GESTALT THEORY

GUIDANCE &
COUNSELING
 Objectives:
◇ Here you have a list of items
◇ And some text
◇ But remember not to overload
your slides with content

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 Content:
◇ Etymology of the Word
"Gestalt"
◇ Gestalt Defined
◇ Proponents of Gestalt Theory
◇ Gestalt Theory Explained
◇ Gestalt Principles
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◇ Gestalt Therapy
 Etymology of the
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Word "Gestalt"
 The word "Gestalt" was developed in
1920's. It was Christian Von Ehrenfels,

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an Austrian philosopher, who gave this
movement its name in "The Attributes
of Forms", his most important work.
-Cognifit (Health, Brain & Neuroscience)

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 Christian Von
Ehrenfels
Christian von Ehrenfels (b. June 20,
1859, d. September 8, 1932) was an
Austrian philosopher and
psychologist from the school of Franz
Brentano. He proved himself to be a
highly independent and diverse
thinker by formulating the notion of
Gestalt qualities, elaborating on a
new theory of value, and developing
new ideas in sexual ethics and
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2 Gestalt Defined
 Gestalt is a German term interpreted in
psychology as "pattern" or
"configuration".
-Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia

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There is no perfect English translation
of the term "Gestalt". But we can
interpret it as "totality", "figure",
"structure", "configuration", or
"organized unity".
-Cognifit (Health, Brain & Neuroscience)

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3 Proponents of
Gestalt Theory
 Gestalt theory was proposed by the
Austrian psychologist Christian Von
Ehrenfels (1859-1932) in 1890.
-Research For The Skies

“ The principal proponents of Gestalt

theory are Max Wertheimer, Kurt
Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler.
-InstructionalDesign.org

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 Max Wertheimer
Regarded as one of the three
founders of Gestalt psychology,
Wertheimer is also known for his
concept of phi phenomenon. The phi
phenomenon involves perceiving a
series of still images in rapid
succession in order to create the
illusion of movement.

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 Kurt Koffka
Known as one of the three founders
of Gestalt psychology, Kurt Koffka
had diverse interest and studied
many topics in psychology including
learning, perception, and hearing
impairments.

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 Wolfgang Kohler
Also a key founding figure in the
history of the Gestalt movement,
Kohler also famously summarized
Gestalt theory by saying, "The whole
is different than the sum of its parts."

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3 Gestalt Theory
Explained
 Gestalt psychology is a school of
thought that looks at the human mind
and behavior as a whole. When trying
to make sense of the world around us,
Gestalt psychology suggests that we do

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not simply focus on every small
component. Instead, our minds tend to
perceive objects as part of a greater
whole and as elements of more complex
systems.
-verywell mind
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 ...the nature of a unified whole is not
understood by analyzing its parts.
-Brainmass

“ It proposes that what is "seen" is what

appears to the seer and not what may
"actually be there".
-EssayClerk

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 Gestalt experiments show that the
brain does not act like a sponge (as a
passive receiver of information) but

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actively filters, structures, and matches
all incoming information against known
patterns to make sense of it.
-The Investor's Creed

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 The whole is different than the sum
of its parts.

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4 Gestalt Principles
 1. Law of Similarity
The law of similarity
suggests that similar
things tend to appear
grouped together.

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 2. Law of Pragnanz
This law holds that
objects in the
environment are
seen in a way that
makes them appear
as simple as
possible.

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 3. Law of Proximity
According to the law
of proximity, things
that are near each
other seem to be
grouped together.

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 4. Law of Continuity
The law of continuity
holds that points that
are connected by
straight or curving
lines are seen in a
way that follows the
smoothest path.
Rather than seeing
separate lines and
angles, lines are seen
as belonging
23 together.
 5. Law of Closure
According to the law
of closure, things are
grouped together if
they seem to
complete some
entity.

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 6. Law of Common
Region
This Gestalt law of
perceptual
organization
suggests that
elements that are
grouped together
within the same
region of space tend
to be grouped
together.
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5 Gestalt Therapy
 Gestalt therapy, developed by Fritz Perls,
Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman in the
1940s, is an experiential and humanistic
form of therapy that was originally
designed as an alternative to conventional

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psychoanalysis. Gestalt therapists and
their clients use creative and experiential
techniques to enhance awareness,
freedom, and self-direction. The word
gestalt comes from the German word
meaning shape or form, and it references
the character or essence of something.
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 Principles of Gestalt Therapy
At the core of gestalt therapy is the holistic view
that people are intricately linked to and influenced
by their environments and that all people strive
toward growth and balance. Gestalt therapy is
similar to person-centered therapy in this way, as
well as in its emphasis on the therapist’s use of
empathy, understanding, and unconditional
acceptance of the client to enhance therapeutic
outcomes.
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 Focus on "Here & Now"
Gestalt therapy places emphasis on gaining
awareness of the present moment and the present
context. Through therapy, people learn to discover
feelings that may have been suppressed or
masked by other feelings and to accept and trust
their emotions. Needs and emotions that were
previously suppressed or unacknowledged are
likely to surface as well. Through this process, a
person gains a new sense of self as overall
awareness increases.
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 Working with a Gestalt Therapist
Gestalt therapy sessions do not follow specific
guidelines, in fact, therapists are encouraged to
use creativity in their approaches, depending on
context and each person's personality. What is
consistent is the emphasis on direct contact
between therapist and client, direct experience and
experimentation, and the focus on the “what and
how”—what the client is doing and how he or she
is doing it—and the “here and now.”
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 Gestalt Therapy Techniques
Gestalt therapy is practiced in the form of exercise
and experiments. It can be administered in
individual or group settings. In general, exercises
are somewhat established practices in gestalt
therapy designed to arouse action, emotion, or
goals from the person in therapy. The therapist and
person in therapy can then examine the result of
the exercise in order to increase awareness and
help the person understand the “here and now” of
the experience.
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 In contrast to exercises, experiments arise
throughout the development of the therapeutic
process and therapeutic relationship. They are a
core component of gestalt therapy and allow the
person in therapy to understand different aspects
of a conflict, experience, or mental health issue.
An elderly man sits outdoors next to an empty lawn
chair.The

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 The Empty Chair Technique
The empty chair technique is a quintessential gestalt
therapy exercise that places the person in therapy across
from an empty chair. He or she is asked to imagine that
someone (such as a boss, spouse, or relative), they, or a
part of themselves is sitting in the chair. The therapist
encourages dialogue between the empty chair and person
in therapy in order to engage the person’s thoughts,
emotions, and behaviors. Sometimes the roles are
reversed and the person in therapy assumes the
metaphorical person or part of a person in the chair. The
empty chair technique can be especially useful for helping
people become mindful of the whole situation and
forgotten or disengaged pieces of their own self.
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 The Exaggeration Exercise
Another common exercise in gestalt therapy is the
exaggeration exercise. During this exercise, the person in
therapy is asked to repeat and exaggerate a particular
movement or expression, such as frowning or bouncing a
leg, in order to make the person more aware of the
emotions attached to the behavior.
The empty chair technique and the exaggeration exercise
are two of many gestalt therapy techniques used to help
people in therapy increase their awareness of immediate
experiences. Through exercises and spontaneous
experiments, gestalt therapy also allows people reconnect
with parts of themselves they may minimize, ignore, or
deny.
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 Thanks!

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