Name:

Grace Chan Chee Yan

Student ID: GS40802
Theory: Gestalt Therapy (15/11/2014)

Similar to Existential Therapy, Gestalt Therapy too appears to me as a way of
life. When I look at Gestalts Theory from the perspectives of a counselor and client,
both sides carry so much of potentials to be benefited by it. In fact, Gestalts
principles speak out like a living guide. Central to this therapy is the notion that
awareness in the present moment is necessary in order for us to digest what we are
experiencing. The power of now, as simple as it sounds actually requires a lot of
effort to be mastered. To be fully present and to live in the moment also means not to
be bothered by fear of past or the upcoming uncertainties of the future. For instance, if
I am able to master the awareness of truly living in the present moment, I would be
able to fully reflect on this theory without being bothered by the fear of my upcoming
pile of assignments that are about to due. However, this is also why I precisely like
Gestalt Therapy. As we learn more about it, we are also guided by his principles to
live up to such present awareness of life.
I am especially attracted by Gestalts holistic doctrine in that human organism
is seen as a unified whole in which attention is directed to all aspects such as
thoughts, feelings, behaviors, body, memories and dreams. Even though I do not
necessarily agree with his method of acting out dreams, as I find it not very practical,
I still look up to his other principles. I completely second his idea on the unification of
thoughts and body. I have always believe in the concept that what the mind wills, the
body will follow (not through superstitious beliefs, but by self-fulfilling prophecy).
Once we have set our mind rigidly on a belief, our thoughts would naturally follow
leading to the certain kind of actions (consciously or unconsciously) that will reaffirm
our thoughts. For instance, every time I woke up late, I would feel so frustrated and
thus start blaming myself for snoozing my alarm. If I allow those frustrations to take
control of me, I would normally look up for negative events to reinforce my feelings.
In most occasions where a lot of things will not bother me, it will be the total opposite
on days which I woke up grumpy. All of the sudden, my broken gate is bothering me
or even a random car parked outside my house will make me feel so bad. There are
unfortunate days in which I allow myself to keep hunting for negative events to
reinforce my frustration and that would literally turn my day into a bad one. It is not
too hard to realize this whole deadly cycle but the effort required in being aware and
recognizing it, is what I am still learning to control until today.
Another concept that captures my interest is Gestalts homeostasis or
organismic self-regulation. To me, it is literally the key towards a life that advocates
healthy awareness. Gestalt recognizes the optimism in human nature in that he
believes humans have the capacity to be in control and make actions that will restore
equilibrium and subsequently contribute to growth and change. Gestalts view of
homeostasis in personality is especially what I agree with. He believes that there
should be both polarities of negative and positive that should exist within a
personality. Very often, we condemn the negative aspects of our personality by either
denying or suppressing it. The very basic of human life is to seek balance by
affirming and owning both sides of the polarities. After all, no one is perfect and
therefore we should not think of ourselves as beings that should only strive towards
the extreme side of positivity. Pessimism to me for instance, is not such a negative
value as deemed by our society. A little pessimism in our life is necessary in order to
confront us with the harsh reality of life, which is essential in order for us to survive
in this world.