Gestalt Therapy Exercises

Gestalt Therapy Exercises: A Guide to Self-Exploration and Personal Growth

Gestalt therapy is a holistic approach to understanding and improving oneself. Through various exercises, individuals can gain insight into their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Gestalt therapy exercises are designed to promote self-awareness, personal growth, and enhance one’s ability to live in the present moment.

Gestalt refers to the concept that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. The underlying goal of gestalt therapy is to experience the whole rather than the individual parts. Fritz Perls, the modern founder of gestalt therapy, suggests that it is the Gestalt therapist’s job to walk a client step-by-step through the process of rediscovering the parts of themselves that they have disowned. However, according to Perls, the work is the client’s responsibility. He wrote, “but the person has to discover this by seeing for himself, by listening for himself, by uncovering what is there, by grasping for himself, by becoming ambidextrous instead of closed and so on” (Perls, 1992).

The holes in our personality are a product of avoidance. We run from different aspects of ourselves. Perhaps, we are afraid of what we might find. So, we change therapists, leave marriages, and quit jobs. To combat the patient’s tendency to run from themselves, Perls developed a series of therapeutic techniques to assist clients rediscover the ‘holes’. Michael Vincent Williams wrote that “the search for a workable solution in the present gives gestalt therapy its impetus to improvise and experiment rather than to explain” (Perls, 1992).

A basic tenet of Gestalt therapy is awareness. The games, exercises, and experiments work to heighten awareness of buried and denied parts of the self. Perls explains that “awareness per se—by and of itself—can be curative” (Perls, 1992).

In this article, we will explore some common Gestalt therapy exercises and their benefits. Remember, it’s important to approach these exercises with an open mind and a willingness to explore your thoughts and feelings.

Fundamental Guidance

Perls explains that the Gestalt techniques revolve around two sets of guidelines. He refers to these guidelines as:

• Rules
• Games (exercises)

The Gestalt Rules

The Gestalt rules are limited and formal. Perls suggests that therapist formally present the rules before embarking on the Gestalt therapy exercises (or games).

The Principle of Now

Abraham Levitsky explains that “the idea of the now, of the immediate moment, of the content and structure of present experience is one of the most potent, most pregnant, and most elusive principles of Gestalt therapy” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, pp. 140-141). A Gestalt therapist will promote now awareness by encouraging communication about present experience, bringing the client back to the present through thoughtful questions:

• What is your present awareness?
• What is happening now?
• What do you feel in this moment?
• What is your now?

Material from the past or worries about the future are not irrelevant in Gestalt therapy. They are significant because they are actively felt in the present. During Gestalt therapy exercises, the therapist skillfully guides the client back to the present to examine how the past and future is impacting the client in the present.

I and Thou

The I and Thou rule refers to the concept that communication has both a sender and receiver. Levitsky and Perls commented that “The patient often behaves as if his words are aimed at the blank wall or at thin air” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, pp. 141). We have a tendency to talk at instead of to the receiver, or talk vaguely about situations, avoiding the true subject of our thoughts.

For example, we may say, “parents shouldn’t treat children that way.” A Gestalt therapist may redirect our sentence asking, “who are you speaking to?” This may encourage the client to rephrase in an I and Thou mode. “Mom you shouldn’t have treated me that way.” The concept is to use communication in such a manner that we Touch the other with our words.

“It” Language and “I” Language

This rule refers to semantics and responsibility. We tend to distance ourselves from our own experience through ‘it’ language.

• What do you feel in your eye?
  It is blinking.
• What is your hand doing?
  It is trembling.
• What do you experience in your throat?
  It is choked.
• What do you hear in your voice?
  It is sobbing.

The Gestalt therapist assists the client in rephrasing ‘it’ statements into ‘I’ statements. “my eye is blinking,” “my hand is trembling,” “my throat is choked” and “my voice is sobbing.” When possible, we can even improve on these statements, by using ‘I.’ For example we can say, “I am sobbing” or “I am trembling.” The use of ‘I’ expresses ownership.

I have an acquaintance that refers to her body parts in the third person, even chastising them when they hurt. Accordingly, she is not inclined to enact personal behaviors, such as physical therapy, to help improve some of her ailments. Our language, and use of words aid in distancing ourselves from physical and emotional pain. Consequently, through distancing, we limit personal responsibility and lose motivation for healing the wounds interfering with our wellness.

Use of Awareness Continuum

The use of the awareness continuum—the ‘how’ of experience is foundational to Gestalt therapy. This rule requires the therapist to continue to direct awareness back to the present.

In this method, the therapist gently brings the client back to awareness.

T.: What are you feeling now?
P.: Now I am aware of talking to you. I see the others in the room. I feel the tension in my shoulders. And I get anxious to say this.
T.: How do you experience anxiety?
P.: My voice quivers, my hands are shaking.
T.: Can you take responsibility for that?
P.: I Hear quivering in my voice. I am shaking.

The Gestalt therapist uses each game or experiment to bring the client back to the present, following their experience through a continuum of awareness. “What are you feeling now?”

No Gossiping

Gossiping in Gestalt therapy refers to talking about someone in the group or someone not present without addressing the comments directly to that person. In a group setting, the therapist will have the person gossiping to turn and face the other they are talking about, use their name, and directly address them in their comments. If a person is talking about someone not present, the therapist may use an empty chair, ask the speaker to address the empty chair as if the person they were addressing were sitting in the chair (Harman, 1974).

Asking Questions

Many questions are not used to receive information but around about way of making a statement. Genuine questions are to be distinguished from hypocritical questions. When a therapist detects questions that are not actually seeking new information, the therapist should ask the client to restate the question as a statement.

Perls wrote this about questions. “This manipulation of the environment by playing certain roles is the characteristic of the neurotic — is the characteristic of our remaining immature. So you must already get an idea how much of our energy goes into manipulating the world instead of using this energy creatively for our own development.”

He explains that this especially “applies to asking questions. You know the proverb, ‘One fool can ask more questions than a thousand wise men can answer.’ All the answers are given. Most questions are simply inventions to torture ourselves and other people. The way to develop our own intelligence is by changing every question into a statement. If you change your question into a statement, the background out of which the question arose opens up, and the possibilities are found by the questioner himself.” (Perls, 1992, p. 55).

The Gestalt Therapy Exercises (Games)

Much of the Gestalt literature refers to the exercises as games. Often they are used interchangeably. Some Gestalt experts differentiate between the different terms. Therapists and group instructors may use different techniques for implementing the different exercises. Robert Harman defines an exercise as “an activity that is proposed to an individual or a group with some fairly specific instructions given” (Harman, 1974).

For instance, a therapist may instruct a client or group to join in a game of fantasy. John Stevens provided an example of a fantasy in his book on Gestalt therapy exercises. He wrote:

Now I’d like you to imagine that you are a rosebush. Become a rosebush, and discover what it is like to be this rosebush. . . . Just let your fantasy develop on its own and see what you can discover about being a rosebush…What kind of rosebush are you? Where are you growing? What are your roots like, and what kind of ground are you rooted in? See if you can feel your roots going down into the ground. What are your stems and branches like? How do you feel as this rosebush? What is your life like as this rosebush? What do you experience, and what happens to you as the seasons change? Continue to discover even more details about your existence as this rosebush, how you feel about your life, and what happens to you. Let your fantasy continue for awhile…” (Stevens, 1971, p. 39).

Purpose for Gestalt Therapy Exercises

A therapist may use an exercise for a number of reasons. Often, they serve to relieve tension and open up deeper awareness and freedom of expression. However, when an exercise delves a little deeper into emotions, voyaging into uncharted territories of the psyche, we refer to this as an experiment. “Let’s go a little deeper, and see what we find.”

A Few Gestalt Therapy Exercises (Games)

The Games, on the other hand, are numerous. There is no definitive list of possible games and exercises that an ingenuous therapist may devise to help clients on their journey of self awareness. Stevens presents hundreds of games in his book. However, he warns “the experiments in this book are tools. Like any tools, they can be used skillfully or clumsily; they can be unused or misused” (Stevens, 1971).

The Empty Chair:

A common method used in gestalt therapy is the empty chair. This game is played by a client sitting in one chair and imagine someone or something that they have unfinished business with sitting in the other chair. They then proceed to engage in a dialogue with the imaginary person, expressing their thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

By visualizing the person or situation in the chair, the client can gain clarity, closure, and a deeper understanding of their unresolved feelings. This exercise helps them address unresolved conflicts and work towards resolution.

Games of Dialogue:

In ‘games of dialogue’, the therapist may use the two chair technique. However, in this Gestalt therapy exercise the client will address splits or divisions in their personality. What is being examined is our naturally occurring internal dissonance between different parts of our self. The client will then have a dialogue with the different opposing parts of themselves, imagining the other part is in the empty seat. The client should move back and forth between the two chairs representing both sides of the conflict.

Perls adds that “at times the dialogue game can even be applied with various body parts such as right hand versus left, or upper body versus lower. The dialogue can also be developed between the patient and some significant person. The patient simply addresses the person as if he were there, imagines the response, replies to the response, etc…” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, p. 145).

Making the Rounds:

This Gestalt therapy exercise addresses violation of the no gossiping rule. A member of a group may make a comment or expression referring to one or more members of the group. The therapist may then choose to use the making the rounds game. “When the therapist notices some particular theme or topic that involves other group members, he may ask the patient to make the rounds and communicate this to each member of the group” (Harman, 1974).

Unfinished Business:

Whenever discussions reveal unfinished business, the therapist will ask the client to complete it. This Gestalt therapy exercise can done on the empty chair, through dialogue with whoever is involved in the unfinished business. Perhaps, the unfinished business may be with a parent or adult child. Accordingly, a client would have the discussion with the parent or child, imagining that they are in the other chair.

I Take Responsibility:

In the “I take responsibility for it” game, the therapist requests that the client complete each phrase with “… and I take responsibility for it.” This game helps redirect awareness to our own responsibility to direct our lives, escaping habitual patterns of denial and blaming.

I have a Secret:

We all have secrets. Some of our personal encounters and experiences infect our minds, creating flows of guilt and shame. In the Gestalt therapy “I have a secret” exercise “each person thinks of a well-guarded personal secret. He is instructed not to share the secret itself but to imagine (project) how he feels others would react to it. A further step can then be for each person to boast about what a terrible secret he nurses. The unconscious attachment to the secret as a precious achievement now begins to come to light” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, p. 146).

Playing the Projection:

Many of our perceptions are projections. We project certain characteristics onto others and then perceive these projections as fact. IN order to bring our projections to the surface, a therapist may choose the ‘playing the projection’ game. In this Gestalt therapy exercise, “the patient who says, ‘I can’t trust you,’ may be asked to play the role of an untrustworthy person in order to discover his own inner conflict in this area” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, p. 146).

Reversals:

Often overt behavior is in opposition to internal impulses. This is the bases of the defensive mechanism of reaction formation. In the gestalt exercise of reversals, when the therapist feels the client is acting out the opposite of some underlying feeling, the therapist asks the client to play the reverse. Accordingly, the client the reversal may accurately match the underlying feeling, helping the patient identify with their true self.

Perls explains that “a benefit which comes from developing your ability to see things in reverse—to be uncommittedly interested in the opposites—is the power to make your own evaluations.” He continues to explain, that if “the patient can come to feel within his own personality the actual clash of opposite evaluations without being swept off his feet or compelled, then, instead of being a person who feels himself as always being judged, he will begin to feel what actually is the case—that, ultimately, he himself is the person who does the judging” (Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman, 1951, p. 46).

The Rhythm of Contact and Withdrawal:

This exercise is in line with the Gestalt perception of the wholeness of life, with all its complexities and contradictions. Our social experience is the same. We need contact and withdrawal. Perls explains that “the natural inclination toward withdrawal from contact which a patient will experience from time to time, is not dealt with as resistance to be overcome but as a rhythmic response to be respected.” Accordingly, Perls instructs that when a patient wishes to withdraw, the therapist should facilitate this momentary break by asking the patient to close their eyes and “withdraw in fantasy to any place or situation in which he feels secure.” Next, the client can describe the scene and associated feeling. The therapist then invites the restored client to open his eyes and come back to the group (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, p. 147).

Rehearsal:

We spend a great deal of time planning and rehearsing what we are going to do and say. Perls suggests our internal rehearsals portray our need to play our expected roles. In the Gestalt exercise of rehearing, the therapist asks the client to share their rehearsals. This assists the client to become “aware of how they prepare for their social roles” (Harman, 1974).

Exaggeration:

We communicate both verbally and non-verbally. Often, we are unaware of the messages we project from the non-verbal expressions. In an attempt to develop self-monitoring skills, a Gestalt therapist will call attention to the subtle non-verbal communications and ask the client to exaggerate them. Harman explains that “by exaggerating the movements the meaning may become clear” (Harman, 1974).

May I Feed You a Sentence:

While listening to a client, the therapist may feel that the client is implying a certain message without consciously recognizing their communication. In these events, the Gestalt therapist may use the “may I feed you a sentence” game. In this Gestalt exercise, the therapist gives the client a sentence and instructs, “say it and try it on for size.” The therapist and client then explore how the sentence made them feel. The therapist is not trying to sell a particular interpretation. Perls explains, “if the proposed sentence is truly a key sentence, spontaneous development of the idea will be supplied by the patient” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, p. 148).

Gestalt Therapy Exercises for Marriage Counseling:

In marriage therapy, a Gestalt therapist will have partners sit, facing each other. Often the games will include feeding the partners partial sentences and have them complete them. A few examples of this are:

• I resent you for…
• What I appreciate in you is…
• I spite you by…
• I am compliant by…

The discovery theme where partners describe each other in sentences. This is accomplished by beginning the sentences with “I see…”

Can You Stay with this Feeling?

Throughout therapy during the games, clients discover new feelings. When the therapist recognizes these discoveries, they stop the action for a moment, asking the patient, “can you stay with this feeling?” This process helps bring the new experience to significance. We have a tendency to jump from new feelings. Their oddness brings discomfort. As a consequence, we then forget and avoid repeating the experience.

The gestalt therapist “encourages the patient to undertake a ‘chewing up’ and painstaking assimilation of emotional dimensions of life that have hitherto been unpleasant to the taste” (Perls & Levitsky, 1971, p. 149).

A Few Words by Psychology Fanatic

Gestalt therapy exercises offer a powerful means of self-exploration and personal growth. By engaging in these exercises, you can gain insight into your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, leading to deeper self-awareness and a greater sense of fulfillment. However, most Gestalt therapist temper expectations by reminding that the goals of their therapy is not washing away personal problems.

Stevens explains that the goal of gestalt exercises are not to “adjust you to society.” Rather the object of the exercises are to “help the you to adjust to yourself—help you to discover your own reality, your own existence, your own humanness, and be more comfortable” (Stevens, 1971).

Last Update: April 17, 2024

Remember, these exercises are best explored with the guidance of a trained therapist who can provide support and facilitate the exploration process. Embrace the journey of self-discovery and unlock your potential to lead a more fulfilling life.

Resources:

Harman, Robert L. (1974). Techniques of Gestalt therapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 5(3), 257-263. DOI: 10.1037/h0037289

Perls, Frederick S. (1969/1992). Gestalt Therapy Verbatim. ‎ The Gestalt Journal Press; 2nd Revised ed. edition.

Perls. Frederick S., Levitsky, Abraham (1971). The Rules and Games of Gestalt Therapy. In Gestalt Therapy Now: Theory, Techniques, Applications. Editors Joen Fagan & Irma Lee Shepherd. New York : Harper & Row.

Perls, Frederick S.; Hefferline, Ralph; Goodman, Paul (2011/1951). Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. The Gestalt Journal Press.

Stevens, John O. (1971). Awareness: Exploring, Experimenting, Experiencing. Real People Press.

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