Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that applies a holistic approach to understanding and addressing an individual's experiences. It emphasises the interconnectedness of an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The term ‘gestalt’ is a German word, meaning whole or form.
Gestalt therapy is underpinned by six core principles that guide the therapeutic approach. These foundations are:
Aware: Awareness is the goal of relational gestalt therapy. Awareness supports connection, wisdom, spontaneity, and health. We bring attention to our body (embodied awareness) because needs, longings, and fears emerge contextually, first as sensations. In gestalt therapy, the client is encouraged to become more attuned to their internal experiences, bodily sensations, and environmental influences.
Present: Presence provides a way of being in the here and now with openness and flexibility, allowing us to respond to the fullness of the moment. In a place of presence, we are aware of the ways our history and other contextual conditions might organise our current experience. From presence, we are more able to confirm the humanity of others. With compassion, we can hold others with deep care.
Receptive: Gestalt therapy promotes a stance of openness and receptivity. When we are tuned into our own experience and are more present in the here and now, we can orient ourselves to others and the world we live in. We become more spontaneous and receptive to our needs, and the needs of others, as they emerge in contact. We become curious about the ways we habitually meet others and the changes and challenges of life. As we become more aware of our habitual patterns in relating to others, and meeting our needs more flexibly, we begin to create change, healing, or transformation.
Choiceful: Central to gestalt therapy is the belief that individuals have the capacity to make meaningful choices. In gestalt, change often includes acceptance of our lived experience. We understand that some of what causes distress is a response to earlier adversity and challenge (adaption). With support we can identify and begin to let go of unhelpful pathologising narratives. Instead of trying to be ‘someone else’, we can allow ourselves to be who we are. Clients are supported in taking responsibility for their actions and decisions, and in recognising their ability to shape their own lives.
Situated: Gestalt therapy acknowledges that individuals are inherently situated within a larger context, including their relationships, social environment, and cultural influences. Gestalt therapy seeks to contextualise all experiences, breaking down ideas of individual pathology, shame, and blame. We ask the question “How does this make sense?” We also seek to become more meaningfully engaged in responding to issues of ecology, diversity, power, and privilege.
Engaged: Within a relational gestalt framework, the true goal of therapy is to be engaged in the world, with a developed sense of self and an understanding of the co-emergent experience in relationships, family, and communities large and small. Gestalt therapy supports more than the individual who attends; it builds capacity for community.
Compared to other psychotherapy approaches, gestalt therapy is distinct in several ways:
Focus on the whole: While many traditional therapies may focus on specific symptoms or problems, gestalt therapy emphasises the interconnectedness of the individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and how they contribute to the person's overall experience. There is always a commitment to understand client experience contextually including the immediate situation and the broader social and cultural dimensions that influence us.
Emphasis on the present: Unlike some therapies that focus extensively on the past or future, gestalt therapy concentrates on the client's immediate and embodied experience. The therapist and client work together to explore and understand the here and now.
Experiential approach: Gestalt therapy utilises a more active, experimental approach, encouraging clients to engage in exercises and activities that help them deepen their experiences by stretching their awareness.
Collaborative relationship: The gestalt therapist and client work collaboratively, with the therapist acting as a guide and facilitator, rather than an expert who provides solutions. The personal here-and-now experience of the therapist can be a vital resource for the client's sense of self. The client might feel heard in a way that is deeply confirming and healing.
“Gestalt theory is rich. It supports ways of understanding the human condition that move beyond simple categories and diagnostic labels, and towards a more nuanced and compassionate meeting of people as they are.”
