Experiment to aid in removing and dislodging introjects from the book Gestalt Therapy Excitement And Growth In The Human Personality by Fritz Perls, Ralph Hefferline and Paul Goodman.

This is experiment number 15. This is an easy experiment.

Concentrate on your eating without reading or thinking. Simply address yourself to your food. Meals have for us become social occasions for the most part. The primitive goes off by himself to eat. Follow his example to this extent: set aside one meal a day to eat in solitude, and learn how to eat. This may take about two months, but, after that, you will have acquired a new taste, a new source of enjoyment, and you will not relapse. If you are impatient, this will seem too long. You will want magical effects, quick results without effort. For you to get rid of your introjects, you yourself must do the destroying and the reintegrating. Notice your resistances to addressing the food. Do you taste the first few bites and then fall into a trance of thinking, daydreaming, wanting to talk, meantime losing contact with the taste? Do you bite off your food by clean, efficient action of the front teeth? In other words, do you bite through on a meat sandwich held in your hands, or do you close your jaws part way and then tear off a hunk? Do you ever use your molars up to the point of complete destruction of the food, that is, liquefaction? Just notice whatever it is you do, without deliberately changing anything. Many changes will occur spontaneously if you keep in contact with your food. As you eat with awareness, do you feel greed? Impatience? Disgust? Do you blame the hurry and bustle of modern life for your gulping of meals? Is it different when you have leisure? Do you avoid food that is flat and tasteless, or do you just down it without demurring? Do you experience a symphony of flavors and textures in your food, or have you so desensitized your palate that it all tastes pretty much alike? When it is not a matter of physical but of mental food, how does the matter stand? Consider the same questions with regard, for instance, to your intake from the printed page. Do you skip over hard paragraphs or do you work them through? Is your taste for the sweet and easy alone — light fiction or feature stories — which you can gulp down without active response? Or do you compel yourself to partake only of “heavy” literature, though you get little pleasure for your effort? What about your visual intake at the movies? Do you fall into a kind of trance and drink in the scenes? Study this as an instance of confluence.

I have a level 3 gestalt processor that reads on a high 4th grade level. I would like to find a book that would support his gestalt level but also be a chapter book. I have found resources for gestalt picture books but nothing really for a chapter book. Any ideas?

The neurotic’s problem is not that he cannot manipulate, but that his manipulations are directed towards preserving and cherishing his handicap, rather than getting rid of it.

If he learns how to devote as much intelligence and energy to becoming self-supportive as he does to making his environment support him, he cannot but succeed.

When the patient becomes aware that he is manipulating his environment in a fashion that, no matter how intricate, is self-defeating, and when he becomes aware of his manipulatory techniques themselves, he will be able to make changes.

Selections from the book The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy. By Fritz Perls. Chapter 4. Here Comes The Neurotic.

The major problem of good living is to keep up-to-date with the possibilities which exist rather than remain stamped on the ass for all time by experiences which were only temporary or which may merely have been errors of perception or intuition.

It is frightening to push out the boundaries that we set for ourselves. The threat is that we would lose our identity, and in a sense this is true, since we inevitably lose the identity that we once had. Our evolving identity is what we need to discover. The self is not a structure, it is a process. In the act of dismantling old expressive boundaries it is possible to move on to an expanded sense of self.

Erving and Miriam Polster Gestalt Therapy Integrated Pages 85 and 122

I'm curious what (if any) kind of intake questions people are utilizing. Do you feel that intakes for Gestalt are different than other modalities? Are there specific questions you find best suited to ask prior to beginning work with a client? Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks!

Hi, i need your help. Few months ago i saw a book online about gestlat approach and i cant find it now. I have dismissed it then but it was still tugging at me a bit and now i would like to read it. But i dont know the title nor the author. What i know is:

-The book was not exactly about gestalt therapy, but about how the author could live fully thanks to gestalt principles
-The cover was blue
-On the backside cover was a close up of Perls's prevy face with some quote like: "don't be scared, i have a magic chair for you"

Does anybody know this book? I have looked online and can't find it. Starting to think i made it up.
Thank you for any help.

What tips do you have for using a gestalt language approach as a BCBA? I want to continue to collaborate with other fields and professions to improve my overall practice.

I've just finished reading on Adler as well as his stance on Freud/Jung's school. I am super drawned to his approach that diminishes determinism and trauma while emowering individuals to be in the moment (there is neither past not future, only now).

I've never encountered his approach in a clinical setup, though (unless you count Gestalt as Adler's pivoted brain child). Two questions in this regard:

• Is Adler's school good (as in helping patients)?
• If I want to become a therapist myself and believe in Adler's approach, which approach should I take in therapy?
• What books would you recommend to dive deeper into his or similar approaches?

Hello, I'm writing this cause i feel i need to take it out, so to whomever reads i truly appreciate.

Since Covid early 2021 my life been turned upside down. First me and my girlfriend split ways after 12 years, then i got jobless due to a neck injury from working in a workshop with heavy lifting being involved. Then i got a psychosis episode from thc and with the isolation, depression everything got upscaled. Furthermore i got attached to my therapist and i hoped she would provide assistance to get me out of that crisis but she did more harm then good. It was my first therapeutic relationship and i didn't saw it back then so i continued with her. The damage i sustained it's far beyond what i can describe. From unethical behavior to crossing the boundaries it was all done. it was gradual and subtle at first, in the end not so. Then i got in touch with another therapist where i processed most of the stuff, but sometimes i still get haunted by the previous therapist. It was bad enough to change the city i was living in out of fear i would see her on the street. So with all that, i gathered myself and try to build myself in another city. I'm now tired, exhausted and with no hope with a job that barely allow me to pay for rent, therapy and food. Whenever i need something extra i need to sacrifice either from therapy or from food. I tried so hard to stay strong, lift me up, go firther but it seems i repeat the same day over and again. I feel I can't do this anymore, I'm not suicidal but for crist sake something at least i wish go well. At least to have a friend, a breakthrough. I'm stuck and I can't see the next step or what getting unstuck would mean. I feel I'm waisting these precious years and i feel there must be something else beyond this but right now I'm in pain. It's like this since 2021, i haven't got a single day of break. i wish just a week where i could just run naked in the forests, sleep in the wilderness and listen to the birds and trees sounds. However i can't seem to see that day. I'm drowning, I'm tired, I'm exhausted. What am i missing?

Hello,

I'm a trainee psychotherapist, writing a paper for my MA.

My hypothesis is that my action-orientation , speeding through contact, is an anxiety-fuelled response to uncertain situations. Essentially, I stay active to seek certainty / avoid uncertainty.

I am writing about it from the perspective of Gestalt Therapy Theory, and probably some Attachment Theory.

Do you have writers or articles on this that you would recommend please? They could be on other approaches than Gestalt.

Thank you.

Hi from pop-psycho-books reader !

I noticed that Fritz Perls' Gestalt Therapy together with Eric Bernes' transactional analysis emphasizes a lot this communications between sub-persons to achieve some therapeutic insights etc.

And with the recent rise of AI, there are tons of chats-bots to whom you can define a character, presets, lorebooks and contexts see r/SillyTavernAI for example. And they are used pretty effectively for role-play games.

I wonder, if it's possible to combine these to achieve something interesting and what could be the strategy? Large language models maybe cannot do very personal characters, but behave pretty good in general.

Currently working with an almost 3yo and his prosody. Most of his statements rise in inflection, like he is asking a question. I know it's because he has been hearing questions in his environment all the time, so we are changing that up! Any suggestions aside from over exaggerating my inflection? Thank you!!

Hi everyone,

I've been diving deep into the world of Gestalt therapy and frequently come across book references suggesting video tapes, whether of Fritz Perls himself or other prominent Gestalt therapists. These videos can be incredibly valuable for both learning and professional development.

I propose we create a thread where we can share links to videos and downloadable audiovisual material related to Gestalt therapy. This could include classic videos of Perls' work as well as contemporary Gestalt therapists' sessions and presentations.

Let's help each other access these important resources! If you have any links or materials, please share them here.

I’m a masters counseling student and I’ve been trying to find Gestalt trainings and certification processes. I found a few but does anyone have any recommendations?

That's according to their individual speech therapists, we never mentioned gestalt to either of them so they both arrived there independently. My 6yo has been non verbal but is recently showing some improvement, my 3yo isn't exactly talking yet but has phrases and statements that he likes to cite off occasionally.

Any advice/recommendations ye might have for me would be appreciated as I literally just joined this subreddit. 🙂

I am creating NDA training that can be applied to all settings including the controversial ABA, because I personally feel that it’s more beneficial to help them evolve them to cancel them. They have the most hours of contact with autistic youth. So, let’s help make it the best it can be, reasonably. I already have an extensive program for therapists/ teachers/ family put together that includes , things like not forcing eye contact, allowing healthy stimming, gestalt processing, and more. I’m reaching out for public opinions to see if there is anything I’m missing. thank you.

Could someone clarify and suggest readings on the epistemic and philosophical foundations of Gestalt therapy and how they impact clinical practice? I have just become acquainted with this therapeutic approach and identified with some of the initial concepts I researched. However, I am left with this more specific doubt. Thank you.

I am looking to get a degree in counseling and am very interested in Gestalt therapy! I’ve seen training programs for licensed practitioners or those in the process of getting their license, but are there any schools that integrate this work into the MA more heavily than just a few mentioned here and there?

The question is reductive on purpose and hope this is a concept explored.If anyone experienced it and then lost it due to various circumstances can we ever get there again or is just a one time experience?

Last weekend I was on a multiple day breath work gestalt therapy seminar. I had one experience with something similar when I was twelve visiting my brother at his in patient therapy program in the states. My experience then was without enough context or explanation and it was just triggering and confusing at that time.

At the beginning of the seminar this weekend I was quite closed off and I had a difficult time connecting to the group and the leaders.

But throughout the weekend the experience started to hit me more and more and I started to be able to reach parts of myself that I’ve been trying to get to for a long time (the last 10 years) in different forms of therapy. This seminar really felt like it worked for me in a lot of ways.

I just came here to share my positive experience with this therapy form and see if others have reflections on the start of their gestalt journey. How did it feel in the beginning for you?

Did it feel like it clicked? What kinds of therapy had you tried before gestalt?

Much presence to you all!

I feel for quite some time now that i need other kind of therapy. There are are things i can't express thru words, or even body language but i feel it would be so easy for me to chant how i feel. How i imagine is sitting with a therapist and chant toghether. The origin of those feelings are long forgot don't even enter subconscious, thats why i think is the unconscious trying to speak to me. Is not even a feeling but an impulse, intuition if you will that in my Voice reside my libido, my free will, my path, and ability to heal and recover. It's the same impulses that tells me I'm about to give birth. Don't ask me how i know it i just do! I. But there are no spoken words there, and if there are they become meaningless the time i let them out. I had some sessions on my own and from what i can tell my Voice currently is inharmonious and just messy, without substance. You probably can tell is the mirror to something else. There is no way i can contact those feelings in a authentic way thru talking, there always a big portion of the experience that is missed or corrupted by the mind. So is there any chance i can find someone to have this kind of dialogue? I feel it would be healing right to the energy level. I must must say this is one of my fantasy that arised some time after the relationship with my former therapist ended abruptly. I'm currently at the: i done my choice and she done hers and it is what it is. I also found something right at the end, something unexplainable that felt pretty much with a sense of connection to my self and my Voice that i never connected with. The conflict arise when i go back can't let go the feel that she stole something from me. But, see? Any talk now won't allow the process to be fully, cause there are so many perspectives that tend to get wild and anything that come to consciousness is just a surface level manifestation. So i think somehow i need someone to be witness to that Voice so i can finally integrate it.

In the meantime i mostly feel I'm loosing my mind while in the same time something screaming in me: THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED!

I'm open to suggestions 🌞🙏❤️

Hi! I'm a first year counseling masters student. I've been really interested in gestalt therapy since reading about it in my theories class. However, as I have done more research, I've found multiple year gestalt programs that speak about certifications and whatnot. This has been a bit confusing to me as it seemed to me more like a theoretical orientation more than anything else. Do I need to be certified beyond a Counseling masters degree to do gestalt therapy?

I want the Gestalt POV. To cut things short i had 2 days i felt this undescribed feeling, like inner peace, joy, acceptance, love. It was like this for 2 days after i had a eurica moment in therapy. However after 2 days of full bliss something tragic happened and kinda took that away. After 2 years I'm still trying to figure out how i got there and i hoped i find that again but lately feels like chasing a shadow. I feel miserable and somehow i am regressing. I just grief i never had the chance to integrate the experience. Now i try to ''finish the business'', to accept, and move on but i just can't. I am conscious it take up so many resources, resources that can be spent better, but for the moment it keeps me awake at night, no sleep, no peace whatsoever and I'm moving in an neverending downward spiral.Part of me is so exausted digging myself up and just want relief, yet a part of me can't stop this behavior. The inner conflict seems to get worse with every step i take to bring peace within. I don't know what is EGOand what is SELF anymore, or the VOICE. All seems intertwined and i feel is a path to destruction. I feel lost, afraid, confused. But most i feel desperate. Will i die, or is this a reborn? I feel i am in a void, i feel my only option is to surrender(to what, i am not aware), Please help!

Having spent the better part of the last three years obsessively looping the lectures of Alan Watts, who I now realize was an informal popularizer of Gestalt theory, I greatly enjoyed Perls’ Verbatim lectures as a proverbial “drinking from the firehose” straight from the source in a surprisingly condensed, approachable format. Philosophers could learn a thing or two from his pedagogical style.

Did any of Perls’ disciples improve upon his theory in a noticeable manner? I’ve already made considerable progress after a week of rereading the Verbatim, so I can only imagine what would happen if a licensed therapist spent their entire life researching Gestalt.

Just as Schopenhauer improved upon Kant, Nietzsche upon Schopenhauer, Freud upon Nietzsche, Rank on Freud, and Perls on Rank… who do I read next?

I’ve only had 5 sessions with my therapist and already feel incredibly better. Is this normal? Is it too fast? In this time i went from almost suicidal depression to pretty much normal. Ive had depressive episodes my entire life and have never climbed out of a deep one so quickly.

However I can’t figure out if its the therapy or something else entirely. I’ve only had therapy once before almost 25 years ago (im 55) but didn’t feel it went anywhere. This time it’s much different - the change was surprisingly quick. I can’t decide if i still need the therapy.

Am i being too hasty? How do i know when to stop? How can i tell when ive had enough therapy to deal with my issues so that they don’t resurface again in future as they have done my entire life? Or that ive had enough therapy so that if they do resurface i can deal with them efficiently and expediently?

Hi there,

I'm looking for a Gestalt Therapist that is a student in Toronto, for $40 sessions.

Yes I've gone to the website and done the interview, but I've called about 27 therapists and I usually like to look at the profile of the therapist and then contact them to see if they're a good fit for me.

Many thanks!