Applications and Reflections in Gestalt Play Therapy: A Case Study Ess

Gestalt therapy is a type of therapy used to deepen our awareness of ourselves. According to O’Connor and Braverman, (2009) â€Å"Gestalt" implies wholeness. â€Å"Gestalt therapy is a process-oriented, experiential therapy that is concerned with the integrated functioning of all aspects of the person: senses, body, emotions and intellect.† Gestalt therapy can be described as process active, experiential work and can help shed light on suppressed feelings by helping us focus our awareness on feelings in the present. In working through negative the client can realize negative behavior patterns that may have become ingrained. Understanding the relationship between what we tell ourselves (bad gestalts) and negative thought processes and can become a part of the healing process. Through this form of therapeutic process, individuals can become better equipped to understand themselves and make better or healthier choices, creating a unity of mind, body and spirit. When Gestalt theory is applied to taking of responsibility for problematic life experiences, the experiential work lies in assisting the client in taking ownership, self-examination, then making choices and resolving difficulties. When theory is applied to a play therapy relationship, the therapist enters into a partnership with the child, in a process where goals focus on empowerment of the child. This process is described in Oaklander, (2011). â€Å"Anger is the most misunderstood of all the human emotions. We tend to think of anger as basically distasteful and abhorrent -- something that we would rather not experience.† Oaklander posits that anger is a direct and unique expression of self, and the basic attempt to defend an inner personal boundary. ... ....47-Other dysfunctions of sleep stages or arousal f from sleep. Retrieved from http://www.icd9data.com/2011/Volume1/290-3 19/300-316/307/307.47.htm Kalff, Dora. (2003) Sandplay: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Psyche. Temenos Press, Cloverdale, CA. Lowenfeld, M. (1991) Play in Childhood. MacKeith Press, London. Miller, A. (1975) Albert Einstein and Max Wertheimer: a Gestalt psychologist's view of the genesis of special relativity theory. History of science; an Annual Review of Literature, Research and Teaching 13 (2): 75–103. Oaklander, V. (1988) Windows to Our Children: A Gestalt Therapy Approach to Children and Adolescents. The Gestalt Journal Press; Gouldsboro, Maine. Oaklander, V. (2011) The many faces of Anger. The Violet Oaklander Foundation, Retrieved from the internet 11/2/2011, from http://www.vsof.org/links.html