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Counselling, Psychotherapy and Community Voice |
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Illawarra Gestalt Centre |
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PHILOSOPHY - Dialogue/existentialism
· A dialogic existentialist approach is based on Martin Buber's work, a Jewish mystic, who was trying to come to terms with how people could perpetrate the holocaust. Buber saw there are two ways of being in the world: "I -It "( seeing people as objects) and "I-thou"( discovering the connectedness, seeing each other as an "other") · In therapy this involves the engagement of the therapist and the client based on experiencing , the other person as he/she really is showing the true self, sharing phenomenological awareness. Gestalt dialogue embodies authenticity and responsiblity "The therapist does not...".. rest on the broad upland of system that includes a series of sure statements about the absolute, but on a narrow, rocky ridge between the gulfs where there is no sureness of expressible knowledge but the certainty of meeting what remains undisclosed.” Buber (1965,p184) “Although no Doctor can do without typology, he knows that at a certain moment the incomparable person of the patient stands before the incomparable person of the doctor; he throws away as much of his typology as he can and accepts this unforeseeable thing that goes on between therapist and patient” (Buber 1967 p164)
PRINCIPLE - Contact/relationship · Yontef " The notion of contact is essential to dialogue, and our notion of contact leads directly into a mature concept of dialogue. · Laura Perls "Contact is a boundary phenomenon between organism and environment. it is the acknowledgement of, and the coping with, the other.
Dialogic method - principles 1. Presence 2. Inclusion 3. Commitment to dialogue 4.Non exploitative stance 5.Dialogue is lived
1. Presence Resnick- the therapists own experience and phenomenology are available Yontef- the therapist expresses observations , preferences, feelings, personal expereince as part of the therapuetic relationship. Thus the therapist can share his perspective by modelling phenomenological reporting thereby aiding the client's learning about the trust and use of immediate experience to raise awareness Hycner - Presence is the essential ingredient to therapy. In order to be able to enter the world of the client the therapist must be fully present. . Presence is by no means the same as rapport. The therapist must not be merely friendly but be willing to give of his self hood to the encounter.Presence is not a technique. It is the awareness that all catorgorizing, labelling interferes with the genuine unfolding of what is most vulnerable , real, and essential in the human being. 2.Inclusion Resnick - the therapist includes himself in the experience and phenomenology of the client while maintaining his own sense of self. Yontef- Putting oneself as fully possible into the experience of the other, without judging, analysing or interpreting while simultaneously, retaining a sense of one's separateness. By communicating an understanding of the client's experience helps to sharpen the client's self awareness Hycner-Inclusion is the back and forth movement of being centred in ones own existence and yet being able to go over to the "other side". You can see it, feel it, experience it from two sides. 3.Commitment to dialogue Resnick- to allow for the magic that may emerge in the "in between" of human encounter Yontef- the surrender to an interpersonal process, allowing contact to happen between rather than controlling the contact and the outcome Hycner- The individuality of therapist is subsumed in the service of the "in between. Individuality is but one pole within an overall rhythmic alternation between separateness and relatedness, both occur within the realm of the between. 4.Non exploitative stance Yontef- Influencing or adjusting to the goal of the therapist but protecting the integrity of the person's actual experience Not treating the person as an "it" but as a "thou" 5. Dialogue is lived Yontef- Dialogue is done rather than talked about "lived" emphasising the excitement and immediacy of doing. ie. directly expressing love to a loved one rather than reporting about it.
Healthy Contact in the Organism/Environment Field Through clear contact the person can discriminate that which can be taken in and assimilated and that which can be kept out and rejected. hence the health of the person depends on clear, full contact.... and if this function becomes disrupted or blocked the person might then take in what would be better rejected (you’re a bad person) and keep out what we need ( I am a good person). The fluidity of the figure/ground formation process in which the organism identifies that which is figural worthy of excitement is a key component in health and well being: Excitement that can not be tolerated is transformed and experienced as anxiety. People whose figure/ground awareness flow is compulsive or whose figures are perceived as unsupported by the environment lose the quality of depth which is necessary to spring up naturally and gracefully from a rich experiential background
The Contact Episode ( as described by the Polsters) These eight stages may occur at a different pace and are not to be taken as a set order but as a guideline. In essence they are a map of reality, made for the person and not to make the person fit into. The eight stages may play itself out in a single session, the cycle may last only for 1 minute, it may play itself in a session , a year or even a life time . The eight stages may occur in different sequences or sometimes condensed . 1. Aware of need- The person becomes aware of the need, a figure emerges from the ground, and this need is usually related to the organisms mechanisms for homeostasis ( balance) or maturation ( growth).. eg I want to talk to my father and tell him how I feel 2. Movement to satisfy need The person attempts to satisfy this need through moving to make contact with that which is figural in the environment.. ie the person goes to see father 3. Internal resistance Where there exists a conflicting figure or need , particularly from past experience, the person may experience resistance .ie what if my father rejects me... 4. Statement of theme At this point the person experiences and expresses the theme that is developing.. the need and the resistance combined.. ie I want to tell him how I feel but I don't want to be rejected · A theme develops which underscores the content of the drama and gives title and clarity to what is going on 5. Impasse by maintaining and holding these polarities of need and resistance instead of dichotomising and splitting off from one or the other, the person experiences the stuckness or impasse. This is where the power of the need and the strength of the resistance are approximately equal. 6. Climatic Experience As the organism learns to tolerate and stay with these opposing experiences of need and resistance a shift happens .. the wisdom of the organism.. and a new experience is arrived at .. I want to tell you father that I love you and I'm afraid you'll reject me… and I feel closer to you saying this. · Opening up new possibilities to break through previous barriers and to move through formerly impermissible feelings or behaviours to completion and new experiences. 7. Illumination at this stage the person now realises there are other possibilities and understands more of their process.. a new perspective is gained · The growing excitement , which is now acceptable instead of threatening , supports a surge which finally leads to illumination. Here the individual arrives at a new orientation towards resolutions and alternatives 8. Acknowledgement This sense of completion is now acknowledged .. that's enough.. I'm finished!
PRACTICE I -Thou Confirmation- the heart of the dialogical approach Buber believes the underlying basis for all psychopathology is the absence of confirmation that each of us suffers in this endeavour of becoming human being. Unlike animals, who do not seem to question their “animal ness“, human beings need to be confirmed by others in order to know itself as a human being. There is a certain need and readiness in one's existence for such crucial confirmation. It is this need for confirmation that culminates in us becoming "false selves". We are so desperate for confirmation that if we do not receive it for being who we are, we will attempt to elicit the next best thing -we will attempt to get confirmation by appearing the way we think someone else wants us to be. We will create an impression - engage in a kind of seeming in order to gain approval. The issue of confirmation explicitly recognizes human interconnectedness and the limits of individual self-validation. Consequently it is the bed rock of therapy for the client to feel confirmed by the therapist. Such deep existential acknowledgement begins with the recognition of uniqueness. Confirming the other means making the tremendous effort of turning toward and affirming the separate and unique existence of the other - her otherness, as well as concurrently acknowledging the common human bond of relatedness with other persons. |