Gestalt Psychotherapy

How I WorkCouple Psychotherapy

What is Gestalt Psychotherapy

Gestalt Psychotherapy is about self-awareness, knowing who I am in the here-and-now, what I feel and how I respond to life’s challenges. I believe that, with the right support, each one of us has the wisdom and the resources to heal and live a more fulfilling existence. By slowing down, attending to body process, using the therapeutic alliance (the relationship between client and therapist) as a safe space, where we can experiment with new ways of being, we can tap into our creativity, be playful, take risks and reconnect with our true self. Gestalt Psychotherapy is a holistic modality exploring body, mind and spirit. It is both gentle and challenging. Gestalt Psychotherapy focuses on ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’: the therapist’s aim is NOT to change you, but to support the gracious unfolding of who you truly are.

My Experience of Gestalt Psychotherapy

I came to Gestalt Psychotherapy through my own need to heal and my hope to experience a brighter and easier life. Gestalt Psychotherapy has allowed me to understand how, at a very young age, when we are extremely vulnerable and dependent on others, we develop ways of responding to life’s challenges and how these responses turn into patterns over time. These patterns, which were our best attempts at coping with life with what we had at the time, then become rigidly fixed, not context-relevant and inadequate. They leave us feeling isolated, not ‘good enough’ and shamed. Only with full awareness, of what we do when we do it, can we start realising that we are limiting ourselves to what we know, and later on, risk exploring different options. We, as adults, have resources that we may have relinquished or forgotten about at a young age (to be able to survive what life threw at us). Through awareness, we can restore full access to these resources and experience choice-fullness. The role of the therapist is to support that unfolding and to experiment with new ways of being. Often, this brings in fresh energy and creativity. Through dialogue and engaging with another, we become aware of our differences and the richness that springs in the ‘between’. Where there is movement, there is excitement; there is life and endless possibilities.