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Spirituality and Gestalt: A Gestalt-Transpersonal Perspective
Abstract
Many people who have participated in Gestalt therapy and training often label their experiences as having been profound and spiritual in nature. Aspects of Gestalt therapy have been connected to a variety of religious and spiritual traditions. Literature and personal experience in Gestalt circles have provided testimony to connections between a Gestalt approach and spirituality. Integrating transpersonal perspectives may provide a comprehensive and clear outline of the connections between a Gestalt approach and spirituality, a definition of spirituality, and implications for spiritual development. This article explores Gestalt theory and transpersonal perspectives and principles, such as Ken Wilber's model of spirituality and spiritual development, Wilber's Big Three model; dialogical approach to relationship; and Jorge Ferrer's “participatory knowing,” to begin to outline a relational and interactive model of spirituality and spiritual experience. This Gestalt-transpersonal framework can illustrate more clearly how spirituality manifests itself in Gestalt therapy and in the therapeutic relationship. This approach also emphasizes using the relational field as the basis for higher spiritual development in both the client and the therapist.
... Mindfulness and GT aim to increase awareness and complement each other (Declan, 2013). GT was the first psychotherapeutic approach to integrate mindfulness "as part of its therapy model" (Barlow, 1983;Crocker & Philippson, 2005;Doelger, 1978;Elliot & O'Neill, 2005;Gold & Zahm, 2018Kennedy & Tang, 2009;Truscott, 2010;Zhang, 2019) and can be considered a transpersonal approach (Naranjo, 1978;Williams, 2006). GT focuses on presence in "relaxed" attention, rather than effortful, control-oriented attention, and cultivates an open and accepting attitude toward experience. ...
... Self-awareness leads to self-regulation, and helps people to find a new perspective, to regain his/her creativity, spontaneity, and vitality in making contact, to make creative adjustment in contact boundary with its environs, and to achieve the natural processes of healing (Brownell, 2010). The natural processes of healing, self-regulation, and self-support are consistent with Taoist philosophy (Doelger, 1978;Williams, 2006). GT is a widely used form of psychotherapy. ...
... A relação terapêutica fundamentada no diálogo, como desenvolvida na Gestalt-terapia, foi descrita pelos participantes como possibilitadora da experiência espiritual. Williams (2006) descreveu que Gestalt-terapeutas que trabalham dentro da abordagem do diálogo abraçam uma visão transpessoal, porque trabalham no campo que se forma entre psicoterapeuta e cliente e incorporam o "entre", a partir de princípios e técnicas do encontro. Segundo Buber (1974), o contato e o diálogo entre pessoa e pessoa possibilitam uma abertura ao encontro com o Tu Eterno, o sagrado, a experiência de Deus. ...
Este artigo parte da indagação acerca da relação entre espiritualidade e psicoterapia segundo as percepções de Gestalt-terapeutas. Tem como objetivo descrever como tais psicoterapeutas descrevem o tema da espiritualidade e sua presença na clínica, bem como o modo se dá o seu manejo no contexto psicoterápico. O material aqui apresentado traz uma parte dos resultados obtidos em uma pesquisa empírica mais abrangente, na qual empregou-se o método qualitativo e fenomenológico para coleta e análise de dados conforme concebido por Amedeu Giorgi. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com cinco Gestalt-terapeutas com vasta experiência clínica. O estudo resultou na apreensão de componentes essenciais das vivências dos participantes, que incluíram a presença de temas existenciais e de transcendência na clínica, a importância da relação terapêutica e da postura fenomenológica, a integração entre as dimensões espiritual e psíquica, as suas possíveis relações com a religião, bem como também a espiritualidade da(o) próprio(a) psicoterapeuta.
... In some cases, such as transpersonal psychology, rebirthing, coaching, and family constellations, the theoretical relationship between spirituality and psychotherapy is explicit and substantive -as these techniques were directly related to the Human Potential Movement, with family constellations influenced by Zulu's religiosity and coaching originally related to the Divine Light Mission, a formerly influential religious movement (Thaler & Nievod, 2003;Fasce, 2018). In other cases, such as thought field therapy, energy psychology, emotional freedom technique, and primal therapy the relationship may be more subtle but can be tracked (e.g., Williams, 2006). ...
Techniques presented as psychotherapies without evidence for effective treatment constitute a long-standing and under-researched issue within clinical psychology. We report on an exploratory study using a cross-sectional sample (N = 538) to find predictors and profiles of use of Complementary and Alternative Psychotherapies (CAP). Five well-established constructs were assessed: help-seeking preferences, psychiatric scepticism, mental health literacy, psychological mindedness, and psychotherapy expectancy. Religiosity, help-seeking, distrust in mental health care, interest in psychological phenomena, expectations of relationship with the psychotherapist, and belief in the effectiveness of alternative psychotherapies positively predicted use of CAP. Parallel analyses of evidence-based psychotherapies and alternative medicine revealed that some of these predictors are specific to CAP. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles among users of alternative psychotherapies, conceptualized as religious, unmotivated, and analytical. We discuss our results in relation to these profiles, suggesting various implications and lines of research.
... In the later Gestalt approach the Field Theory Perspective and the dialogical approach are becoming more applied even in describing clinical cases. For instance, the disturbance of contact caused by inappropriate mechanisms is no longer spoken of, but rather the individually specific way of contacting (Wheeler, 1991; Melnick, Nevis, 1998) which is not evaluated (Mackewn, 2004; Joyce, Sills, 2006). 7. ...
Gestalt therapists need to conceptualize their clinical work in order to intentionally differentiate their approach to different clients. Diagnosing is a natural and necessary part of the therapeutic process. However, it is a difficult task to build a coherent diagnostic system in Gestalt therapy, because Gestalt therapists use (and often combine) different perspectives of looking at the clinical situation. This article helps distinguish three common points of view of the Gestalt approach: the Field Theory Perspective, the Contextual Perspective and the Psychopathology Perspective. Adopting these perspectives consciously allows the therapist to take advantage of each of them and let them supplement each other to map the complex therapeutic situation more vividly. The author uses his psychiatric background to present the Three Perspectives Diagnostic Model which allows an avoidance of competition between the Gestalt approach and the medical approach.
... 5-6), a conceptualization that resonates profoundly with Gestalt therapy's existentialist heritage. Other Gestalt therapy theorists (e.g., Wheeler, 2005) emphasize the individual as already enculturated from birth (and before birth, in the case of more transpersonal literature; e.g., Bowman & Leakey, 2006;Williams, 2006), understood as being of the larger field, which is more directly tied into a radical extension of field theory. These respective positions are not inherently opposed to each other, but rather reflect the dialectic of human existence. ...
In the assessment of the utility of theoretical orientations for cultural appropriateness and sensitivity, examination of the foundational theory of these orientations is often overlooked in place of an emphasis on the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions and techniques. However, as interventions are ideally borne out of strong theoretical foundations, the importance of examining the implicit values of theoretical orientations is important. Gestalt therapy was examined as an example of a theoretical approach. Gestalt therapy is described by many of its practitioners as being highly sensitive and adaptable to culturally diverse clients due to the openness and inclusiveness found in the philosophical, theoretical, and methodological expression of the orientation. The implicit values embedded within the grounding principle of organismic self-regulation were reviewed to determine if the principle exemplifies a universal process of functioning or merely a culture-bound heuristic. Exploration of the ways Gestalt therapy’s philosophical foundations, theoretical attitude, and methodological style impact the implementation of organismic self-regulation in work with culturally diverse clients was also conducted. Organismic self-regulation was found to have two interconnected levels, one of which can be easily adapted to diverse clients due to the flexibility to different cultural norms and traditions that the level provides, allowing for Gestalt therapists to be able to work with theoretical consistency with culturally different clients.
No matter where you live and what culture you belong to, you may encounter the four big questions of human existence. Where do I come from? Why am I in this life situation? Why do I suffer? How do I find salvation? Chinese cultural heritages store wisdom for how we can successfully cope with these four questions and become an ideal person with the most optimal self-functioning. This book is hoped to provide you the Chinese wisdom for solving these big questions. That is if you find your self-nature, you will find the answer. There are two different types of self in the context of monotheistic culture and Chinese culture: Self and self-nature. The maintenance/strength of self is a very core concept in Western psychotherapy and is particularly relevant to egoism, a process that mainly draws on the hedonic principle in pursuit of desires. Contrary to this, On the basis of Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist teachings, a self-enlightenment cultivating process is the very core foundation of Chinese psychotherapies aiming to minimize or extinguish the self and avoid desires, leading to egolessness or selflessness or self-nature state. To cultivate a transition from the self state to the self-nature state is termed self-enlightenment. The self-enlightenment process is the therapeutic process. The ultimate goal of therapeutic process is to attain the self-nature state, along with the authentic and durable happiness or total liberation. Western psychologists recognize the self as one of the basic motivations of the human mind. It is usually the desire for pleasure and aversion to the pain. The reasons for why the self is desire-driven and the cause of fluctuating happiness and suffering are presented. This is why we need the self-enlightenment cultivating process from the self to the self-nature state, with an aim to attain the authentic and durable happiness. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are suggested not to be considered as religions only. They are psychotherapies. It is strongly suggested to gradually accumulate your faith in wisdom of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism via approving them by the two criteria: experimentation and logic of reasoning. A cultural systematic approach was used to develop the three self-enlightenment models of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. An overview of theses three self-enlightenment models, which are the theoretic foundations of Chinese psychotherapies, along with their key concepts and psychotherapies are provided. They are suggested to be applicable to every culture. The sources of the emotional disturbances and unhappiness, therapeutic goals, process, client–therapist relationships, and techniques are provided. Thirteen applications and five suggestions for using the book are presented at the end.
Uma análise de currículos de cursos de graduação no país pode fornecer importantes dados sobre os processos de formação. Sendo o Brasil um país predominantemente religioso, esperar-se-ia encontrar na graduação um cenário que reproduzisse a realidade do seu ambiente cultural, com reflexões e abertura à diversidade. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar um levantamento sobre a oferta e a frequência com que disciplinas relacionadas a religião, religiosidade e espiritualidade são apresentadas a graduandos de Psicologia em Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) públicas do país. Para isto, foram selecionados todos os cursos de graduação federais e estaduais em Psicologia, gratuitos, presenciais e em atividade, através da base de dados oficial do Ministério da Educação (o cadastro e-MEC de Instituições e Cursos de Educação Superior). Em seguida, fez-se uma busca pelos radicais e palavras-chave: religião, espiritual, divino, sagrado e transcendente, nos currículos de tais cursos. A pesquisa inicial, realizada em 2017, foi atualizada em 2019, totalizando 73 cursos analisados (97,3% do total de 75 cursos cadastrados no e-MEC). Destes, apenas 22,2% possuíam em seus currículos disciplinas cujo eixo central se dava em torno da relação com a espiritualidade/religiosidade, sendo todas estas disciplinas optativas, sobre as quais não se pode precisar a regularidade de oferta. Discute-se, ainda, esses resultados, concluindo que a temática não tem sido adequadamente abordada, o que sugere a necessidade de ampliar reflexões e pesquisas, no intuito de mudar este quadro.
Fritz Perls' writings, besides the discussing of gestalt therapeutic concepts, reveal personal and political positions on various themes. Among these, spirituality/religiosity. The objective of this essay was to search in the Perlsian literature for substrates that elucidate the question of spirituality/religiosity for the author. The method used was the content analysis of Bardin, analyzing the works written by Perls from 1942 to 1973. In the initial writings it was possible to perceive strongly a posture of religious intolerance. Initially, Perls had a psychopathological look at conceptions like God or religion, considering the belief in transcendent entities like projective neurosis. He compared psychoanalysis to religion. He criticized Judeo-Christian religions as retroflections producers. Nevertheless, Perls recognized the spiritual factor as non-religious, but as an openness to existence, including thinking of Esalen as a spiritual colony. In the last works, he already affirmed that his approach with the Zen had made possible to experience a religion without God.
In recent years, there has been an unprecedented influence of Zen Buddhism in Western psychology and psychotherapy. On the surface, the two disciplines seem incompatible: Psychotherapy wants to develop the self, whereas Zen tries to get rid of the self. Many may wonder where Buddhism, a 2500-year-old Eastern religion, and psychotherapy, a Western invention of psychological treatment, converge and diverge? In this chapter, Peiwei Li, Ph.D. of Springfield College, and Daniel Rodriguez Ramirez, M.Ed of University of California Santa Cruz, aim to entertain this very question and provide a multilayered critical reflection and epistemological critique. We will first provide a brief historical sketch about the synergy between Zen and psychotherapy, which lead to a discussion on a few key concepts that draw resonance and dissonance between Zen and psychotherapy. We argue that although the two traditions grew out of drastically diverging historical roots and manifest in varying forms, they share underlying understanding and aims related to the nature of the self and the process of self-development toward liberation. Grounded in this overarching vision, we will feature specific examples of their cross-fertilization drawing from classical psychotherapy orientations as well as representatives of contemporary mindfulness-based psychotherapy movements. We also include a brief clinical case discussion to illustrate how a Zen-informed therapy process might unfold in practice. This chapter will be concluded with a critical examination of the larger sociocultural contexts and system imperatives that might have simultaneously given rise to the popularity of Zen in psychotherapy while subjected it to truncation and objectification.
Guilt and shame can be traumatic, self-conscious experiences which have an impact on sexually abused adolescents' physical, psychological, social, emotional, moral and religious development. It can determine the adolescents' behaviour, their views of themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Guilt and shame arouse feelings of helplessness, anger, blame, bitterness and the need for retaliation, while forgiveness can relieve these impulses effectively and be utilised as a source for a recovering experience. Through the use of forgiveness as a coping mechanism, abused adolescents can be guided to handle unresolved emotional experiences (unfinished business) and break free from guilt and shame. A pastoral Gestalt theory can assist abused adolescents with the necessary awareness to focus on their foreground in order to reach self-regulation of their emotional experience.
Objective In this investigation, the effectiveness of Gestalt therapy on the self-efficacy of divorced women were studied.Method In this investigation the statistical community is divorced women members of Department of Social Welfare. 34 of them selected as random sampling and randomly putted into experimental and control groups. The tool of investigation is sharer‘s self-efficacy questionnaire. This study is pre-test post-test type. The intervention performed at 12 session Gestalt therapy on the experimental group. Independent T-test was used to analyse the data.Conclusion The results of data analysis showed gestalt therapy increased divorced women self-efficacy of experimental group in comparison with control group.
The Narrative therapy and the Gestalt therapy: A comparison between a phemenological existensial approach and a social construction approach to therapy
In this article the author takes a bird’s-eye view of the background and fundamentals of the narrative therapy as well as the Gestalt therapy to show similarities between these approaches in an attempt to establish a combined or complimentary approach to therapy.
The article is an attempt to describe the ontological basics of Gestalt psychotherapy, both known to authors of Gestalt and unknown, to insight into the problem. Gestalt is inspired by the ancient, the modern and the contemporary philosophy. The ontological principles underlying Gestalt are holism, monism, harmony of opposites, process, cyclicality, present time and the paradoxical theory of change.
In this article the author takes a bird's-eye view of the background and fundamentals of the narrative therapy as well as the Gestalt therapy to show similarities between these approaches in an attempt to establish a combined or complimentary approach to therapy.
Laura Perls and Gestalt Therapy Her Life and Values
by Ilene Ava Serlin and Paul Shane
The development of Gestalt therapy has been associated in the popular mind with the aggressive, dramatic, and unusual personality of the late Fritz Perls. But now it is coming to general awareness within the field of psychotherapy that much of what was considered Gestalt therapy is but one particular form and that Laura Perls made equally substantial contributions. This chapter explores those contributions, and Gestalt therapy in general, in contemporary perspective.
"Editor's Note: We are pleased and proud to publisb here the first 'Marianne Fry Memorial kdure', given by John Kti Wheway on 11 September, 1999. The newly established annual lecture, honouring Marianne Fry, is intended as a vehicle for continued serious exploration of the boundary between Gestalt and spirituality. Marianne Fry, who died in 1998 (and whose obimary appeared in the British Gesdt Journal, 7,l) made explicit and frequent ~onnections between her spiritual life and principles of Gestalt therapy. In this lecture, John Kirti Wheway, a close friend of Marianne, takes Montaignek Essays as his starting point for a remarkable personal statement - a reflective, honest, searching enquiry into therapy, its relation to spirituality in a secularised world, and his own development of selfhood. Montaigne's self- exploration, based on dim experience of 'the lived human life' provides (meway suggests) a mdel for a 'liberal spirituality', revealed here as bad in wholeness, 'the ernbeddedness of the human in the non-human world', the centrality of breath, and the presence of the 'disinterested witness' observing the 'story-telling self'. (John Kirti Wheway 's lecture formed a central part of the first 'Gestalt and Spirituality Gathering', which was organised by Gestalt Southwest and held at Hawkwood College, G'loucestershire, England. A second Gathering will be held 22-24 September, 2000, at Gaunt's House, Dorset, England. For details see the notice in this issue.)"
This paper considers that there are five identifiable, interweaving but potentially distinct kinds of therapeutic relationships to be found in Gestalt theory and practice. These are the working alliance, the "unfinished" (or transference/countertransference) relationship, the reparative (and/or developmental) relationship, the I-You (or dialogic relationship), and the transpersonal relationship. Each and all of these modalities are available for constructive use in Gestalt clinical work and its supervision to nuance theoretical understanding, refine conscientious research, and contribute to the development of our discipline.
Any serious discussion on creativity and Gestalt therapy must include the name Salomo Friedlaender. Indeed, Friedlaender should be given special recognition; not only is he one of Gestalt therapy’s main theorists, but also his relation to the theme of creativity is already clearly alluded to in the title of his principal work: Creative Indifference (1918). Yet, Friedlaender is hardly known in Gestalt therapy circles (especially to non-German speakers), even though Fritz Perls explicitly referred to Friedlaender’s central importance in his own approach:
In this chapter Claudio Naranjo presents the ways in which he believes Gestalt therapy is transpersonal both in technique and philosophy. He sees two major aspects of Buddhism -the awareness, or mindfulness, practice and morality -as strong links between the two approaches. For Naranjo, awareness is "the ultimate treasure"; it lies at the very foundation of the transpersonal and flows through all Buddhist and Sufi philosophy and practice. In exploring the meaning of awareness in each of these practices, the author recognizes the temptation "to value the manifestation above the awareness". But he sees a shift in understanding toward the true nature of awareness and thinks it may be "the most significant feature of today's humanistic and transpersonal therapies." Naranjo further presents a strong counterargument to the frequent assertions that Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt therapy, was antispiritual in both his work and his life. He also presents sound reasons for Gestalt therapy's being akin to Buddhist concepts of morality -morality being seen as "the interpersonal work of traditional spirituality." While Gestalt therapy rejects any moralism, it does not reject morality; in fact, it encourages authenticity and courage, "the gist of moral development." Furthermore, while the Gestalt approach is open to all forms of expression, it also encourages voluntary inhibition. This, Naranjo asserts, indicates that "the therapeutic process... involves an element of austerity" similar to spiritual traditions. A further connection between Gestalt Therapy and Buddhist practice is the requirement for openness, "to be aware of what is given here and now in our experiential fields." Naranjo sees three ways of expressing openness in Gestalt therapy: being aware without self-manipulation, being creatively indifferent, and accepting nothingness. The Gestalt therapist compares the psychological explosion that can follow the acceptance of nothingness to a transpersonal death and rebirth experience.
Explores the basic definition of Gestalt therapy as an ongoing creative adjustment to the potential in the therapeutic situation which includes therapist, clients, and their developing relationship. Case histories are presented, and the role of the therapist as a creative artist is examined. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Explores the relationship between Gestalt therapy and the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Although both processes foster the development of the person, they are essentially different. Gestalt therapy attends to the emotional health of the person, while the spiritual exercises are concerned with the growth of love which finds God in all things and recognizes what must be its own special way of serving God in all things. Some concepts and techniques (e.g., dream work, awareness, holistic decision making) of Gestalt therapy can contribute to the spiritual transformation sought by the spiritual exercises by increasing the ability of participants to give themselves fully to the retreat experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Typescript (photocopy). Thesis (Ph. D.)--Graduate Theological Union, (1983). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-221).
Letter to editor: Gestalt and spirituality
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