Contact is defined by Corey (2015) as being made by seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and moving. The empty chair exercise was a great example of contact according to Gestalt theory. Sidney was physically moving from chair to chair which seemed to help him get into the mentality of each role he was assigned by the therapist (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, n.d.). Not only did it help him better understand his anxiety, but it also helped him understand his feelings toward his anxiety. Awareness, according to Corey (2015), includes knowing the environment, knowing oneself, accepting oneself, and being able to make contact. This was displayed in the empty chair exercise by Sidney being able to fully understand himself and his anxiety. He may have thought he did not understand his anxiety before this session, but it is obvious from watching the video that he did all along and it took something like this exercise in order to make him fully aware. He was able to face the reality of his anxiety, the major underlying cause, and what his anxiety does to him.
2. As a counselor-in-training watching this session, what is your personal reaction to Gestalt theory? Does the idea of an unstructured theory that relies on experimentation directed by the counselor make you comfortable or uncomfortable? Why?
My personal reaction as a counselor in training is that I can definitely see the benefits of this theory. It is a very client-led process and I like that about it. A lot of Sidney's moments of clarity were from his own self-reflection from having a conversation with his anxiety. It provides a good source of autonomy for a client which is extremely beneficial to them. I would say it makes me neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. I am somewhere in the middle of those two. It is something that would be a learning process. Again, I like that is is mostly the client who arrives at their own conclusions and I like that about it. I think the counselor is just there to give directives so the client is able to get there on their own. It is something I would definitely like to try some day.
References
Corey, G. (2015). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (n.d.). Counseling and psychotherapy theories in context and practice. [Streaming video]. Retrieved from Psychotherapy.net database.