1. encourage further dialogue and discussion
2. encourage your classmate to think about other aspects of the topic
3. ask a relevant, meaningful question to better assist with your understanding
4. compare and/or contrast your response

Mandy’s Post 

Gestalt theory

The theory I identify with

After taking the Selected theory sorted-revised (Halbur & Halbur 2015), and much to my surprise at first, I scored high on the Gestalt theory, second the person centered theory and last the existential theory. The latter two I understood and after reading more about the gestalt theory I realized that the sorter is correct, it fits me well. My beliefs are; that all we have is the present, so we should make the most of it, build the life we want. Breath and take in the beauty of this world in which we live. I too believe that a person is only complete when all his or her life is taken into consideration. Human contact and social connectivity, are important to me, they are crucial and contribute to our feelings of wellbeing. Another reason the therapeutic approach resonates with me is because I love listening to people and learning about their lives and what makes them act the way they do. I am a curious human being, always wanting to know more. People being experts of their own lives, follows my mantra, and I believe, given the right conditions they will figure it out, some with more and some with less help. I like delving into the emotional realm of situations, as emotions affect our thoughts and behavior immensely. Therefore, I think Gestalt theory is a good fit for me.

Least attractive aspects

The main aspect of the gestalt theory that is less attractive to me, is the therapist being very confrontational, From the first session. I do think that confronting people is beneficial but I feel, there is a time and place for that. Maybe after the therapeutic relationship is established. Another aspect that I did not like was stopping a client sometimes mid speech to assess body language and the difference between it and the verbal language. I think, that might embarrass the client and he or she will not come back to therapy and will go through life with unnecessary issues.

Ms. A’s problems

1 Looking through the gestalt theory I will not label Ms. A. I will wait to meet with her and listen to her experiences. Thinking to myself about Ms. A. I realize she is a very busy person. I feel, that she is deflecting, distracting herself rather than dealing with painful issues at hand. As a gestalt therapist I feel she has a lot of blocked energy. When Ms. A. comes into my office I will make sure she is comfortable, I will ask Ms. A. how she is feeling at this moment and make sure I understand what she is saying. Then I will complement her on taking care of herself by booking and coming to this appointment. Once I feel that Ms. A. is comfortable I will go over the information she provided and make sure I understand and empathize with her. I will address her self-talk, I see she is telling her self that she is going around in circles and getting nowhere. I will help her work on changing self-talk. I will mention I observed that, she has cut herself from the people she loves and will explain to her how important it is to keep social connections for human wellbeing. Furthermore, I feel she has a lot of unfinished business that she has not dealt with like; Her argument with her brother, her disappointment of not having a baby and she is not grieving properly for her mom. I would like her to develop an awareness to what she is doing and realize that it is not working for her. I will do that by asking questions. I would also like to try an experiment with her; I will ask her to talk to herself out load in session as if she were her own daughter, regarding her busy life.

Additional information

The information that is missing is not crucial to the gestalt theory. I will need to find out more about her values and beliefs. I will also need to find out what if anything she is doing regarding not being able to have a baby. Finally, I will need more information about her argument with her brother. I think all that information can be gathered through the first few sessions. According to Corey (2017), change will occur once Ms. A. becomes more aware of herself, including thoughts and feeling, and her ability to choose change.

References

Corey, G. (2017). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (10th ed.). Pacific Grove CA: Cengage Learning.

Halbur, D. A., & Halbur, K. V. (2015). Developing your theoretical orientation in      counseling and psychotherapy (3rd Ed.).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.