Gestalt therapy has a world view that is field theoretical. Field theories are world views that see reality as being essentially holistic and inter-related. It’s not that everything affects everything else, it’s more that everything exists in a context; I can’t not have an impact of some sort on a situation I am part of.
Gestalt’s field theory comes from Kurt Lewin. This theory states that behaviour is a function of a person in an environment. This means that a person’s behaviour can’t be viewed in isolation from the situation they are in. The ‘field’ in field theory refers to the organism/environment field; that is, the total situation of a person (organism) in a context (environment).
Imagine a fish. It is impossible to make sense of what a fish is without reference to its environment. A fish in water means something different to a fish on a sand dune. Field theory is the observation that everything occurs in some context. The meaning of any situation is determined by the relationship between the thing we’re focusing on (in gestalt we call this the figure) and the context it occurs within (in gestalt we call this the ground).
Two common problems people come to therapy for are depression and anxiety. A field theoretical perspective asks the question: ‘how is this person’s depression/anxiety a function of their situation?’. Kurt Lewin’s theory was deliberately provocative; he observed that society was expecting individuals to take full responsibility for their suffering, when that suffering was often a result of the way society was organised.
Gestalt therapy observes that people don’t exist in vacuums or spring into being wholly formed. We are constantly shaped and influenced by the situations we live through. The field theoretical outlook widens the scope of therapeutic enquiry. We explore the ways in which the wider situations you’re part of shape you, as well as how you shape them.
Here and now
Gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now. That’s not because the past and future are unimportant; they just don’t exist. When you and I meet in a therapy room, the experience takes place in the here and now. Every experience takes place …
Your experience
Gestalt draws heavily on an area of philosophy called phenomenology. Essentially, this means the study of experience. My concern as a gestalt therapist is the exploration of how you experience your reality. This is in contrast with psychoanalytical …
About gestalt
There is no better way of explaining gestalt therapy than through demonstration. And the best way of demonstrating gestalt therapy is for you to meet me for an initial session. Of course, that doesn’t help you know ahead of time whether you …
Contact and creative adjustment
Contact A critical concept in gestalt therapy is contact. This actually refers to a constant process rather than a specific state of being. At every moment of our lives, we are involved in the process of making contact with reality in some …
Creative experimentation
Gestalt therapy is both creative and experimental. The creativity of gestalt is all about identifying support in the current situation. Blue Peter taught a generation of people how much support they could get from toilet roll tubes and double …
Organismic self-regulation
Gestalt therapy focuses on organismic need. The founders of gestalt therapy spoke about people as organisms in order to get across the holistic nature of a person. Mental activity and physical activity aren’t separate, they are just two different …
Paradoxical theory of change
Gestalt therapy takes place from a position of creative indifference to any particular outcome. This means that, as your therapist, I’m not attached to you changing in any particular way; I don’t need you to change in order to feel good …