The Theory of Gestalt - Term Paper Example

This attitude, for a time, forced Gestalt into the background of scientific study. Today the therapy is striving and gaining professional ground in not only a myriad of areas of endeavor, but also in combination with other therapies which once discounted it. The Basis of Gestalt As a psychology term created in the early 20th century by German psychologists, gestalt essentially means a unified whole. It referred to theories of visual perception which attempt to describe how people tend to organize visual elements into groups, using certain elements to perceived, in the end, the whole.

The term and concept was later applied by the Perls and Goodman in their Gestalt Therapy studies. There are many critiques and analysis of gestalt, so it is important from the outset that we explain the concept in layman’s terms that inform the remainder of the paper. Gestalt as applied to Gestalt Therapy is a method of awareness practice akin to "mindfulness" in eastern philosophical thought “by which perceiving, feeling, and acting are understood to be conducive to interpreting, explaining, and conceptualizing [the hermeneutics of experience]” (Brownell, 2010: p. 128). .

The concept as applied in Gestalt Therapy according to Brownell (2008) relies upon several aspects, including the phenomenological method but also dialogical relationships, practical theoretical strategies and the perceived freedom to use these strategies and insights as experimental tools to help clients reach personal goals. The goals for success include a suspension of past expectations; understanding and empathy between client and therapist; a thorough understanding and confrontation of the client’s environmental field of experience; and the singularly specific approach of moving the client from analysis to positive, concrete actions.

Evolution and Application of Theory Gestalt psychology and therapy fell out of favor with the emergence of cognitive psychology and methods in the mid-1900s. As recently as 1995, however, professionals cognizant of its benefits have emphasized the value of the insights Gestalt Therapy brings to understanding and insights brought about by the behavioral and cognitive methods. While behavioral therapy assumes that mental disturbances are learned but aimless behaviors, and cognitive therapy studies how people think and how they interpret their experiences, Gestalt Therapy helps patients become more aware of themselves and what is going on in the private inner world in which they actually live; that includes the therapists themselves.

In terms of gender therapy, Gestalt has been used for therapist training by the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Philadelphia Women’s Therapy Center to help them better approach gender identity issues with patients from a “nonpathological, non-shaming perspective”