We work with clients, using Gestalt therapy modality, to help them identify what they prefer. And this act of a person deciding what they prefer is an act of personal freedom. Why? Because it allows clients to see that they have a choice. It is a very powerful way for them to move closer to their authentic self.
Through our therapy practice, we work with people to help them discover and identify their authentic self. Then, we help them embrace, accept, and actualize that authentic self. The real work in any kind of therapy founded in Gestalt principles is to unpack or heal whatever parts of themselves (jobs, trauma, relationships, anxiety, etc) might be getting in the way of moving toward their authentic self.
In discovering and reclaiming their authentic selves, our therapists help clients overcome any resistance they may encounter. This resistance may present as defense mechanisms, or “armor”, which we consciously or subconsciously build around our minds, our hearts, or our bodies, in response to various circumstances.
Our team refers to these responses or defense mechanisms as “Creative Adjustments.”
Let’s back up for a moment.
When we are very young, if our contact with our environment (parents, caregivers, siblings, etc.) is sufficient, satisfactory, and supporting, then we internalize these positive messages and gain a sense of freedom, confidence, ease, etc. We are in a healthy contact cycle.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many people. In big and small ways throughout our lives, sometimes the contact we have with our external environment is less than satisfactory, unsupportive, and insufficient. When this happens, we make creative adjustments mentally, emotionally, socially, and even physically to compensate for what is missing.
We adjust ourselves to make do. And we learn this from a very early age, even when we aren’t aware we’re doing it. Consider a crying baby. Babies generally cry when they are hungry. They send a signal to those around them that they are hungry and wish to have this need met. If someone feeds them, the need has been met. If no one comes, they will eventually stop crying…however they haven’t stopped being hungry. They have simply adjusted themselves to cut off from that hunger and not have that need. This is what we call an unmet need. Yes, they survived and adjusted themselves, but the need didn’t go away.
The crying baby is but one example, but consider all of the unmet needs throughout your life and all of the creative adjustments you’ve had to make to the present day. As an adult, the unmet needs we carry are still there. And, they can often present as “interruptions” or disruptors in our life. They can affect our interaction with the outside world. They can affect us as we date, marry, or enter into any kind of partner or romantic relationship. They can affect us at work, with friends, and in social circles. And, they can affect us as we parent our own children.
Gestalt therapy invites a level of mindfulness and present day awareness for each client to better understand why they are thinking, feeling, or acting a certain way based on the adjustments they’ve made throughout their life to compensate for unmet needs. When working with one of our trained therapists at Kathryn Grooms & Associates Psychotherapy in New York City, we meet clients where they are. We are dedicated to supporting and empowering every client as they move through the exciting and often challenging process of change and growth.
Internationally known Gestalt therapist, Dr. Elinor Greenerg noted, “Most of us are in our bodies and we don’t know we’re not in our bodies. And if we’re not in our bodies, we’re walking around in a state of unresolved trauma.”
The very nature of Gestalt therapy is to be ever-present and ever-mindful and to help clients get inside their bodies to recognize and process unresolved trauma. Ultimately, when the trauma is processed and resolved, the client can move closer to their authentic self and to living a happier, more authentic life.
