REFLECTIONS ON GESTALT AND CONTEMPORARY THERAPIES

 

 

 

 

REFLECTIONS ON THE CONTEMPORARY THERAPIES

 

After some 35 years of teaching and the University of Queensland and training gestalt therapists all over the world, I am now reflecting on this so called “talking cures’ or as the contemporary writers call it “relational therapies”. 

Millions of people seek some sort of psychological help assuming (believing) that a professional will be able to sort out their complex life problems and/or at least help with their relationships.  However, the first question is how to select from a huge list of available therapeutical modalities that seem to mainly be interested in making money because there is no clear evidence that the “talking therapy” actually helps but there is some evidence that it can hinder solutions or create more problems to the many individuals, families and eventually to whole societies.

Take a brief look at history of humanity. Here we discover that prior to the emergence of therapies, spouses, parents, lovers, children, and all sorts of close friends and colleagues – that were not therapists – were considered the most important people in our lives and the most available to help. Now the many psychotherapies place the professional helper in the middle of the ‘lay folk’ and make the ‘expert’ the most important problem solver. Many who practice as a way of earning a living, deliberately promote themselves as the true expert in human relations and thus degrade what for centuries was a wealth of wisdom regarding human growth and development: the tribe, the family, the group and society.

Research reports about questionable results in therapy are usually criticised or simply ignored. As far back as 1952, H.J. Eysenck, a British psychologist, begun the practice of scientifically examining the effectiveness of psychotherapy with the ‘common neurotic person’, he compared the recovery rates of persons not treated with those treated with psychotherapy. He concluded that psychotherapy was ineffective promoting recovery from a neurotic disorder.

We know very well that there are a large amount of methods and techniques of psychotherapy and each claim specific results. Like psychoanalysis that helps to understand the nature of inner problems to Humanistic therapies that share and reflect on the clients’ feelings and emotions. CBT or behavioural techniques that instruct the client to stop negative patters of thinking and so on and on.

Nevertheless, in the many years of research, all the evidence points to only one factor that enables growth and helps with problems is: RELATIONSHIP. The client-therapist quality of relationship they experience in any sort of therapy. We may claim that our specific techniques or methods are effective in comparison to others, we cannot deny that the relationship between the client and therapist is key to developing a positive or negative outcome of therapy.

It is obvious, then, that any orientation that we may have chosen to be trained as a psychotherapist, the major skill is to learn how to develop a positive, conscious and ongoing relationship with the client in order to achieve measurable positive outcomes in therapy.

 

 

  

GESTALT AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS

In Perl's (1977) formulation of the goal of treatment, self-expression and awareness on the nonverbal level also play an important role:

The treatment is finished when the patient has achieved the basic requirements: change in outlook, a technique of adequate self- expression and assimilation, and the ability to extend awareness to the nonverbal level. He has then reached that state of integration which facilitates his own development, and he can now be safely left to himself to continue life as a healthy journey.

There are many new studies that carry the title of “Psychoneurology”, “Biopsychology”, “psychobiology” and so on. These studies use the new brain scanning technology to determine the therapeutic outcomes. At the 2014 GANZ (Gestalt Australia & New Zealand) conference in Brisbane a key note speaker was a brain researcher from the University of Queensland. He specifically outlined the positive therapeutic outcomes working with Gestalt Therapy. I felt overjoyed about this evidence because it finally acknowledged the many years of experience of working as a Gestalt therapist and trainer that this particular therapy does train practitioners to make clear and positive contact (relationship) with clients and groups. Gestalt also includes in its training a large input in creative experiential and experimental techniques.

The quote by James Dewar “minds are like parachutes, they only function when they are open” is a wise one. He suggests that books, theories and intellectual jargon only aims to keep the mind closed to experience. It is clear that all therapeutic orientations that span over 100 years now, are required to enable the client to “talk about” issues or problems and that is supposed to relieve them form psychological stress.

Only Dr. Fritz Perls and his wife Laura pioneered the notion of an authentic encounter with the client. They used many expressive therapies (including body work) that generated feelings of anger, sadness, disgust, joy, sexuality, etc. He often spoke to clients to “stop mind fucking” and experience the NOW! Perls worked in a small group format where he encouraged members to express , explore and share openly their inner feelings instead of ‘talking about’ them.

Talking about does not help to solve many problems deeply ingrained in human beings. It actually helps to fill out the ‘therapy’ hour creating an illusion for the client and therapist that something very important is happening.

Gestalt Therapy has deleted that illusion from its methodology and instead promoted the sense of AWARENESS. Awareness is a process that happens only in the here and now (present) and has the potential to shift the client’s life-space by enabling the understanding of deep relationship with the whole spectrum of personal, transpersonal, existential human growth.

One of the mayor developments in the Gestalt therapy field is the awareness of the creative process in healing Body, Mind and Spirit. Joseph Zinker pioneered this idea in his book: “Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy” (1978).

 

 

 Joseph Zinker

GESTALT AND JOSEPH ZINKER

 According to Zinker, Gestalt is a creative approach, which may include drawing, playing, dance and drama. The therapist will be willing to engage in a genuine relationship with the client, within appropriate therapeutic boundaries. Exploration of this therapeutic relationship will form an important part of the therapy. The therapist may set up an experiment to aid the client in more fully experiencing and expressing a current sensation or work with art tools like drawing, painting, mask making, sculpture, theatre, dance, collage etc.

Gestalt therapists believe that unfinished business underlies much human distress and will support clients in reaching resolution in those areas of their lives where they feel incomplete. This may involve the safe expression of pain, anger, sorrow, fear and joy. Often, relief follows the release of emotions which have been held back, especially if they have been held over a long period of time, perhaps because such expression would have been unsafe. Art tools enable the clients to put outside themselves what is inside and then can work on the figure presented in their art work.

Gestalt therapists further believe that all of us contain aspects which are loving, cruel, hostile, joyful, adventurous, timorous and so on. Integration occurs when we own and accept all that we are, rather than pretending to ourselves and others that we are always kind, or brave or hard-working or whatever. Thus the therapist will also support clients in discovering, exploring and reclaiming parts of themselves which they have disowned. Drama using puppets and sand tray are some of the most powerful methods to help the integration of dis-owned parts.

 Photo: Y. Sarak copyright

 

 

 [2]A BRIEF HISTORY OF ART THERAPY

Although art therapy is a relatively young therapeutic discipline, its roots lie in the use of the arts in the 'moral treatment' of psychiatric patients in the late 18th century, this moral treatment, Susan Hogan argues, “arose out of utilitarian philosophy and also from a non-conformist religious tradition”, and in a re-evaluation of the art of non-western art and of the art of untrained artists.

Art therapy as a profession began in the mid-20th century, arising independently in English-speaking and European countries. The early art therapists who published accounts of their work acknowledged the influence of aesthetics, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, rehabilitation, early childhood education, and art education, to varying degrees, on their practices.

The British artist Adrian Hill coined the term art therapy in 1942. Hill, recovering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium, discovered the therapeutic benefits of drawing and painting while convalescing. He wrote that the value of art therapy lay in "completely engrossing the mind (as well as the fingers) …releasing the creative energy of the frequently inhibited patient", which enabled the patient to "build up a strong defence against his misfortunes". He suggested artistic work to his fellow patients. That began his art therapy work, which was documented in 1945 in his book, Art Versus Illness.

The artist Edward Adamson, demobilised after WW2, joined Adrian Hill to extend Hill’s work to the British long stay mental hospitals. Other early proponents of art therapy in Britain include E. M. Lyddiatt, Michael Edwards, Diana Raphael-Halliday and Rita Simon. The British Association of Art Therapists was founded in 1964.

U.S. art therapy pioneers Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer began practicing at around the same time as Hill. Naumburg, an educator, asserted that "art therapy is psychoanalytically oriented" and that free art expression "becomes a form of symbolic speech which…leads to an increase in verbalization in the course of therapy. Edith Kramer, an artist, pointed out the importance of the creative process, psychological defences, and artistic quality, writing that "sublimation is attained when forms are created that successfully contain…anger, anxiety, or pain.” Other early proponents of art therapy in the United States include Elinor Ulman, Robert "Bob" Ault, and Judith Rubin. The American Art Therapy Association was founded in 1969.

National professional associations of art therapy exist in many countries, including Brazil, Canada, Australia, Finland, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, South Korea, and Sweden. International networking contributes to the establishment of standards for education and practice. Diverse perspectives exist on history of art therapy, which complement those that focus on the institutionalization of art therapy as a profession in Britain, the United States and Australia.

The purpose of art therapy is essentially one of healing. Art therapy can be successfully applied to clients with physical, mental or emotional problems, diseases and disorders. Any type of visual art and art medium can be employed within the therapeutic process, including painting, drawing, sculpting, photography, and digital art. Art therapy stands in contrast with other kinds of creative or expressive arts therapies that use dance, music or drama. One of the major differences between art therapy and other forms of communication is that most other forms of communication elicit the use of words or language as a means of communication. Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of art therapy, as applied to clients with memory loss due to Alzheimer’s and other diseases; stroke residuals; cognitive functioning; traumatic brain injury; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); depression; dealing with chronic illness; and aging. However, the potential healing power of art therapy has not been thoroughly studied in certain patients, such as trauma victims with disorders such as PTSD. Art therapists report remarkable results from work with combat veterans, traumatized victims, sexual abuse survivors and survivors of natural disasters. Published case stories and research projects also support the efficiency of the approach. As art therapy grows in popularity and gains recognition, the purpose will become more clear and branch out to different patients. The purpose of art therapy is to provide a new healing opportunity to those who will benefit most from alternative therapy methods. In conclusion, art therapy is one of multiple methods to create peace and healing. Gestalt Art therapy has only recently developed and is growing.

PS: Watch this very informative talk by philosopher Alain de Botton: “Art as Therapy”

Video 1

Video 2

 

 

GESTALT ART THERAPY CENTRE

The Centre begun in 2008 when Yaro Starak and Gemma Garcia arrived from Spain. Both completed their training in Gestalt Therapy and Gemma received a diploma in Visual arts in Brisbane. Combining art therapy and gestalt was a project that opened opportunities for anyone who is interested in learning how to apply art tools in working as a gestalt therapist and also for those who were not trained in gestalt, to learn to become more proficient in their work. The fusion of both methods created the first Centre of Gestalt art therapy in Australia. The reader is invited to click on the links below and discover the story with all the details.

Art and Creativity in Gestalt Therapy. N A N C Y A M E N D T - L Y O N, Ph.D.

GESTALT ART THERAPY CENTRE- Australia

 

GUESS WHO ARE THEY? WHERE and  WHEN? (hint: GANZ)

 

---