An excellent and up to date manual, very well done.

Fagan J & Shepherd I L (eds)(1970) Gestalt therapy now Science & Behaviour Books, Palo Alto. This is the book I like best. It contains 25 papers, and I think gives the best all-round view of Gestalt therapy in all its aspects.

Korb M P et al (1989) Gestalt therapy: Practice and theory (2nd ed) Pergamon Press, New York. Good up to date text, much better than the first edition.

Nevis, Edwin C (ed) (1992) Gestalt therapy: Perspectives and applications Gardner Press, New York. A useful compendium, with old and new material.

O'Leary, Eleanor (1993) Gestalt therapy: Theory, practice and research Chapman & Hall, San Diego. A slim volume which covers the essentials very well. Good on research.

Perls F S (1969) Gestalt therapy verbatim Real People Press, Moab. This was the first book which most of us came across, and it is quite brilliant on the Gestalt approach to dreams.

Perls F S et al (1951) Gestalt therapy: Excitement and growth in the human personality Dell Publishing Co, New York (also Penguin edition available). Although this is supposed to be the original classic, I don't like it much and find it very hard going. All the later books are easier to get along with than this.

Polster E & Polster M (1974) Gestalt therapy integrated: Contours of theory and practice Vintage Books, New York. The Polsters come over to this country occasionally (as does Marty Fromm), and are worth looking out for.

Smith E W L (ed)(1977) The growing edge of Gestalt therapy The Citadel Press, Secaucus. Some good papers in this one, including the classic by Dublin on Perls-ism.

Stevens B (1970) Don't push the river (it flows by itself) Real People Press, Moab. A marvellous book, exemplifying what it would be like to live with Gestalt awareness all the time.

Stevens J O (1971) Awareness: Exploring, experimenting, experiencing Real People Press, Moab. An excellent collection of exercises.

Stevens J O (ed)(1975) gestalt is Real People Press, Moab. Some first- rate papers in this useful book.

Zinker J (1978) Creative process in Gestalt therapy Vintage Books, New York. Again a good book, though not quite as exciting as it promises.