Expressive Gestalt Techniques

Simple repetition to raise awareness of emotion.

Expressive techniques seek to externalize the internal. Sometimes, a patient launches a sentence loaded with deep meaning but lets it pass quickly, burying it under more words.

The simple repetition technique consists of asking him to say that specific phrase again, several times, often increasing the volume of voice.

Suppose that, in the middle of a story, someone mutters, "I guess I'm tired of waiting." The therapist intervenes, "Stop right there. Repeat that phrase: 'I'm tired of waiting.'"

By repeating it, the phrase ceases to be an intellectual datum and becomes an experiential experience.

With each repetition ("I'm tired of waiting!"), the affective charge is unblocked, allowing the person to contact the real magnitude of his or her exhaustion or anger, which until then had gone unnoticed or minimized.

Exaggeration and development of the behavioral symptom

The body often expresses what the voice is silent about. The exaggeration technique takes a subtle, involuntary or aborted gesture and asks the patient to deliberately amplify it.

The underlying principle is that by intensifying the physical action, the associated emotion that was blocked or out of awareness is intensified and revealed.

For example, if a man is talking calmly about his marriage but is rhythmically tapping the arm of the couch with a finger, the therapist will ask, "Exaggerate that movement. Tap harder. Use your whole arm. What is your arm saying now?".

By turning mild tapping into hard tapping, the patient may suddenly connect with a repressed rage or a desire to set limits.

Exaggeration acts as a magnifying glass that makes the invisible visible, allowing that dissociated part of the experience to be integrated.

Putting words to bodily action and identification

Once the energy has been mobilized through repetition or exaggeration, it is necessary to give it cognitive and verbal meaning. This technique is known as "making explicit" or "putting words".

The patient is invited to give voice to his or her body parts or nonverbal actions, personifying them.

Following the example above, the patient would be asked, "If that clenched fist could speak, what would it say at this moment?"

Or, if a woman is hugging herself while talking about loneliness, she is asked, "Give voice to those arms around you-what are they saying to you?"

Often, this reveals self-support mechanisms ("I take care of myself," "I protect myself") or unmet needs.

By translating somatic language into verbal language, the Gestalt is completed, allowing the experience to be fully assimilated and understood by the patient and her partner.

Summary

Simple repetition seeks to bring awareness to emotions buried beneath words. By repeating meaningful phrases several times, the affective charge is unblocked allowing the person to contact his or her exhaustion.

Exaggeration amplifies subtle, involuntary body gestures. Intensifying physical action reveals emotions blocked out of awareness, turning slight movements into bridges to repressed rage or boundaries.

Putting words to bodily action involves embodying body parts. Translating somatic language into verbal language completes the Gestalt, allowing the experience to be fully assimilated by the patient.