As human beings, we have the innate desire to live a vibrant, happy and healthy life, and to share that life with people we love. Yet, we also have our places of hurt and woundedness. These hurts, real or perceived, lead us to create ways of protecting ourselves from further harm and disappointment. Gestalt therapists call these protective measures “creative adjustments.” They served us well, and perhaps were even necessary when we were young, and didn’t understand life or ourselves and our environments fully yet.
Once we reach adulthood, we often forget the reasons we were protecting ourselves, or that we were even doing so. Yet, those protective measures have become automatic, quite often coloring how we are experiencing our current relationships, and invariably leading to confusion, tensions and other difficulties.
The word Gestalt means “whole.” Using Gestalt techniques, we discover the patterned behavior and emotion that is outdated, and no longer serving us. We fill in our understanding of ourselves and our environments, past and present, heal the hurts, and complete learning that was incomplete in the past. Then we “experiment” with alternative ways of behaving and communicating, ways that are freer, deeper and more pure and complete. Finally, I support you in bringing your learning into your current relationships and endeavors.
Gestalt therapy is a very active and creative model of therapy, resulting in change on the cellular level of our memory, and leading to robust and lasting change in all facets of life.
