Registered Psychotherapist, Registered Gestalt Psychotherapist Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Gottman Trained Couples Therapist
"The Gestalt perspective is inherently relational.
Anxiety symptoms experienced in the body are understood as individual expressions of relational suffering (Roubal, Gecele, & Francesetti, 2013) when the individual’s process of contacting with other people lacks spontaneity and fluidity.
In such cases, the style of interpersonal contact is rigidly distorted by fixed relational patterns, and needs are not being met within relationships.
Relating to others and oneself according to a need to “do the right thing” could be one example of such distortions, narrowing the possibilities of experience and of creative adjustment (Robine, 2013).
The flow of figure/ground formation becomes disrupted, because the person fears taking risks to find creative ways
toward mutually satisfactory contact.
While the arousal is present, the organism is inhibited or even paralyzed.
In therapy, support is needed to transform anxiety into fluid and creative excitement.
The support comes from the therapeutic relationship, in which the needs of the client are recognized and validated.
In the safe therapeutic situation, the client’s inhibition is reduced and the arousal of her/his organism can be directed towards an expression of relationally felt needs.
A client's experience could then be:
“With the therapist I can risk being my way without judging it as right or wrong”.
The paralyzing anxiety is transformed into an excitement of discovering new creative ways of contact.
The client experiments with them first in the safe psychotherapeutic relationship and later also with other people
(Herrera, Mstibovskyi, Roubal & Brownell, 2018)."
If reading the above creates anxiety for you, you need to call me and come in feel what gestalt therapy can do.
Reading about it is not helping is it?
I didn't think so!
Call me... let's be anxious together.
You are not alone, yes I have had panic attacks before... thought I was going to die.