What is the Gestalt Approach?

Gestalt Therapy is among the earliest and most enduring of psychotherapeutic approaches which are grounded in ‘the relationship between therapist and client' as the source of healing, whether the ‘client' is an individual, partners, family, group, organisation or community. Deeply rooted in the philosophy of phenomenology, field theory and dialogue, and grounded in psychoanalytic, existential and intersubjective theories, contemporary Gestalt therapy embraces a relational perspective in understanding the human condition, development, growth and change

Gestalt therapy is a growth-oriented approach to holistic health and well-being that values self-awareness and self-responsibility in living. The Gestalt Approach embraces a person's whole life experience - physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual. Each of these interconnected aspects of living is considered inseparable from a person's environment, history and culture.

From a Gestalt perspective, healthy living is grounded in a person's awareness of how they live their life, in the present, through their relationships with their world.

Gestalt therapy seeks to promote a person's awareness, facilitate connectedness to the many aspects of a person's life experience, support creative choice and encourage responsibility in a person's efforts to realise a meaningful and fulfilling life.
The Gestalt practitioner relates with a client in a dialogical way, respecting personal boundaries and valuing liveliness and immediate responsivity. The focus in therapy is on identifying and describing a client's unique experience and meaning making, rather than interpreting and generalising. The gestalt therapist offers a sensitive balance of support and challenge in assisting clients to explore their concerns and the difficulties they experience in realising their hopes. It is a process that includes creative experiments, which allows clients to explore and experience new options in living and being in the world.

Gestalt practitioners work in many settings, including private and agency clinics and health services, as well as educational, organizational, community and personal development settings. Regardless of context, gestalt practitioners remain committed to a common perspective of valuing personal awareness and healthy relating