University Counseling: Gestalt Therapy Analysis and Application

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Gestalt therapy, a psychotherapeutic approach used in counseling. It examines the core principles of Gestalt therapy, which focuses on the client's relationship with the external world and emphasizes personal responsibility. The essay explores the application of Gestalt therapy techniques, such as role-playing and hypnotism, in the context of a case study involving a client named Esther, who is struggling with job loss and its impact on her self-esteem. It discusses how these techniques can be used to enhance Esther's confidence and help her come to terms with her current life circumstances. Furthermore, the essay highlights the benefits of Gestalt therapy, including its simplicity and effectiveness in helping clients address present-day issues. It also acknowledges the potential disadvantages, such as the need for ethical considerations and the counselor's adherence to established procedures. Overall, the essay underscores the value of Gestalt therapy as a counseling approach and its relevance in helping individuals overcome mental health challenges.

Running head: COUNSELLING AND CLIENTS
COUNSELLING AND CLIENTS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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As stated by Talbot (2018), the ever-increasing complexity of the modern world had
substantially enhanced the different kinds of mental health issues faced by the individuals which
in turn had made the work performed by the counselors of paramount importance. Leung and
Khor (2017) are of the viewpoint that the counselors are required to undertake an objective
analysis of the different mental health issues faced by their clients or for that matter the patients.
This is important since this enables the counselors to recommend adequate measures to their
clients which in turn help in the process of their recovery from the mental health issues that they
face. More importantly, the counselors are also required to take the help of adequate counseling
strategies or for that matter counseling techniques so as to help their clients to recover from the
mental health issues that they are suffering them (Fourie & van der Merwe, 2019). The recovery
process of the clients substantially depends on the counseling techniques or counseling strategies
which are being used by the counselors for treating their clients. The objective of this essay is to
undertake an analysis of the Gestalt Therapy which is commonly being used by the different
counselors for treating their clients in the particular context of the case study of Esther.
The counseling approach that had been selected for the analysis of the case study under
discussion here is Gestalt therapy. This counseling approach was developed by Fritz Perls, Paul
Goodman and Laura Perls in the 1950s and 1940s and this information regarding this counseling
approach was first conveyed by them in the famous book of the same name in the year 1951
(Mustaffa, Madihie, Yadar & Khan, 2018). Fogarty, Bhar, Theiler and O'Shea (2016) are of the
viewpoint that Gestalt therapy can be seen as a “psychotherapeutic approach” which focuses
effectively on the relationship that the clients or for that matter the patients share with the outer
world. Adding to this, Bednarek and Wise (2018) have noted that the counselors usually take the
help of the help of the process of role plays and others for the resolution of the past as well as the

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present issues that they are facing. Furthermore, as discussed by Evans and Gilbert (2015), this is
an existential or experimental approach to counseling wherein the counselors focus on the
enhancement of the personal responsibility of the clients, establish effective relationship with the
clients and others. In addition to these, it had been seen that the counselors through the adequate
usage of this counseling approach help their patients or the clients to make the required
adjustments which in turn help them to effectively cope up with the environment or for that
matter the condition in which they reside (Roubal, 2017). More importantly, it had been seen that
an important reason for the extensive popularity as well as the widespread usage of this
counseling approach can be ascribed to the positive results that the counselors have been able to
derive through the effective usage of this particular approach (Lee, 2017). It is in the light of
these aspects that this particular counseling approach had been selected as the intervention or for
that matter the counseling approach that would be used for the resolution of the issues or the
problems that Esther is facing in the case study under discussion here.
The case study under discussion here indicates the fact that the majority of the issues that
Esther is presently facing can be attributed to the fact that she had lost her job and had been
unable to find another job after that. Furthermore, initially she was happy after losing her job
however being unable to find any adequate job had adversely affected her self-esteem which in
turn had adversely affected the mental condition of Esther. More importantly, this had also
adversely affected her confidence level and made her unhappy and also doubt her own
capabilities. Thus, it can be said that the root cause of the different issues that Esther is facing
presently as per Gestalt therapy can be attributed to the fact that she is being unable to come to
terms with the present reality of her life or for that matter the environment in which she is
presently residing. Moreover, as per the precepts of the Gestalt therapy it can be said that for the

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resolution of the issues faced by Esther the counselor needs to take the help of adequate role play
activities to enhance the self-esteem of Esther. This can be effectively done by the counselor
through the adequate usage of the process of hypnotism to present a picture of the life that she
used to lead while she used to work. This in turn would help Esther to acquire the required
amount of confidence and thereby make her believe in the fact that she is still the same person
and capable of performing different activities. Thus, it can be said that the adequate usage of the
Gestalt therapy is likely to help Esther to recover from the mental issues that she faces.
Feltham and Palmer (2015) are of the viewpoint that the counselors in order to effectively
utilize Gestalt therapy needs to take the help of adequate counseling approaches or for that
matter counseling strategies so as to achieve the required results. Adding to this, Fogarty, Bhar
and Theiler (2019) have noted that the counselors are required to take the help of various
measures like hypnotism, supervised hallucinations, role play and others so as to help the clients
or the patients to recover from the mental health issues that they suffer from. For instance, the
counselors need to take the help of the process of hypnotism in conjugation with the process of
role play so as to help in the purgation of the pent-up emotions of the patients and thereby help
them to achieve the required amount of catharsis (Allen, Carter & Pearson, 2019). This in turn is
likely to help the patients to effectively come to terms with the present reality of their life or for
that matter the environment in which they dwell (Brown & Brown, 2015). In the particular
context of Esther, it can be said that the counselor have the opportunity to the help of both the
processes of hypnotism and role play for helping her to overcome the issues that she is facing
presently. For instance, the counselor can take the help of the process of hypnotism to create a
mental picture of Esther working as an independent woman and the success that she is capable of
achieving through the usage of adequate role play. This in turn is likely to enhance the self-

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esteem of Esther and thereby boost her confidence which in turn would help her to overcome the
issues that she is facing.
The counselor also has the opportunity to take the help of various questions or dialogues
for helping Esther to come to terms with the present reality of her life and thereby cope up with
the same. For instance, the counselor needs to begin by asking her the kind of problems that she
is facing presently and what according to her are the root causes of the same. Next, the counselor
needs to ask her why finding a suitable job is important to her and also the kind of job that she is
looking for. More importantly, the counselor also needs to ask her the things that she expects to
achieve from her job while explaining to her the fact that for the achievement of her life goals it
is not necessary to find a suitable job. She can attain the process of self-actualization through the
usage of other measures as well like indulging in different kinds of hobbies, doing the things that
she likes, inculcating a passion and others. These in short are some of the major questions or
dialogues that the counselor need to ask Esther during the counseling sessions.
Joyce and Sills (2018) are of the viewpoint that an important factor which motivates the
different counselors to take the help of Gestalt therapy can be attributed to the benefits or for that
matter the advantages that the usage of the same offers both to the patients and also the
counselors. Adding to this, Mustaffa, Madihie, Yadar and Khan (2018) have noted that one of
the most important benefits offered by the usage of Gestalt therapy can be attributed to the fact
that it helps the patients to come to acknowledge the present condition of their life and thereby
make the necessary adjustments to cope up with the same. More importantly, as discussed by
Fogarty, Bhar and Theiler (2019), the usage of the Gestalt therapy is rather simple and requires
the usage of lesser number of resources in comparison to the usage of other counseling
approaches for the effective resolution of the different mental health issues faced by the patients

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or the clients. In addition to these, it had been seen that the usage of Gestalt therapy had been
especially useful in the particular context wherein the patients or for that matter the clients are
not being able to cope up with their past or the present situations of their life (Fogarty, Bhar,
Theiler & O'Shea, 2016). These in short are some of the most important benefits of the usage of
Gestalt therapy which in turn propel the counselors even in the present times to take the help of
the same for offering the required counseling services to the patients. It is in the light of these
benefits that the framework of Gestalt therapy had been selected for the counseling of Esther so
as to help her to overcome the different issues that she is facing presently.
The benefits offered by the usage of the Gestalt therapy notwithstanding there are various
negative connotations associated with the usage of the same as well. Fourie and van der Merwe
(2019) are of the viewpoint that an important disadvantage of the usage of the usage of Gestalt
therapy can be attributed to the fact that in the absence of clearly articulated procedure or for that
matter the lack of theoretical support the counseling often modifies the framework as per their
convenience. However, the major problem arises because of the fact that in some of the cases the
counseling take advantage of the mental condition of their patients or clients or for that matter
cross the ethical line that they are required to follow for offering the required counseling services
to them (Allen, Carter & Pearson, 2019). More importantly, as discussed by Leung and Khor
(2017), this is often considered to a confrontational approach in counseling and poses a
substantial amount of risk to the wellbeing of the patients by giving undue power to the
counseling which they sometimes end up miss-utilizing. Thus, it in the particular context of
Esther it needs to be said that the counselors need to follow the ethical guidelines of counseling
for offering the required counseling services to her so as to facilitate her recovery.

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To conclude, Gestalt therapy had emerged as one of the most important counseling
approaches which is being extensively used by the different counselors even in the present times
for offering the required counseling services to their patients. More importantly, the adequate
usage of this particular counseling approach by the counselors helps the patients to come to
terms with the present reality of their life or for that matter the mental health issues that they are
facing. Furthermore, it had been seen that for the adequate usage of this counseling approach the
counselors are required to take the help of various measures like role play, hypnotism and others.
However, at the same time it needs to be said that the counselors are required to take into
account the concepts of ethics and morals for offering the required counseling services to their
patients or clients which in turn would help them to overcome the mental health issues that they
suffer from. These aspects of the Gestalt therapy within the spectrum of counseling become
apparent from the above analysis of the same in the particular context of the case study of Esther.

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