Fanny Isnard Persson is an accredited gestalt therapist based in Sweden, originally from France. Fanny specialises in treating anxiety, stress, depression, trauma, and relationship issues.
Last Updated on August 28, 2024 by It’s Complicated
Editorial note: This introduction to Gestalt Therapy serves as a fantastic resource for those who have never come across it before. On our platform we do host some information about gestalt therapy and includes a place to browse an array of practitioners who are certified in Gestalt therapy, along with their other unique practice quirks, but you should read on for a much more thorough introduction. 🌱
If you have either never heard about Gestalt therapy, or have heard the name but have no idea what it is, don’t worry, you are among the vast majority! People who have heard about it, or tried it, and even people who are familiar with it, often find it a challenge to explain it short and simple. So, that is what I will attempt to do in this article – wish me good luck, and welcome on board!
I feel some tension in my jaws and shoulders, my heart beats faster than usual. I feel a bit nervous. I am excited at the idea of writing this article, sharing information about Gestalt, and at the same time… what if I am not clear enough, if I write something wrong, if people misunderstand me… I become aware of all that. I breathe. I sense what’s happening. I breathe. I feel my feet on the floor. I breathe. I feel more grounded now. I really want to do this. Let’s see where this writing will take me, where it will take us. I breathe.
What can Gestalt therapy help with?
Gestalt therapy can help you with most of the issues you usually go to therapy for, in particular: stress, anxiety, relationships, trauma, depression, burnout, loss and grief, attachment issues, self-worth, shame, existential crises. The list goes on.
Gestalt…??
I am a Gestalt therapist, and sometimes I wish the founders of this approach of psychotherapy had found a more explicit name! (Almost) every time I say I work with Gestalt therapy, I get an interrogative look back. And the thing is, it’s not easy to explain what Gestalt is with a few words. Hence this article, which I hope will throw some light on this form of therapy that I find so fascinating.
The word “gestalt” is a German word that means “form” or “shape”. In psychology, the concept of “gestalt” is used to explain that a whole is something else than just the sum of all its parts. It’s about how we “connect the dots”, make meaning, in order to see the greater shape. It’s about seeing the person (and even the situation) as a whole.
Origins of Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy was founded in the 1940s by a German couple who had fled Germany, Fritz and Laura Perls. They continued to develop it in the American post-war context of the 1950s. They were psychotherapists, originally working with psychoanalysis. Gestalt therapy evolved into an integrated approach, coloured by its many “roots” (phenomenology, existentialism, field theory, “I and thou” dialogue, psychodrama, and body oriented psychotherapy) as well as later inputs as the attachment theory and neurosciences. It’s not only a humanistic form of therapy, it has a philosophical dimension as well and it is often described as a way of being, a posture in life.
Gestalt therapy holds a quite unusual definition of the self: the self is a process. It’s “the system of contact at any moment” or even “the organ of contact” at the contact boundary between the organism and the environment. We are in relation to our environment. We shape and are shaped by it. Meaning that we have to consider the whole field, or situation in order to heal. We believe that the relational wounds need to be healed in a relationship.
Today Gestalt is widespread around the world in different contexts: as a psychotherapy approach to work with individuals, couples and groups; and also, in another form, as a methodology for consultancy and coaching in organizations (with themes such as leadership, supervision, conflict management, team-building).
What is Gestalt therapy about?
Gestalt therapy is about increasing awareness around what is happening in me, when it’s happening, in order to create more freedom and more satisfaction. It is about being more in touch with my feelings and needs and at the same time improving my contact with others. It’s often described as a relational, humanistic, existential type of therapy.
In Gestalt therapy, we work in the here and now… and for “the next”. We are more interested in the process (how?) than in the content (why?). Sometimes we need to explore the past, but it’s more about how the past affects me here and now. If I am not satisfied with the present moment, how could I do differently? In the past we have developed patterns, resistances; we call those “creative adjustments”. These adjustments served us well, they helped us navigate life, sometimes even survive through difficult environments. They become a problem if they become a fixed behavior, a fixed way of reacting, making us rigid. There is little or no space for spontaneity. Gestalt works within the concept of contact cycles, the goal being to create more fluidity where we usually repeatedly get stuck.
As adults we have the capacity to become aware of those patterns. Becoming aware in the moment gives you the possibility to choose, hence the freedom. Choosing to do as usual – but as a conscious choice, not just as an automatic response; or choosing to do “a bit differently”. In other words, stepping, a little, out of our comfort zone. Baby steps. And sensing: how is that? In the end you could say it’s about becoming more flexible, exploring and accepting the different sides of us. We often speak of “polarities”. For example, if you are someone who has a need for control, maybe you could benefit from training letting go. It is also true the other way around; if you are someone who is not controlling at all, maybe you could benefit from training control. It’s not about jumping from one end to the other, it’s not about becoming someone else, it’s about being able to occupy different positions on the scale, depending on the situation. Sometimes it’s good to control, sometimes not. So it’s about being able to consciously choose, not just do what you’ve learnt to automatically do through your patterns. It can be a bit scary, or even a lot. That’s why we say it’s about daring to be vulnerable, and fully alive!
Healing and growing by experimenting
A session might look similar to other therapy forms in some regards, but something worth mentioning is that there is no “typical session” in Gestalt therapy. The setting is not different from most therapy forms. You sit together with your therapist. There is quite a lot of talking, from the therapist too, who is engaged in the situation. The quality of the presence of the therapist is crucial, as well as their trust in the client’s ability to heal. We believe the therapist cannot be neutral, as in emotionally neutral. Not only they cannot, but it’s better if they are not; they need to be able to connect deeply with their clients.
What I particularly enjoy with Gestalt therapy is the creativity. For our standpoint is that, since everyone is unique and since every situation is different, every session has to be adjusted to the client; that is to say that if two clients have similar stress issues, the sessions might look very different depending on who each client is, where in their process they are at that moment, their background, and so on.
Since many of us tend to have a very developed intellect, in therapy we often need to emphasize the emotional and the bodily processes in order to restore the balance (but it would be the opposite if the mental aspect was the weakest of course). So we “use” our body a lot and start training awareness at the body level in the here and now. That is why Gestalt therapy goes well with Mindfulness.
In a session, we might propose different “experiments”: bodily experiment, drawing, writing, role-playing, games – and so on. The classic “empty chair” experiment is well-known from Gestalt; it is a way of imagining “dialoguing” with people you have issues with or with different contradictory parts of yourselves, thus understanding yourself and/or others better and sometimes even solving unfinished business. Suggesting a session tailored to their clients is the task of the Gestalt therapist. This craves a lot of commitment and an ability to work with and adjust to whatever arises in the course of the session. We never know for sure what a session will look like.
No expert, no agenda
We usually joke and say that we Gestalt therapists “don’t have an agenda” for the client. What we mean by that is that, since everyone and every situation is unique, we don’t assume we know what they need, or what way to take. Of course we have valuable knowledge and professional skills (at least 4 years of training), which allows us to create a secure environment that supports the client and to make hypotheses; even to challenge the client, if necessary. But we strive to stay open, non judgemental, humble and empathetic, to let go of our preconceptions. We try to participate in a “dance” with the client, following and supporting the process, exploring together, helping them find their own way and their own answers. By that we take on a posture where it’s not us, but the client, who is the expert in their own life. We don’t lead the way, we go along with the client.
I now feel some release in my body. I feel somehow lighter, and satisfied. My breathing is fluid. The article is almost finished – after quite some back and forth. Under the writing process I tried to ask myself: “what is gestalt therapy for you? What stands out?” And I believe I answered those questions. If someone else had written, it would probably have been quite different.
What made me choose Gestalt?
I think I chose Gestalt therapy for its creativity, for its humanistic view, and for the beauty of the dance I described above – even when it’s weaved in pain. The authentic meeting with another human being really is beautiful, and also enriching. We, as therapists, learn a lot in the contact with our clients. I often say I deeply feel honored by the trust they give us. Even if I sometimes wish the name would be more self-explanatory, I am actually proud to say that I work as a Gestalt therapist!
I hope you, the reader, feel that you now know and understand Gestalt therapy a bit better. With all that said, I need to add that, of course, the best way to understand Gestalt therapy is to experience it!
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