Running Head: EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY: GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

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Presented to____ Class Institution City State Date

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

I introduced myself and spoke of ethics such as confidentiality, limitations, informed consent and the length of the session that would be expected (APA, 2010). The field perspective consists of being aware and attuned to the operation of the contact boundary in the organism/environment field, rather than satisfying the need for the therapist to exercise control of the therapeutic situation as in some approaches. I believe I did this. In existential theory pointers are used as concepts. These pointers denote directly to felt experiences. This gives rise to a fresh and different theoretical outlook. Reasoning is based on concepts that differentiate and point to experience that are felt directly, rather than theoretical concepts. Initially these concepts were forces, constituents or entities, which were very fundamental to personalities but not vocabulary. Today, all the theoretical writings are the same where different vocabularies are surpassed. The transcending is as a result of direct referencing on each concept in differentiating felt experiences. Earlier theories considered individuals first and second came interpersonal relationship. Personality, feelings and things like behaviour were used to explain individuals. Communication or interaction was as a result of two individuals meeting, which was explained in terms of different individual entities. Individual motives, tendencies, patterns and drives, explained behaviours. An individual was viewed or considered as a self-contained box. This self-contained box determined its acts and feelings from its internal machinery. Experiential theory overthrows these interpretations and perceptions. An interaction where a client has a direct contact with his or her experiences is called an experimental psychotherapy. This is basically a process that involves experience. Here, interaction is put first. It brings about new ways in talking about human behaviours, language,

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

conception, animals, emotions, felt-sense, plants, perception and interpersonal symbolic interactions (Gendlin, 1997). There are various concepts that are important in any psychotherapy. The first one is experiencing which refers to what can be sensed in ones body. Basically it entails a whole new understanding of the environment and body. Activities of human being incorporate both environment and body. Experiencing is considered as an ongoing process. The second concept is the felt-sense. This incorporates how wise our bodies are. Body-sense is how the body lives in a particular situation. It is not like a confined muscle. In other words, this is the meanings that the body feels which is neither an emotion nor just a mere thinking. Carrying forward is the third concept which implies the next steps of living. This involves a high order of sequences that are involved in living itself. Felt experiences have the same implications of next steps based on interactions. Therapies express some sort of empathy and when this happens clients seem to have self-actualization. The next one is the reconstituting blocked process. An implied sequence occurs when a needed interaction is provided. Such an interaction is necessary in psychotherapy. The fifth concept is felt shift. This is a concept where the body eases and a sense of relief are felt after whatever was implied occurs. The last concept is focusing and experiencing which defines and measures variables in the psychotherapy process. Initially the process was made up of content analysis. This eventually shifted to how the is relating to their experience incorporating process variables. Selfactualization helps clients to live more fully and acceptantly in the process of experiencing (Rogers, 1959, pg. 102).standardized materials are used to train judges. Emotions are measured or felt during the middle stages. This is done in various stages. In stage one; the speaker conveys a story where he or she gives a description of other events or people. These stories should neither involve the speaker nor present any generalized account

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

of ideas. In the second stage, the speakers interests should be clear. Otherwise he or she could be the central character. The speakers feelings are not supposed to be referred to here but comments can be made to get the story going. The third stage is where the content is a description about the speakers behavioural terms with addition of private experiences or feelings. This should give a personal touch to the narrative while the speaker is less

described. Stage four is where the experiences or feelings of the events are the subject of the dialogue. Here, the clients inner feelings and experiences are the basics during the dialogue. At stage five, contents during the dialogues are purposed to fully explore the speakers experiences and feelings. The speaker defines the problem in terms of his or her feelings. In addition, the speaker should explore the issue in a personal manner. The client now at his stage is left to focus on how to handle the experience. Stage six is the stage where the speakers current emergent experiences are discussed. Feeling at this stage change where there is active involvement on the issue and resolutions or acceptance are conveyed. The last stage which is seven is a stage in which experience is expansive and unfolding. A fresh way is used by the speaker in expansion of the experience further. Self-awareness is realised at this stage and consequently action is taken (Klein et al 1970, pgs. 6 and 56-63). In conclusion, clients in various therapy orientations do way much better if they focus. Experimental therapy works using the felt sense of our various situations. Every human being can find this process. Therapists can ask clients a simple question on how the whole situation is felt in their body. This brings about the felt sense in different situations of their clients and therefor e deepening the process. Training workshops can be offered during therapy sessions since relationship is vita. Therapy must therefore be experimental because experiencing is internally differentiable. Through directly felt experiential steps, change is born. When therapist expresses their own actual reactions, the experiencing process is carried forward. In

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

addition, this gives attention and room to the clients reactions. What we directly feel must be expressed clearly in words during therapy sessions and this can be termed as experiential psychotherapy.

Practice:Emergent Creation:accepting, attending and growing into the solution, with the substitution of readiness (or faith) for the security of apparent control(Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, 1951).I used questions to raise aware and used a person-centered approach that was empathetic and sensitive to the clients emotions in a safe and structured environment. According to Sarafino (1996), this tends to open up perceived closed doors and letting go of any negative feelings. This is because clients are encouraged to express their experiences, particularly those that bring out their strongest emotions. It is attaching meaning to these experiences and the emotions they elicit that one is able to realize the profound potential they possess. The experiential approach seeks personal awareness as a means to awakening a persons unconsciousness into consciousness. The therapeutic interview is experimental from moment to moment in the sense of try it out and see what happens. The patient is taught to experience himself.(Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, 1951, pg15.)I seemed attentive, listened well but seemed at a loss sometimes as what to say. I let the silence go on for a bit too long. I was in the intuitive zone. I used too casual a language at times, when I said like. You could see in the beginning I was definitely struggling with the right things to say and didnt have the connection or partnership with the client, however once I started the chair work she seemed to engage more and we connected. I think I displayed empathy; I

paraphrased, validated and used experiential and existential practice. I did experiment : The experiment is the cornerstone of experiential learning.

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Such therapy is flexible and itself an adventure in living What is essential is not that the therapist learns something about the patient and then teaches it to him, but that the therapist teaches the patient about how to learn about himself. Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, 1951, pg 15-16. I think I displayed phenomenology (understanding), the relationship (dialogue) and connectedness (field). I did I and Thou, here and now with noticing the clients biting on her nails. I dont like that I rubbed my nose on camera. It didnt look very professional. As for the quality of the recording, it kept going from normal to blurry. I put myself at the experience of the person without judging. I included myself in their reality. I stayed in it rather than try to change it. Something I could have done differently was to wait a longer time for the clients responses, allowing more time to lapse before the client spoke, as I may have denied the client the opportunity to process what was being asked. The client said I stayed in the present and the chairs worked well, and said I used the here and now.

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY GESTALT CRITICAL ANALYSIS

References: Gendlin, E. T., Jenney, R., & Shlein, J. M. (1960). Counselor ratings of process and outcome in client-centered therapy.. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 17, 7377.

Rogers, C. (1959). A tentative scale for the measurement of process in psychotherapy. In E. A. Rubinstein & M. B. Parloff (Eds.), Research in Psychotherapy (pp. 96107). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Klein, M. H., Mathieu, P. L., Gendlin, E. T., & Kiesler, D. J. (1969). The experiencing scale: a research and training manual. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute. Jennen, M. G. (1978). Relationship and interaction between therapist conditions, client depth of experiencing during therapy and constructive personality change in individual psycholtherapy. Unpublished manuscript. Leijssen, M. (1998a). Focusing Microprocesses. In L. S. Greenberg, J. C. Watson, & G. Lietaer (Eds.), Handbook of Experiential Psychotherapy (pp. 121154). New York: The Guilford Press. Weiser Cornell, A. (1996). The Power of Focusing. Oakland, California: New Harbinger Publications. Zimring, F. (1990). Cognitive processes as a cause of psychotherapeutic chane: self-initiated processes. In G. Lietaer, J. Rombauts, & R. Van Balen (Eds.), Client-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapy inthe Nineties (pp. 361380). Leuven: Leuven University Press.