Gestalt Therapy & Emotional Intelligence
Gestalt therapy focuses on clients' perceptions of
them selves and the world. It is based on the recognition that
people unconsciously organize their perceptions as
gestalt: a meaningful integrated whole. A Gestalt therapist
uses a variety of techniques, including role play in
an effort to stimulate the client to express strong emotions.
Perls the founder of Gestalt therapy, stressed
the relationships among distorted perceptions, motivations,
and emotions. Perls's therapy was a function of
his personality. He could be inspiring and manipulative,
perceptive and hostile. He says in his autobiography, "I
believe I am the best therapist for any type of neurosis
in the States, maybe in the world. . . . At the same
time I have to admit that I cannot work successfully
with everybody" (Perls, 1969). Unlike most humanistic
therapists, who stress the importance of unconditional
positive regard for the client, Perls believed that the
therapist's main task was to frustrate the client, to
make him or her angry enough to fight out conflicts
with authority and thereby develop enhanced feelings of
self-worth. Perls believed that instead of trying to
reconstruct the history of the client's relationships with
others, the therapist should stress the client's moment to
moment experiences as each session progresses.
Gestalt therapists believe that anxiety and personality
disorders arise when people dissociate parts of
themselves, particularly their need for personal gratification,
from awareness. Because dreams often contain
clues to dissociated parts of the self gestalt therapists
encourage discussion and acting out of dream states.
The Cognitive Psychotherapies & Emotional Intelligence
The cognitive psychotherapies seek to correct misconceptions
that contribute to maladjustment, defeat, and
unhappiness. Imagine someone who, as a result of the
vicissitudes of life, develops a faulty belief to the effect
that "no one could possibly like me if I reveal my true
self." Such people are likely to spend time endlessly
avoiding others, avoiding spontaneous behavior, and
eating their hearts out in loneliness. Another set of circumstances
may convince someone that a series of incidents
of "bad luck" mean that whatever happens next is
likely to be disastrous. Thereupon the individual becomes
fearful of the immediate future. Or, after many
frustrations and conflicts, a person becomes so anxious
that he or she is convinced that a "nervous breakdown"
is imminent. The person then tries to avoid all stress
even though the best approach would probably be subjection
to normal stresses since success in handling them
would provide the only convincing evidence of mental
well-being.
Since opinions, beliefs, or conceptions are ordinarily
formed on the basis of evidence, adequate or inadequate,
we can also assume that beliefs are modified by
evidence, adequate or inadequate. Thus, in order to
modify their misconceptions clients must review the evidence
in some way. Psychotherapy may, in fact, provide
one of the few situations in which individuals are encouraged
to think somewhat systematically about their
beliefs, particularly their beliefs about themselves. A
number of psychotherapeutic approaches share the assumption
that maladaptive behavior is a product of unrealistic
perceptions and conditions. Various cognitive
therapies use different tactics in redirecting the way
people see and interpret their experiences, but they all
generally reject the Freudian emphasis on the powerful
role of unconscious drives.
An early cognitive approach to therapy was developed
led him to ask clients to examine
the roles they played in interacting with others and the
assumptions underlying those roles.
Kelly encouraged his clients to practice new
roles and relationships. Kelly saw people as problem solvers
whose faulty beliefs and assumptions often lead
to undesirable solutions to the problems of living. According
to Kelly, by discussing the client's personal constructs
and social roles, the therapist helps the client
question and reevaluate aspects of his or her life that
arouse anxiety. He believes that self-defeating thinking is at the root
of maladaptive behavior. Such thinking is based on arbitrary,
inaccurate assumptions about oneself and others. It is often marked by ideas like:
"I must always be friendly to people," I must not disappoint
my parents," "I must be a big success." In rational-
emotive therapy these musts are seen as causes of
emotional arousal, which, if maintained at too high a
level for too long a time, causes psychological and
physical wearing down. Most of these and other self defeating
musts were pounded into our heads as children
and we tend to accept them without question.
Thus, rational-emotive therapy has two goals: to get
people to question these fundamental, but mistaken,
beliefs, and then to exchange them for more constructive
ones.
During the course of therapy the cognitive therapist
actually demonstrates the ways in which unrealistic
self-verbalizations can create or worsen emotional
problems. The therapist also actively questions and
contradicts faulty, unreasonable assumptions by the
client and suggests alternative ways of thinking. Role
playing is often used, with the therapist demonstrating
the behavioral consequences of different types of
beliefs.
[Aaron Beck's (1976) cognitive therapy is also directed toward
the thoughts that underlie intense, persistent
emotional reaction Beck's technique involves frequent,
gentle questioning of the client about the basis
for what he or she is saying. Beck speaks of "automatic
thoughts" that seem to arise by themselves, without reasoning.
These thoughts are accepted as valid even
though they are not the products of rational consideration
of alternatives. Children who simply accept their
parents' values without questioning them are engaging
in automatic thought. According to Beck, therapy
should be aimed at terminating automatic thinking and
replacing it with thoughts that result from rational consideration
of alternative.
Beck's cognitive therapy has been used with
various forms of maladaptive behavior, but he has
specialized in work with depressed people. In this
work, emphasis is placed on the irrational ideas that
contribute to feelings of depression and thoughts of
suicide.
them selves and the world. It is based on the recognition that
people unconsciously organize their perceptions as
gestalt: a meaningful integrated whole. A Gestalt therapist
uses a variety of techniques, including role play in
an effort to stimulate the client to express strong emotions.
Perls the founder of Gestalt therapy, stressed
the relationships among distorted perceptions, motivations,
and emotions. Perls's therapy was a function of
his personality. He could be inspiring and manipulative,
perceptive and hostile. He says in his autobiography, "I
believe I am the best therapist for any type of neurosis
in the States, maybe in the world. . . . At the same
time I have to admit that I cannot work successfully
with everybody" (Perls, 1969). Unlike most humanistic
therapists, who stress the importance of unconditional
positive regard for the client, Perls believed that the
therapist's main task was to frustrate the client, to
make him or her angry enough to fight out conflicts
with authority and thereby develop enhanced feelings of
self-worth. Perls believed that instead of trying to
reconstruct the history of the client's relationships with
others, the therapist should stress the client's moment to
moment experiences as each session progresses.
Gestalt therapists believe that anxiety and personality
disorders arise when people dissociate parts of
themselves, particularly their need for personal gratification,
from awareness. Because dreams often contain
clues to dissociated parts of the self gestalt therapists
encourage discussion and acting out of dream states.
The Cognitive Psychotherapies & Emotional Intelligence
The cognitive psychotherapies seek to correct misconceptions
that contribute to maladjustment, defeat, and
unhappiness. Imagine someone who, as a result of the
vicissitudes of life, develops a faulty belief to the effect
that "no one could possibly like me if I reveal my true
self." Such people are likely to spend time endlessly
avoiding others, avoiding spontaneous behavior, and
eating their hearts out in loneliness. Another set of circumstances
may convince someone that a series of incidents
of "bad luck" mean that whatever happens next is
likely to be disastrous. Thereupon the individual becomes
fearful of the immediate future. Or, after many
frustrations and conflicts, a person becomes so anxious
that he or she is convinced that a "nervous breakdown"
is imminent. The person then tries to avoid all stress
even though the best approach would probably be subjection
to normal stresses since success in handling them
would provide the only convincing evidence of mental
well-being.
Since opinions, beliefs, or conceptions are ordinarily
formed on the basis of evidence, adequate or inadequate,
we can also assume that beliefs are modified by
evidence, adequate or inadequate. Thus, in order to
modify their misconceptions clients must review the evidence
in some way. Psychotherapy may, in fact, provide
one of the few situations in which individuals are encouraged
to think somewhat systematically about their
beliefs, particularly their beliefs about themselves. A
number of psychotherapeutic approaches share the assumption
that maladaptive behavior is a product of unrealistic
perceptions and conditions. Various cognitive
therapies use different tactics in redirecting the way
people see and interpret their experiences, but they all
generally reject the Freudian emphasis on the powerful
role of unconscious drives.
An early cognitive approach to therapy was developed
led him to ask clients to examine
the roles they played in interacting with others and the
assumptions underlying those roles.
Kelly encouraged his clients to practice new
roles and relationships. Kelly saw people as problem solvers
whose faulty beliefs and assumptions often lead
to undesirable solutions to the problems of living. According
to Kelly, by discussing the client's personal constructs
and social roles, the therapist helps the client
question and reevaluate aspects of his or her life that
arouse anxiety. He believes that self-defeating thinking is at the root
of maladaptive behavior. Such thinking is based on arbitrary,
inaccurate assumptions about oneself and others. It is often marked by ideas like:
"I must always be friendly to people," I must not disappoint
my parents," "I must be a big success." In rational-
emotive therapy these musts are seen as causes of
emotional arousal, which, if maintained at too high a
level for too long a time, causes psychological and
physical wearing down. Most of these and other self defeating
musts were pounded into our heads as children
and we tend to accept them without question.
Thus, rational-emotive therapy has two goals: to get
people to question these fundamental, but mistaken,
beliefs, and then to exchange them for more constructive
ones.
During the course of therapy the cognitive therapist
actually demonstrates the ways in which unrealistic
self-verbalizations can create or worsen emotional
problems. The therapist also actively questions and
contradicts faulty, unreasonable assumptions by the
client and suggests alternative ways of thinking. Role
playing is often used, with the therapist demonstrating
the behavioral consequences of different types of
beliefs.
[Aaron Beck's (1976) cognitive therapy is also directed toward
the thoughts that underlie intense, persistent
emotional reaction Beck's technique involves frequent,
gentle questioning of the client about the basis
for what he or she is saying. Beck speaks of "automatic
thoughts" that seem to arise by themselves, without reasoning.
These thoughts are accepted as valid even
though they are not the products of rational consideration
of alternatives. Children who simply accept their
parents' values without questioning them are engaging
in automatic thought. According to Beck, therapy
should be aimed at terminating automatic thinking and
replacing it with thoughts that result from rational consideration
of alternative.
Beck's cognitive therapy has been used with
various forms of maladaptive behavior, but he has
specialized in work with depressed people. In this
work, emphasis is placed on the irrational ideas that
contribute to feelings of depression and thoughts of
suicide.