Group Approach in Gestalt

Dynamics of the "Hot Chair" and Therapist Selection

In Gestalt group work, we often work individually with one participant while the rest of the group observes (Hot Seat technique). It starts by asking who wants to work.

A particularity is that the participant chooses his or her therapist (if several are available) based on the "Tele" (degree of attraction/rejection or instinctive trust). The chosen therapist should not refuse the request.

During the work, the therapist focuses exclusively on the patient's process in the hot seat, using expressive or suppressive techniques as the need arises in the moment, without following a rigid script.

Use of Auxiliary Self and Closure (Feedback)

During the group session, the therapist may ask other members to act as "auxiliary selves" to act out roles (e.g., playing the "parent" in a family sculpture).

Unlike psychodrama, in Gestalt the auxiliary is instructed rigidly: he/she must only say or do exactly what the patient or therapist indicates, so as not to contaminate the projection of the protagonist.

At the end, it is mandatory for the assistant to "de-rotate" (physically shake and declare "I am not your father, I am [Name]") to avoid fixations.

The closing or sharing is done by inviting the group members to share from their own experience ("I connected with...", "I felt that..."), strictly forbidding advice, interpretations or judgments on the partner's work.

Summary

In the "Hot Seat" dynamic, one works individually in front of the group. The participant chooses his or her therapist based on "Tele" or instinctive