Research Paper on:
Theory and Practice of Gestalt Counseling

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
organizing principles that determine what is perceived by human beings as a Gestalt (Holme, 1972). Followers of this branch of psychology emphasize the importance of the whole organism. The  Gestalt therapist has one main technique, which is to focus on what the individual is trying to avoid or what the individual is reluctant to face in his or  her everyday life. According to Perls, "Every individual, every plant, every animal has only one inborn goal -- to actualize itself as it is " (Passon, 1975, p. 15).  As this suggests, gestalt therapy is predicated on a positively-oriented theory that looks on the individual as a whole, rather than focusing on what are deemed to be problem areas.  Perls emphasized that a persons awareness of the world should constitute a meaningful whole (Holme, 1972). Passons (1975) states that the function of the Gestalt therapist is to  aid the client in developing his or her own awareness of the "now" (p. 21). "Awareness" is a key concept in the gestalt approach to therapy. Simkin feels that  "awareness," within the context of gestalt therapy refers to the capacity to focus on what is happening in the immediate present (Passons, 1975). Therefore, the therapist s most "protent tool"  is the therapists own awareness of the moment (Passon, 1975, p. 22). In other words, the therapist should be capable of perceiving the other persons perception and react to  it within the context of the client-therapist relationship. Passons (1975) stresses that the therapist should not interpret the behavior, but rather concentrate on the "what" and "how" of the persons  awareness of the moment. The assumption is that the most pressing need that the client as will emerge and so that it can be dealt with (Passons, 1975). Therefore,