What are the dangers of unfinished business?
The popular term “gestalt” can increasingly be heard not only from psychologists, but also from representatives of related professions. With its help they try to explain how we make decisions, gain knowledge, think, perform certain actions (and how they affect the rest of our lives). But not many people know what the method is based on. Let’s get into the details together with a Gestalt therapist.
What does the term “Gestalt” mean?
In German it is translated as “form”. And the verb “gestalten” (gestalten) means “to give form, to give a certain structure. Therefore, on the one hand, a gestalt is a structured whole that carries meaning. On the other hand, it is the process of giving form.
Using visual images, a gestalt can be compared, for example, to a vacuum cleaner. The appliance will be a Gestalt, but the set of parts for it will not. What kind of form is it, then, that has a certain structure?
How does contact occur?
The person approaches the object that he thinks can satisfy his need, evaluates its possibilities and qualities, takes certain actions aimed at getting what he needs. After the result he draws conclusions – to what extent the interaction was satisfactory.
If, as a result of the contact, his or her need has been closed, the decision is made to continue interacting with this object. If not, it becomes necessary to look for other ways to fulfill the request.
One can take the search for information about an event as an example. A person shows interest in something and wants to know more about it. He looks for information on the Internet or contacts acquaintances in order to find a suitable source of knowledge. Someone advises him to look at a particular site. He opens the resource, gets all the information he is interested in and satisfies his interest. The Gestalt is closed.
And there are a lot of similar actions in our lives. From a simple hunger quenching to a complex answer to find the meaning of life.
But it happens that a person doesn’t know how to identify his or her true needs, or cuts off contact in the middle of the process, or can’t appropriate the experience. In this case, cognitive dissonance occurs. The person begins to experience difficulties, dissatisfaction with life, anxiety, anger.
In this case, therapy is necessary to help develop the ability to relate. Gestalt therapy works with these tasks.
