Personal Therapy Information.

In personal therapy I practice a Gestalt approach that emphasises that we all discover and form ourselves via our engagement in the world rather than simply through introspection.  The session becomes a laboratory exploring that engagement and forming. I would look at engagement and contact styles, how these are achieved and what creative adjustments are in operation to prevent contact.The organism/environment are closely examined, with the emphasis on how we are in the world and the ‘intentionality’ of contact.

Gestalt has deep philosophical and theoretical roots which supports the process within personal therapy. In addition ‘self’ support is looked at, maybe resurrected and confirmed. Support from the environment and within the session are also established. 

Where many therapeutic approaches focus on change, Gestalt therapy focuses much more on awareness and acceptance, because Gestalt therapy is based on the Paradoxical theory of change. Therefore I would rather support a person toward increasing his awareness. Awareness of how he is functioning and also, of how he might be hindering himself because of the original creative adjustment. Here, for example in the case of depression as a response to life or life events, I could support the person in exploring the different aspects  possible function of the depression in the present life. This starts of course with the acceptance of the depression as the present way of being, as a result of the best possible creative adjustment. It then becomes possible to look at how and causes of the creative adjustment and ways the person can foresee a movement in creating a different way of being that fits with their humanity.