Key Concepts of Gestalt Therapy: Case Study Analysis of Ana

Gestalt Therapy
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Question 1
Many key concepts of Gestalt therapy are similar to those of existential therapy and person-centered therapy. The key concepts that are distinctive to Gestalt therapy include the following. First, integration and wholeness; Gestalt therapy consider the whole person made up of body and mind rather than as separate parts (Murdock, 2013) and these parts are integrated and expose the person to interact with the environment. Secondly, awareness is one of the fundamental components of Gestalt therapy which aims to make the client aware so that she can self-regulate her environment. Lack of awareness is caused by low self-esteem, and preoccupation with an individual’s past, flaws, and fantasies. Alvin (2007) highlights that the client may achieve awareness through contact with the environment (to enable the client to grow in her environment through making reactions to the environment and changing), here and now (refer to the person is being conscious and living in the present moment and not being worried about the future or past events), and responsibility (refers to the client being responsibility for issues affecting her own life and not putting blame on others).
The fourth concept is energy including blocks to energy. In this case, Gestalt therapists concentrate on where energy is found in the body, how it is utilized, and how it may cause blockages. Angela (2002) views that blocked energy are kinds of resistance such as not breathing properly, avoiding eye contact, or tension in the body. Gestalt therapy focuses on identifying and releasing such blockages which may hinder awareness. The fifth concept is growth disorders which are emotional problems which are caused by individuals who do not interact with their environment properly and who those lack awareness. The sixth concept is an unfinished business which refers to individuals who do not complete activities in their lives and is commonly associated with individuals with growth disorders (Angela, 2002). Individuals with unfinished business typically resent the past because they do not concentrate on the present moment (here and now). One of the key objectives of Gestalt therapy is to help individuals to solve their unfinished business.
Question 2
I choose Gestalt theory over the others because of the following reasons. Murdock (2013) explains that Gestalt theory can help the client to gain a better insight of how her physical and emotional needs are connected. Using Gestalt theory, the client will become aware of her internal self as the key to understanding why she is behaving and reacting in certain ways. Gestalt theory is more efficient for managing anxiety, depression, stress, tension including other psychological problems which can prevent the client from living a better life.
Question 3
The goal of the Gestalt therapeutic counseling is to promote self-awareness to enable the client to become better aware of how she acts, feels, and thinks in the present moment (Alvin, 2007). In this way, Gestalt therapy offers insight into ways that can enable the client to address her current issues and problems to live within her maximum potentials.
Intervention strategies used in achieving the goal of Gestalt therapeutic counseling include the following therapeutic methods and techniques of working. First, enactment is an intervention the therapist may use to ask the client to put her thoughts or feelings into action to increase patient’s awareness (Brant, 2006). Secondly, exaggeration is an intervention, which is a special type of enactment. Here, the client is ask...