Therapeutic techniques in Gestalt therapy

Therapeutic techniques

❖ Repetition & Exaggeration

Repetition and exaggeration: If there is repetition such as the example of the client tapping their feet on the ground, the therapist would get them to exaggerate the movement and talk about feelings that come up. This in turn focuses on the emotion and should help to release the blocked awareness.

❖ Role playing

This is a role-playing exercise that allows a client to imagine and participate in a conversation with another person or another part of themselves. Sitting across from the empty chair, the client enters into a dialogue as if they were speaking with that other person or that other part of themselves. This enables client to gain self-awareness and express repressed thoughts.

❖ Open chair technique

It is sometimes called as empty chair technique. In this technique, therapist places a person in therapy across from an empty chair. He or she is asked to imagine that someone (such as a boss, spouse, or relative), they, or a part of themselves is sitting in the chair.By this he/she may be able to experience repressed emotions in front of imagined person which in actual he/ she may not be able to do.

❖ Dialogue

Dialogue is based on experiencing the other person as he or she really is and showing the true self, sharing phenomenological awareness. The Gestalt therapist says what he or she means and encourages the patient to do the same. Gestalt dialogue embodies authenticity and responsibility.

❖ Discussing dreams

Gestalt therapists believe that dreams are existential messages we send to ourselves. These messages are actively explored to bring dream content into a person's actual life. A major technique used in Gestalt dream analysis is the “Take the Part of” technique.

❖ Attention to body language

Throughout therapy, a gestalt therapist will concentrate on body language, which is considered a subtle indicator of intense emotions. When specific body language is noticed, the therapist may ask the client to exaggerate these movements or behaviors.

❖ Top dog – Under dog technique

Top dogs are those factors which the individual has desire to meet because of social norms and standards. For example, a person might say “I should be on time” or “I should study hard and get good grades”. Underdogs are the opposite of top dogs. The idea of top dog and underdog underlie the basis of gestalt therapy: to reflect back and challenge clients’ incongruent parts in order to help them become whole (hence the term ‘gestalt’, meaning ‘whole’ or ‘circle’ in German).

❖ Fantasy

Fantasy is used in Gestalt Therapy to increase clients' self-awareness of their thoughts and emotions and to bring about closure to unfinished business. Therapists use guided imagery techniques to encourage client to imagine.

❖ Confusion

The technique of dealing with confusion of the client is about drawing attention to the client's hesitation in talking about something being questioned by therapist. This hesitation is the way to unconscious awareness of client of expression of inner self.

❖ Here and Now technique

This is the widely used therapeutic technique in which client is asked to focus on present moment that here is his/her opportunities and he/she must use it now. 

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