What is gestalt coaching? - Chapter 5

In the fifth chapter, the gestalt approach to coaching will be discussed. A gestalt is a shape, pattern, configuration, the structural whole, the totality of a person, an organization or pattern of data. It is something that is whole in itself. In other words, gestalt refers to a unified or meaningful whole. The aim of the gestalt therapeutic approach is a process of becoming aware of what one is doing, how sone is doing it, and how one can change himself or herself, and at the same time, learn to accept and value himself or herself. Awareness and acceptance lead to wholeness through integration. 

How has gestalt coaching developed?

Pioneers to the field of gestalt coaching were Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967) and Kurt Koffka (1886-1941). Their idea of an 'interpreted world' radically changed the belief that there is an independent, objective reality. 

The originator of gestalt theory is Fritz Perls (1893-1970). Perls had a very rigorous and uncompromising attitude to how 'authentic' the therapist needed to be in the relationship with the client in order to help the client in 'confronting himself'. The intention of a very 'full' experience of the coachee, the coach, and the relationship between them in the here and now is a central part of a gestalt coaching therapy.

Fundamentally, gestalt is a holistic approach, so it makes sense that, in addition to the two developments described above, a third root of gestalt coaching is the practice of gestalt thinking with wider systems (such as families, teams and organizations). Work in this field is offered by, among others, Stanley Herman and Michael Korenich (1977) and Edwin Nevis (1987). 

Currently, there are shifts ongoing in the context of organizational work that may bring gestalt coaching more to the fore. There is a greater acceptance that individual, and indeed organizational, ability to thrive in an increasingly complex, ambiguous and uncertain context requires working with what is fuzzy and emergent. Gestalt coaching approaches embracing this context are growing in popularity. Further, gestalt coaching may have particular resonance as the concept of embodied and integrated leadership moves to a more central focus. 

What is the evidence base of gestalt coaching and what are the core theoretical elements?

Four numbers of core principles for gestalt coaching have been identified:

• The gestalt principle of perceptual organization: how we perceive things is the result of who we are at one moment in time. Further, we are predisposed to group similar things together, to see patterns, to see smooth lines or continuity where there might in fact be discontinuity and to see wholes, to make connections without conscious awareness that there was a gap to be filled. 
• Phenomenology: if perception and reality are subjective, then inciting the client to be curious about what they see, using descriptive methods rather than analytical methods, is of value. A careful, phenomenological approach to building awareness is likely to lead to developmental growth by, among others, allowing information we might usually judgementally filter out of conscious awareness actually come into our consciousness through acceptance and non-judgement.
• Dialogic existentialism: in gestalt approaches we exist at the point of dialogue with another. The medium by which awareness is realized in gestalt coaching is through dialogue at the contact boundary, that is, the boundary of self and other, by which we mean the individual's experience of what is 'me' and 'not me'. 
• Field theory: the pattern of data moves and shifts, bearing similarities, but never exactly the same as that which went before. Dynamic change is a constant in the gestalt worldview. Each moment is interrelated with others and includes the gestalt coach, the coachee and all that arrives with them. 

What might a gestalt coaching practice include?

One common practice tool is the cycle of experience: the process of becoming aware, individually or collectively, of what is going on at any moment. It is a seven stage cycle that might start with the client feeling not comfortable at all (sensation) and fear up until rest (final contact). The seven stages are:

1. Sensation
2. Awareness
3. Mobilization of energy
4. Action
5. Final contact
6. Satisfaction
7. Withdrawal

Allowing the initial sensation to develop into full awareness feeds into new cycles as different options and choices emerge, leading to even greater awareness. It follows that cycles of experience flow into one another, so rather than a discrete circle, a wave can be depicted which describes the flow of continuous experience. In doing so, there is not one wave, but multiple. Many aspects competing for attention, many possible figures that can be attended to. Slowing down to the present moment to increase our awareness of moments, to become fully aware of an experience, allows us to see so much more and hold a greater awareness of possible choices at any one time.

A second tool is blocks to awareness. Blocks to awareness are ways of creatively adjusting to reduce the level of contact experienced. These blocks occur at the contact boundary (self/other) and are not in themselves positive or negative adjustments. Instead, they need to be viewed in the context of the current situation. For example, I might have a hollow feeling in my stomach and interpret this as hunger. As I am in a meeting, I have no other option that to deflect the sensation and now allow hunger awareness to fully form. An appropriate response in the short term, but habitually blocking gestalt formation and completion at other points in the cycle may have an unhealthy impact over time. Desensitization is about turning away from a sensation and not allowing it to come into full awareness (such as the hunger in the example). Yet, if we are too de-sensitized, we lose touch with our self, those around us and the situations we are in.

When might a gestalt approach be most suitable?

When used in isolation from a gestalt stance (that is reduced to tools and techniques), gestalt practices could lead to an overwhelm for a client, suddenly faced with a lot of sensations and data that they (or the coach) have little skills or experiences to process. This in turn could lead to some panic and withdrawal of contact. Keeping people inside a circle of 'tried and tested' again and again, where nothing is ventured, is not likely to lead to new perspectives and choices. Hence, it is important to skilfully create the coaching space. The coach should create a coaching space that (a) suits the figural and; (b) might be useful in terms of the zone of proximal development, as part of (c) enabling greater awareness. In doing so, reciprocally (c) serves the other two. 

In the fifth chapter, the gestalt approach to coaching will be discussed. A gestalt is a shape, pattern, configuration, the structural whole, the totality of a person, an organization or pattern of data. It is something that is whole in itself. In other words, gestalt refers to a unified or meaningful whole. The aim of the gestalt therapeutic approach is a process of becoming aware of what one is doing, how sone is doing it, and how one can change himself or herself, and at the same time, learn to accept and value himself or herself. Awareness and acceptance lead to wholeness through integration.