Fall, Holder and Marquis, (2003), argue that Gestalt school of psychology posits that brain functioning has a correlation to psychological events. The inability of a person to reconcile the different constructs of his/her personality to whole health from some psychological disturbance. Therefore, a gestalt psychologist would lend her/himself more of her/his efforts on encouraging the client reflect on inner self and particularly their emotions, release and address them for what they are rather than suppressing them. Away from that brief history and introduction, what are the ultimate concerns in gestalt psychotherapy?
Gestalt psychotherapy is concerned with healing through dialogue and not merely the small-talk kind, but an honest, open, non judgmental and comprehensive kind of dialogue where there are no inhibitions to the client or rules. This implies that the relationship between the therapist and the client is a dialogic relationship. Woldt and Toman (2005) point out that one very important task that therapists must accomplish is to be able to assist patients in becoming aware of the many unconscious ways that they pushing other people away from them, isolating themselves in the process.
. As noted earlier, Gestalt therapy believes that human contact is what brings about healing and thus the therapist-client relationship is of utmost importance. This means that the role of the therapist is basically to explore with the client the current state of affairs in her/his life and not to attempt to point out undesired behavior and modifying them. The healing comes out better when autonomy and growth through self awareness is fostered (Woldt and Toman, 2005). The relationship here is that the therapist and client relate in a cordial manner and the therapist propels the conversation in an energized tone.
This sets the pace for the client to talk about themselves, how they feel about anything and everything surrounding their life. Moreover, this intricate relationship and dialogue with the therapist assist the clients with being able to look into themselves and listen to all their personal thoughts and feelings. This openness allows the clinician to be able to dive deeper into the clients’ experiences and be able to see and understand them in ways that have never been possible before. (Clarkson, 2001)
Needless to say this kind of therapy can be tricky for an inexperienced clinician, especially in the case where the clinician and the client are of two opposite sexes. It may yield a counter transference and create therapeutic distance. This may impede the effectiveness of therapy. It is therefore important that the therapist be very self aware of her/himself and objective throughout the entire process of therapy. She/he should closely monitor the evolution of the relationship with the client and vigilant of potential obstruction or abuse of power during the therapeutic session (Rogers, 1980).
This is not only a requirement in gestalt psychotherapy but a requirement of all psychotherapies. It is required by law that the clinician should always maintain a therapeutic distance from the client because a breach in observing that distance is tantamount to abuse. This is because in therapy the client is vulnerable to the clinician and may feel pressured to please the clinician; this action would be unethical and improper. Counselors are bound by their profession to uphold the dignity of their clients, and this requires the setting of some boundaries in the client-therapist relationship. (Clarkson, 2001)