Therapeutic Goals in Gestalt Therapy
1. Self-Awareness:
o Awareness leads to choice and responsibility.
o Techniques aim to elicit intense emotional responses, focusing on present
experiences.
o Therapist acts as a 'real' person, fostering genuine connection.
2. Acceptance and Change:
o Based on the Paradoxical Theory of Change: Change occurs when one
accepts oneself as they are.
o Encourage clients to reclaim their potential and solve problems
independently.
3. Awareness:
o Understanding what one is doing, planning, and feeling.
o Identifying how behaviors prevent achieving goals or change.
o Emphasis on the "here and now."
4. Integration:
o Integrating "shoulds" and "wants."
o Address conflicts by developing dialogues between conflicting desires.
5. Maturation:
o Developing self-support and reducing dependence on others.
o Encouraging clients to stop blocking their own growth.
6. Responsibility:
o Moving away from blaming others to accepting responsibility for behavior.
o Responsibility enables change.
7. Authenticity:
o Honest self-expression and communication.
o Encouraging clients to state their needs and emotions directly.
8. Self-Regulation:
o Developing mechanisms for choosing what is best for oneself.
o Encouraging intellectual, emotional, and sensory experiences.
9. Behaviour Change:
o Helping clients recognize and overcome self-imposed barriers to goal
achievement.
Therapeutic Techniques
1. Self-Awareness:
o Awareness leads to choice and responsibility.
o Techniques aim to elicit intense emotional responses, focusing on present
experiences.
o Therapist acts as a 'real' person, fostering genuine connection.
2. Acceptance and Change:
o Based on the Paradoxical Theory of Change: Change occurs when one
accepts oneself as they are.
o Encourage clients to reclaim their potential and solve problems
independently.
3. Awareness:
o Understanding what one is doing, planning, and feeling.
o Identifying how behaviors prevent achieving goals or change.
o Emphasis on the "here and now."
4. Integration:
o Integrating "shoulds" and "wants."
o Address conflicts by developing dialogues between conflicting desires.
5. Maturation:
o Developing self-support and reducing dependence on others.
o Encouraging clients to stop blocking their own growth.
6. Responsibility:
o Moving away from blaming others to accepting responsibility for behavior.
o Responsibility enables change.
7. Authenticity:
o Honest self-expression and communication.
o Encouraging clients to state their needs and emotions directly.
8. Self-Regulation:
o Developing mechanisms for choosing what is best for oneself.
o Encouraging intellectual, emotional, and sensory experiences.
9. Behaviour Change:
o Helping clients recognize and overcome self-imposed barriers to goal
achievement.
Therapeutic Techniques
