I took these notes while taking part in the Introduction to Gestalt course at the Manchester Gestalt centre which was facilitated by James Barrot.

Gestalt, like Person Centred Therapy and Transactional Analysis came out of the humanistic tradition and developed in the mid 20th Century. It developed as an alternative to behaviorism and psychoanalytical therapy.

Here is a short article giving an overview map of gestalt therapy.

Psychoanalytical therapy believed that human beings were influenced by unconscious sexual and aggressive drives which we have little control over. Because all this happens in the unconscious it is down to analysis to work out what is happening. Freud's original theory was radical in its day as it was the first form of talking therapy to hit the world and it was the first attempt at producing a science of mental health.

On the other side of the talking therapies was behaviorism. Whereas, Freud was interested in the workings of the inner mind, behaviorism concentrated on the influence of the external world. Pavlov and Skinner are two fairly well known names. This was the model; you behave according to external stimuli. Behaviorists believed that you could change your behavior by controlling the environment.

This took a path between the two. It posited that rather than being controlled by internal drives or external stimuli, people actually had the power themselves to make changes. They had a unique potential to affect their lives through a process of actualisation. This approach meant that humans had power themselves to make changes and the therapy was concerned with unlocking this potential so that the person could become more independent and better functioning.

Frederick (Fritz) Perls was born in Berlin in 1893 and lived in Germany until 1933. Perls married Laura who was also to become a significant founder of Gestalt therapy. Perls,like many of his contemporaries, trained as a Freudian analyst. With the rise of fascism in Germany, Fritz and Laura moved to South Africa. Perls set up practice as a Freudian analyst. After the Second World War they moved to New York where they met Paul Goodman who was a gay activist and anarchist. The three of them became the main founders of the Gestalt approach. They formed the first Gestalt institute in New York. The term Gestalt was borrowed from Gestalt psychology. Gestalt means pattern or whole and gestalt psychology was particularly interested in how humans tend to making meaning from things by trying to complete them, or see their patterns or wholes. After a while, Fritz and Laura split up with Fritz moving away to the West coast of America and Laura remaining in New York. With their separation came differences in gestalt approach. Fritz became interested in Eastern religion and less interested in theory. He would travel around giving demonstrations on stage of the gestalt method. His therapy was very fast and impactful and is often associated with bashing cushions and two chair work, Fritz can be seen using this approach in the Gloria video, made along with Carl

The therapist supports the client to use phenomenology to become more aware of what they are experiencing. Experience precedes and underlies understanding, Gestalt therapists encourage clients to hold off labeling, forming conclusions and closing things down, until they have a fuller picture.

Everything is part of the field.

Everything in the field affects everything else.

Fields are in a constant state of change.

We can only understand the individual in relation to the environment.

Fields are co-created.

A question for therapy I what does the therapist bring into the field.

Looking at what is happening in the moment.

The moment is where we live and activate.

Bracketing previous assumptions and prejudices to try and maintain a freshness.

Equalising all in the field, everything is of interest.

Creative indifference, exploring whatever without a particular outcome in mind.

What is is, one thing follows another

Open interaction between 2 people

Presence, the therapist demonstrates presence through making their own phenomenology available to the client.

Inclusion the therapist projects themselves into the world of the client to get a deep understanding When dialogue is present, the relationship is towards the horizontal.

The influence of Zen Buddhist emphasis on experience of the moment, oneness & change through awareness. Holistic appreciation of experiences having meaning in relation to the whole of our lives and an the desire to integrate experiences and parts of ourselves into our whole self.