Gestalt therapy is a form of psychoanalysis originally developed by Laura and Fritz Perls, and Paul Goodman in the 1940s. It has changed in some ways since then, but basically, it is reactionary against the typical Freudian analysis of patients, where patients are interpreted by therapists and shown which issues they have. Instead, Gestalt therapy posits that patients must arrive at conclusions and awareness about themselves. This aspect of this therapy is frequently practiced today.
One of the keystones of Gestalt therapy is the idea of how a person’s contact with others is interrupted through a variety of behaviors. Full contact, and thus knowing and loving others (in a sexual, parental or companion way), cannot be achieved until a person recognizes the way in which he or she has set up barriers to such contact.
Some of the ways in which this type of therapy helps the patient to evaluate interrupted or faulty contact is by evaluation of the sum of a patient’s communicative abilities. Evaluating the whole presentation, not simply what a patient says, but how they act, how they speak, words they choose, and body language can help the patient discover barriers to complete contact.
Thus, part of the way Gestalt therapy works is through interactive observation; for example, the therapist might address the patient’s body language when the patient speaks. For example, a Gestalt therapist might ask, “Why do you keep wagging your foot when you speak of your husband? What does that mean?” A Gestalt therapist would keep track of this sort of nonverbal communication as a way of looking at the whole person, not merely the subject the person discusses.
Another feature of this practice is the concept of mindfulness. Being mindful of more aspects of communication and interaction may help in the pursuit of contacts and understand when contacts fail. Through the therapist’s comments and observation, the patient is hopefully led to enlightenment. This is often called the “Aha!” or “Gestalt” experience. In fact, people often use the term Gestalt to refer to a particular moment of insight.
These Gestalts are crucial to becoming more mindful and discovering the path to overcoming problems or symptoms of mental disturbance. This type of mindfulness is also employed in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well, though it lacks the interactive observational qualities for which Gestalt therapy is known.
Gestalt therapy has fallen out of favor. There are still a few Gestalt practitioners, but mainly newer forms of therapy developed in the 1980s and onward have become more predominant and more popular. However, the process of the patient discovering paths through gradual self-awareness is key to many modern therapeutic techniques.