Gestalt Therapy as ‘Applied Phenomenology’: Reflections on developments within the phenomenological tradition and how this may inform contemporary Gestalt practice

Abstract

"Gestalt therapy, defined as an ‘applied phenomenology’, requires us to acknowledge that phenomenology is complex, containing within it different starting points and perspectives that shift and change over time. One’s stance is usually influenced or informed by the philosophical view integrated or introjected through training and practise. Adopting a critical and reflexive attitude towards this, by being knowledgeable of the nuances within the development of phenomenology and in tandem, with Gestalt therapy, opens up a possibility to position oneself as trainee, therapist, teacher or supervisor, from a place that holds a wider perspective of the whole therapy experience. This self-reflexive paper, co-authored by a Gestalt therapist and a philosopher, proposes a position that respects the whole gestalt of the therapeutic situation that therapists themselves form part of, holding too, the potential to move in and out of the therapeutic relationship, facilitating extrinsic and intrinsic ongoing assessment, for an authentic, informed, richer and meaningful experience. Key words phenomenology, Gestalt therapy, Husserl, Heidegger, intersubjectivity, relational, contact, dialogue"