Questions to Guide your Thinking about Gestalt Therapy

  1. What things are seen as causing pathology from a gestalt perspective? Why?

  2. How might a gestalt therapist go about addressing the perceived source of this pathology? Why?

  3. Why does a gestalt therapist prefer to work in the here and now? How does she go about doing this?

  4. How does a gestalt therapist feel about interpretation? Why? What does a gestalt therapist do instead?

  5. What are figure and ground? Why might a gestalt therapist attempt to redefine these in the course of therapy?

  6. What is active ownership of our feelings and experience? How might we go about increasing our awareness and ownership of our feelings and experience?

Gestalt Creed

I do my own thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
And if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.
--Perls (1970)

 Getsmart Prayer

You do your thing, and
I'll do my thing, and
If by chance we meet, it's beautiful
You are you, and I am I,

You are you and I am I
And if by chance we find
Our brothers and sisters enslaved
And our world under fascist rule
Because we're doing our thing --
It can't be helped.
-- From Rough Times

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