| FROM THE
INDIVIDUAL TO RELATIONSHIP -
A Gestalt Perspective on the Client-Therapist relationship.
By Vincent Humphreys ( Eisteach
2004)
The Individual
Gestalt therapy is mostly known
for its emphasis on individual responsibility. It developed through
the 1950s and 60s as a distinct theory of its own. The development
of Gestalt is generally associated with the charismatic personality
of Fritz Perls though other individuals were involved from the
beginning e.g. Laura Perls, Ralph Hefferline, and Paul Goodman.
The emphasis on individual responsibility was the main focus of
the work of Fritz Perls.
There are several ways in which the focus on
individual responsibility was expressed in Perls work. His initial
contract inviting people to work was framed in terms of the individual.
In Gestalt Therapy (1969) he writes, "I want to clarify my
position. I am responsible only for myself and for nobody else.
I am not taking responsibility for any of you, you are responsible
for yourselves".
This is also reflected in the famous Gestalt
prayer, written by Perls, part of which reads "…I do
my thing, and you do your thing, I am not in this world to live
up to your expectations". (Perls 1969 p.4).
To embody an attitude in a prayer is to give
it a special place in any theoretical system.
His therapy work focused mainly on the intrapsychic. The holistic
approach came to mean the holism of the individual i.e. integrating
different parts of the self (e.g. topdog underdog). This is particularly
seen in his work with dreams where every character and object
in the dream is seen as part of the self. He used dream work to
integrate parts of self.
Continued
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