The Cycle of Experience in Gestalt psychotherapy theory- an abbreviated version.
By reading this article you’ll learn what is Gestalt’s Cycle of Experience. First I’ll explain what is Gestalt psychotherapy.
1. What is Gestalt psychotherapy?
Gestalt psychotherapy is a holistic approach to understanding and helping human psychology and behavior.
It was developed by Fritz Perls and his wife Laura Perls in the mid-20th century. The main inspirations for the theory are:
- Psychoanalysis;
- Reich, Zen Buddhism;
- Gestalt psychology;
- Existentialism;
- And Moreno therapy (Chu, 2017).
Holistic comes from the Greek word “Holos”, which means whole, entire, or complete.
This applies to a perspective that an individual cannot be understood in terms of structures, but rather how he experiences life (himself, the outside world, and its relations).
Holistic psychologist views a person as someone original and whole. It means that a person isn’t defined by parts of his psyche such as the Id, ego, or superego nor by any deficits in parts of the brain. You can see how Gestalt differs froma structualist view like conventional Psychoanalysis.
Gestalt psychotherapy originates from Gestalt psychology founded by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler in the early 20th century.
Gestalt psychology is also referred to the gestaltism or holistic psychology. It is a part of humanistic psychology (the third power after psychoanalysis and behaviorism), which emphasizes values such as:
- Freedom;
- Creativity;
- Self-expression;
- Altruism;
- Love;
- Wisdom;
- Beauty;
- Artistry;
- Meaning;
- Authenticity;
- And Self-Actualization (these are some examples, not all of them are posted here).
Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler developed the theory by observing human perceptual processes.
They discovered that when people see an object, they do not summarize individual sensations to perceive it, but rather notice its entirety.
You can try this experiment yourself.
Ask someone to put an object where you cannot see it and ask the person to tell you where the object is.
When you get to the location of it try to observe your mind.
What happened? How did you see it? Did you have to add sensations to identify it, or did it appear instantly as a complete object?
Structuralists argue that the process of perception is a mix of separate cognitive processes.
Gestalt psychologists think that humans first perceive an object entirely, and afterward, they distinguish its characteristics.
To better undestand the theory, let’s jump to main theoretical assumptions.
2. Theoretical assumptions
Self-regulation, figure, and background. With the right conditions, the human organism regulates its emotions and behavior.
The process of therapy is supposed to provide those conditions so that a person learns how to self-regulate.
If everything is in place one’s organism intuitively chooses a suitable environment that leads to self-realization and happiness.
Sensations that become needs are represented in the mind as figures that spring from the background which is a symbol of unprecedented clear consciousness.
To achieve tranquility and self-regulation figures must merge with the background. This process is called the destruction of the figures(Chu, 2017).
Consciousness/awareness is crucial in the process of destroying figures.
Figures become unpleasant to consciousness because they disrupt the natural peace of mind. Awareness realizes the existence of these objects and brings an understanding of what they are.
“Here and now, me and you” is a very important quote in Gestalt psychotherapy philosophy.
The goal of the therapy is to teach the client/patient to be in the present moment and have a personal relationship with himself and other people (environment also).
Sessions focus on the relationship between the therapist and the person that is participating in it. They refer to each other directly by name and without any titles or social roles such as “Mr., Mrs., teacher, worker, Sir, or Madam”.
Flat hierarchy. During therapy therapist and client are both equals. Both can learn from each other. The client takes part in creating therapy sessions.
Hunger is a basic drive of a person’s actions. It represents the need of organisms to get in contact with their environment. Emotions, sensations, and information from the outside world are considered food needed for survival and self-realization.
Contact. In gestaltism, direct contact with oneself and its environment is very important. It is a necessary act in destroying figures as well as fulfilling the drive of hunger. During sessions, both client and therapist are trying to be spontaneous and expressive.
Dialogue is the fundamental communication between a therapist and a client. Both sides take an equal part in it, and they express their thought and emotions directly. A client can feel free to be himself, sit, lay, stand up or walk during the conversation.
The motto: just be yourself.
Aggression happens when a person is trying to get in contact with his surroundings. Therefore, it is not something bad.
It is necessary for getting food from the environment.
An organism attempts to absorb its meal by biting, chewing, and tasting. In the process of psychotherapy, this kind of food represents experience, emotions, and sensations.
Only when the attempt results in complete acceptance of this experience can a person be fulfilled and peaceful.
3. The cycle of experience
The cycle of experience is a scheme shown on graph 1 that presents how a sensation becomes a need.
Also what the process of fulfilling it looks like (figure merging with the background).
Below the image is an explanation of the mechanisms behind every step and the whole cycle.
First, I’d like to say how sensations become figures.
Fritz Perls and other holistic psychologists believe humans tend to close objects by adding sensations (like a line to an open circle) so they can become whole.
This phenomenon is present in both sensory (adding a line to an open sphere so it becomes closed) and more abstract subjects (family, a group, complex ideas).
An example of this tendency is when people talk about a family issue.
Many aspects apply to it (a situation, time, people, interactions, etc.), but a mind convergence them into one concept.
This is how sensations become external figures in Gestalt psychotherapy theory.
They are external because of their needless character.
Only when the sensation or concept generates a need or desire they occur as internal figures, which are a subject of a person’s cycle of experience (Grzesiuk, 2005).
In the next step, the sensation is transformed into a figure
It’s the point when it becomes interesting.
This transformation is only possible because of awareness of the figures.
And it is necessary for the need to be fulfilled (or in other words for the figure to merge with the background).
But can’t fulfillment happen without conscious effort? For example, with instinctive behaviors?
It can, but not always.
And therefore, consciousness appears.
Most needs require it. But what is consciousness?
Well, it means being aware of something. And why is it? Because there is a need for it?! Is this answer satisfying?
Maybe not, but I will not concentrate on this dilemma in this article. For some reason, nature provided us with that, and we created ways to make survival easier, more enjoyable, and more interesting.
Let’s continue.
When the figure is a subject of consciousness it starts to differentiate from the background.
It brings an unpleasant feeling of stress.
This agitation motivates an organism to act.
Action can fulfill the need and make a person feel free from pain. People can skip to the last step of the cycle by observing upcoming figures without acting.
This is very common in meditation.
A Meditator simply takes notice of what is happening and lets go of trying to control it or engage with it.
This of course is not usually the case with many people, because many if not most needs cannot be fulfilled without action.
Through action, a person encounters the figure or the environment.
This phase is called contact.
People feed themselves during that period.
They experience the outside world by expressing themselves and communicating with it.
People take something from contacting others, which leads to the fulfillment of psychological, emotional, and physiological needs.
Then comes digestion of this experience and a person decides whether he is satisfied.
If that happens people go to the last step.
Letting go.
It results in the figure merging with the background (in other words the figure being destroyed).
This allows a new experience to complete the cycle, and an organism can self-regulate and unfold a true self.
This is what a successful process of figures merging with the background looks like. A healthy organism will go through this cycle continuously without stopping on any of the phases (look at graph 1 on page 4).
The cycle can be disrupted at every step, which is especially common among unhealthy, neurotic personalities.
If you see yourself not being able to go through your experiences completely, then it might be good for you to meditate or consult a Gestalt therapist.
Remember mental health should not be downplayed or taken for granted.
Take good care of yourself.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article.
If you would like to learn how to meditate, consult a psychologist, or have other business offers you can contact me via e-mail grzegorzfranzfigurski@outlook.com.
Have a great day :)
References:
Chu, V. (2017). Psychoterapia Gestalt (Transl. S. Lisiecka, A. Wilkolazka). Wydawnictwo OD DO 2013.
Grzesiuk, L. (2005). Psychoterapia. Teoria. Wydawnictwo ENETEIA.
