During any therapeutic process a person’s environment, i.e. her or his “field” plays an essential part. Hence, clients and their fields are seen as unified, indivisible wholes. Actions always take place in the present – this is the start and the end-point of both therapy and change “here-and-now”. The past and future are relevant in as much as they have meaning for current behaviour and experiences. (See www.gestalt.org/yontef.htm)
Individuals need and want to grow, develop, blossom and prosper. Due to our personal situation during childhood and adolescence, we foster creative pat-terns of adjusted behaviour. In our current lives those blueprints, however, often limit growth and change. Then we may believe, that some needs, desires, and types of behaviour we should not feel or express. They trigger fear, because we have learnt to see them as forbidden, threatening or shameful. And still, we attempt to close that so-called “unfinished business” in our present “environment-field” over and over again. A lot of our energy is bound by that endeavour – without yielding results, which in turn increases the psychological strain.
Gestalt Therapy aims to allow you the free and unimpeded use of all your physical, psychological, emotional and mental faculties here and now.
In therapy, we start to explore your present experience. Therefore, the dialogue between you (an individual, a couple or a group) and me is essential. Only based on safe and supportive contact from me will you be willing and able to test new behaviour. Of course, your fears will recur then as well. But you learn to see them as less threatening, i.e. endurable. Being a Gestalt therapist, I define the term „contact“ as that process of perceiving and parting „me“ vs. “not-me.” During this livelong process, interruptions or blocks might always occur. Through therapy you will become more aware of your patterns of ex-periencing, thinking, feeling and behaving – also, of those which you, yourself find burdensome. During therapy you will be able to experiment with types of reactions and behaviour, letting you experience them thoroughly and thus providing an opportunity to integrate or reject them. Hence you can access new skills that let you take more active charge of your life. The increase in behavioural options will allow you to act more freely. This focus on growth and change is an essential element of Gestalt Therapy!
As a Gestalt therapist, I will motivate and support you to discover and use your resources to face difficulties.
My mindset is based on: