- Course CPD Units: 3 – Clinical
COURSE STRUCTURE
Upon completion of this module practitioners should have a clear understanding of:
- Gestalt therapy boosts empowerment and wellbeing for clients with common mental disorders.
- Therapy should be tailored: body awareness for low integration, self-regulation for moderate integration.
- No major personality changes after 30 sessions; long-term effects need more study
Introduction
Introduction: Empowerment is central to self-development and growth in Gestalt therapy. The self evolves through interactions with others, forming self- and object relations, and ego-functions. Underlying structural functions build the ability to regulate, dierentiate, and integrate experiences, leading to self-, and emotion-regulation. Our study examined the self development of seven clients with prevalent mental health issues and structural challenges, all of whom underwent 30 sessions of Gestalt therapy in a real-world individual therapy context.
Methods: Using amultiple case study approach, we contrasted two client groups: those with moderately integrated and those with low-integrated personality structures, as defined by the operationalised psychodynamic diagnostic manual. Our exploration centered on specific factors of empowerment, therapy processes, and interventions. The study’s mixed-method design encompassed quantitative outcome measures (empowerment, wellbeing, psychosocial health, and severity of personality functioning), therapy diaries from both clients and therapists, and semi structured client interviews about empowering factors in therapy.
Results: Both groups showed positive therapy outcomes on wellbeing, psychosocial health, and empowerment. Specific empowerment-related factors included promoting experiences, relationships, and self-effcacy in the low- integrated group. Support of self-regulation was reported to be essential for successful outcomes in the moderately integrated group. While the therapy processes proceeded similarly in both groups, we observed a strong focus on body awareness-oriented interventions and promotion of verbalisation in the low-integrated group and a relationship-oriented emphasis in the moderately integrated group. Emotional experience linked to positive experience was limited in the low-integrated group, suggesting an impairment of emotional processing, including bodily felt feelings. No change was reported in the level of personality functioning after 30 sessions in both groups. Discussion: These results underscore the need for tailored therapeutic approaches based on the client’s level of personality integration. Future research should probe the long-term effects of therapy and delve deeper into shifts in personality functioning, especially concerning emotional and bodily experiences.
- Read the supplied reading material and complete the quiz that follows;
- You have three attempts to pass the quiz;
- The pass grade is 70%;
- You need to pass the quiz to claim your CPD certificate.
