Have you heard about Gestalt Therapy but not really understood what it means or entails?To clear up some of the mysteries around this type of therapy, I interviewed Robert Mauksch, who is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and a Gestalt Therapist, as well as an adjunct lecturer for the psychology department at CUNY Brooklyn College.
Robert has worked with clients on a wide variety of issues such as anxiety, sex and sexuality, LGBT issues, trauma, culture shock, creativity and depression. He also has experience assisting clients with substance abuse and recovery. Robert’s website is http://www.robertmauksch.com.
Without further ado, Robert, could you share with us a bit of your background?
I am a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), and have a Master’s in Social Work from Hunter College, as well as 5 years of postgraduate training from the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy.
What made you decide to specialize in the Gestalt therapy modality vs. other types of therapy treatments?
Actually, I began my postgraduate training in Gestalt Therapy before deciding to go to social work school. This was prior to the changes in licensing regulations for psychotherapists in New York, which happened in 2004.
At the time, I had a background in anthropology, and had worked in documentary film, policy research, and media. I had also spent several years living in China and traveling throughout Asia.
As I began to think about what I wanted “to do with my life,” I realized that the common thread that drew me to all the experiences I had enjoyed so far was an interest in communication, consciousness, and the processes of change (both individual and social).
I was also reading a lot of cultural theory and studying meditation. And Gestalt Therapy, as both a theory and a practice, just fit perfectly with the things that were already grabbing me, as well as gave me a way to continue exploring these areas in more depth.
Could you give a brief description of what Gestalt therapy is?
Gestalt Therapy was an offshoot (and critique) of psychoanalysis put forward in the 1940s by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman. Gestalt Therapists called into question some of the more authoritarian attitudes and practices of traditional analysts by focusing on phenomenology and awareness (or what is actually happening as opposed to explanation and interpretation based on recollection of past events).
Gestalt Therapy also has a strong emphasis on dialogue, and the process of contact as it happens or is interrupted between the therapist and client, as well as between the client and other aspects of his or her experience.
Some major influences on Gestalt Therapy are existential philosophy, theories of visual perception, and Zen. Gestalt Therapy also continues to dialogue with other schools of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic thought.
What is the “empty chair” technique? Could you share a mini case example of how you have used (or would use) it with an unidentified client?
The empty chair technique is a classic Gestalt experiment that involves setting up a dialogue between two parts of the client’s experience. These parts may be some internal polarity the client has identified (e.g. part of me feels one way and part of me feels another), between the client and some external object (e.g. the client’s partner, mother, etc.), between two objects that emerge in a client’s dream, and so on.
Though many Gestalt Therapists continue to use the empty chair technique, I don’t often formally use this technique in my own practice. Gestalt Therapy is often most recognized for some of the more dramatic techniques that were used by Fritz Perls to publicly teach Gestalt Therapy practice. However, these techniques do not make up the core of Gestalt Therapy as it is understood and practiced by most Gestalt Therapists today.
Could you describe one or two main technique(s) make up the core of Gestalt therapy as it is practiced today? And could you give a simulated example of an interaction with a make believe client to illustrate an excerpt of a conversation incorporating this technique?
Gestalt Therapy isn’t really focused on technique and also we don’t tend to use case examples as a way of illustrating our work. Most of our training includes live demonstration/live therapy sessions. Giving a case example tends to put the focus on a specific problem and its fix, when really there is so much going on dynamically in the room, and in the context of the relationship.
It also encourages the person reading to mimic technique that is not ideal. The therapist needs to be present to his or her own experience and feeling the client – and from there we can experiment with interventions, as necessary. This has become clearer for me over time, and I think I would be doing a disservice to the work if I started to break it down into abstract techniques.
I almost never come in to session with a client or group with an idea about what will happen or what to do. The experiment emerges from what is already happening. It’s right at the edge of what’s happening and can’t be formulated as something separate from and outside of the moment.
What aspects of Gestalt therapy do you find the most enjoyable?
Gestalt Therapy encourages creativity, both in the way we approach each present moment, and in the way we understand the situations that confront and bring our clients to therapy. We are a non-pathologizing perspective and believe that clients arrive at their present situation through having creatively adapted and used their energies in the ways that best met their needs for survival, love, and growth.
This is a very respectful, hopeful, and empathic approach. It is often a big shift for the client to move from seeing him or herself as “a problem” or somehow “broken”, and to begin to approach his or her experience with more interest and less judgment. This frees up a lot of energy for play, exploration, and experimentation, and I enjoy being part of that process.
What aspects of Gestalt therapy do you find most challenging?
Gestalt Therapy doesn’t leave open the possibility for us, as therapists, to be passive or neutral observers, or to provide authoritative interpretations of our client’s experiences. It is sometimes challenging to not have an answer or a solution for someone who is suffering.
It is also challenging to include the client’s perspectives as part of our larger experience, to really experience him or her, to take him or her in. The practice of Gestalt Therapy is a constant meditation on what it means to be aware, to be here and a part of what’s going on, to feel our impact and the impact of others – for both us as therapists, and for our clients.
Have you found that there are specific mental health illnesses or concerns that lend themselves better for Gestalt therapy vs. other modalities? Or is it your belief/experience that one can employ nearly every therapy technique for every issue or concern that a client may have?
I try to remember that we treat people not problems – and people have a remarkable capacity for transcending suffering when truly met in the context of a human relationship. Human relationships help us discover who and how we are. They refine and heighten our capacity for self-awareness as well as restore feelings of dignity, belongingness, purpose, meaning, and so on.
A lot of issues are clarified and resolved simply through the experience of truly meeting another human being, and the pleasure of meeting and being met often gives us the strength and resolve to tolerate those problems and situations that are, for whatever reason, not moveable in this moment. This is my experience as a Gestalt Therapist.
I imagine that therapists working in other modalities would report a similar experience, though, having not trained intensively in another modality, it is tough for me to comment on that. I will say that I incorporate various techniques from other modalities, as they feel useful. However, I don’t think the therapy process gets very far on technique alone.
Do you have any favorite books/articles about Gestalt therapy that you would recommend?
While there are some very interesting books and articles on Gestalt Therapy, the focus of Gestalt Therapy (in both its practice and its teaching) has always been experiential.
The best way to learn about Gestalt Therapy is to join a Gestalt Therapy group or attend an experiential workshop, or to try individual work with a Gestalt Therapist for a period of time.
The Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy and the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy are good sources for trainings, workshops, and conferences on Gestalt Therapy in New York. Other cities around the world have similar institutes that can be found online.
How, if at all, is spirituality incorporated into your work with clients?
Spirituality is a confusing word that I think people interpret in many different ways. The concept of “spirituality” is not an explicit part of Gestalt Therapy, as far as I know.
That said, many Gestalt Therapists engage in some sort of spiritual practice or are interested in the experiential aspects of spirituality (while others feel that such exploration is not at all necessary).
We are a phenomenological approach and, for me, spirituality is mostly about the actual experience of a connectedness that feels bigger than just-you-and-me. I am interested in this experience and so are many of my clients, but I’m not sure that everyone is or should be.
Finally, what career advice would you offer upcoming MSW graduate students interested in learning and gaining experience employing Gestalt therapy?
Take a workshop, join a group, start therapy as a client, or look into postgraduate training.
I’d recommend that to any grad student who is interested in working as a therapist in any modality or in learning more about therapy in general.
The best way to learn is through experience, and often through the experience of being in the client’s seat.
Thanks so much, Robert, for enlightening us about Gestalt Therapy!
As always, please feel free to ask any questions, or make any comments. Your feedback is most appreciated!
Fractal Jungle Flower
Thanks for sharing this information about Gestalt therapy.
I am definitely interested in finding out more about this modality but before I commit to attending a workshop or trying out a group/therapist, I would rather read a book or two on this topic.
Could you recommend a book or two to serve as an initial introduction?
Anonymous:
Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality is considered by most to be the “bible” of Gestalth Therapy.
Gary Yontef, Lynne Jacobs, and Erving Polster are some more contemporary sources you might check into.
And Wikipeidia gives a broad but decent overview… still most of the theory is difficult to digest without some experience of this modality.
Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy is offering a free open house as well as two low cost, one night workshops in June. This is a very low commitment way to check things out.
If you live in New York, I recommend taking advantage of these, as well as offerings at other institutes that might interest you.
It’s a resource that we’re fortunate to have here, and you’ll get exposure to what people are thinking and doing in the field right now.
Good luck!
Robert
Thanks for sharing this interesting overview of Gestalt Therapy.
The empty chair technique is a great example of a Gestalt Technique that is widely used by therapists from many other therapy approaches (I recall being surprised to see Aaron Beck us it in a workshop). Are there any other Gestalt techniques that are used a great deal by therapist from other theoretical perspectives? If so, what are they?
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for sharing that the empty chair technique is a Gestalt technique that is widely used by therapists outside of the Gestalt discipline.
I had no idea…It’s particularly interesting in light of the fact that Robert was saying that this method is no longer used that much by Gestalt therapists themselves.
Thanks again 🙂
Hi Nancy,
Gestalt Therapists have championed a lot of ideas that ultimately have become assimilated by practitioners of other forms of psychotherapy.
The most notable example of this, I think, is the idea of face-to-face therapy (as opposed to the analytic model which put the therapist behind the patient, who was lying on a couch).
Most therapists (and even analysts) now sit face-to-face with their clients.
There is a also a greater recognition of the therapist-client relationship, of the person-in-environment, and of intersubjectivity. Gestalt Therapy, a field theory, has always considered the individual as emerging with and relation to the environment in every moment.
Though this does not seem like a radical notion for social workers in the 21st century, it is important to remember that our field has shifted in these directions relatively recently.
Gestalt Therapy has also made many contributions to the field in terms of how we view and work with the body. Laura Perls had a lifelong interest in modern dance, and Gestalt Therapy was influenced by Reich, Zen Buddhism, the body-mind explorations of the 1960s, and so on.
Gestalt Therapists remain interested in what and where the body expresses, how inhibition and interruptions manifest in the body, and how the body and movement can be used to build awareness and as a source of support for many clients.
Again, these kinds of interventions seem to be “taken for granted” in our field today – but were not at all in mainstream use prior to the development of Gestalt Therapy.
Robert