Gestalt & Cycle of Awareness
Gestalt Therapy is a holistic, experiential form of therapy that helps individuals become more aware of their emotions, behaviours, and thoughts in the present moment. Central to this approach is the Cycle of Awareness, a framework that enables you to better understand how you engage with the world around you and respond to internal and external stimuli. By increasing awareness and recognising patterns of behaviour, Gestalt Therapy helps you achieve personal growth and emotional balance.
What is Gestalt Therapy?
Gestalt Therapy focuses on the idea that by becoming more aware of your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, you can better understand your needs and how to fulfil them. The goal of Gestalt Therapy is to help you live more fully in the present moment and resolve unfinished business from the past that may be influencing your current life.
This therapy views individuals as whole beings made up of interconnected parts—emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. It encourages awareness of these aspects and the environment, aiming to restore balance and harmony.
For more on Gestalt principles, visit the Gestalt Therapy Institute.
The Cycle of Awareness
The Cycle of Awareness in Gestalt Therapy is a key concept that illustrates how we experience and respond to different events and situations. It consists of several stages that help individuals become aware of their needs, understand how they are met, and recognise obstacles that prevent fulfilment. The cycle includes:
- Sensation: Becoming aware of an internal or external stimulus.
- Awareness: Identifying what the sensation or stimulus means in your life.
- Mobilisation: Making a decision on how to act based on your awareness.
- Action: Taking steps to address or fulfil the need.
- Contact: Engaging with the environment or people around you.
- Satisfaction: Experiencing the resolution of the need or problem.
- Withdrawal: Reflecting on the experience and moving on.
When this cycle is interrupted, emotional discomfort or frustration can occur. Gestalt Therapy helps identify and resolve such interruptions, allowing you to move through the cycle more effectively.
How Gestalt & Cycle of Awareness Therapy Works
In Gestalt Therapy, we focus on increasing your awareness of your current emotional state and the sensations you experience in the present moment. By becoming more mindful of your thoughts and feelings, you will better understand how to respond to situations and meet your emotional needs. Through various exercises, such as role-playing, guided visualisations, and body awareness techniques, we explore different parts of your experience and identify areas that need healing or attention.
Key principles of Gestalt Therapy include:
- Present Moment Awareness: Focusing on the here and now rather than past or future concerns.
- Integration: Bringing together the emotional, cognitive, and physical aspects of yourself into a cohesive whole.
- Personal Responsibility: Recognising your role in shaping your experiences and reactions.
Benefits of Gestalt Therapy & Cycle of Awareness
Gestalt Therapy is particularly beneficial for individuals struggling with emotional blockages, unresolved past experiences, and relationship difficulties. By becoming more aware of how you interact with the world, you can make more conscious choices and experience greater emotional freedom. The Cycle of Awareness helps identify where you get stuck in the process of fulfilling your needs, empowering you to break free from unhelpful patterns.
Benefits include:
- Improved emotional awareness and regulation
- Greater insight into personal behaviour and its impact
- Enhanced ability to live in the present moment
- Resolution of past conflicts and emotional issues
Why Choose Restorative Counselling for Gestalt Therapy?
At Restorative Counselling, I offer Gestalt Therapy with a focus on the Cycle of Awareness to help you increase self-awareness and make meaningful changes in your life. My approach is holistic, helping you connect with your emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations in a safe, supportive environment. By understanding how you engage with the world, we can work together to resolve emotional blockages and achieve personal growth.
If you’re ready to explore how Gestalt Therapy and the Cycle of Awareness can help you, contact me today to begin your journey towards self-awareness and emotional well-being. Together, we can work towards greater emotional freedom and personal growth.
FAQs
Counselling works best when you recognise that you’re struggling and can no longer continue as you are, and you want to make changes in your life but don’t know how. Sometimes, it may feel almost impossible to know what these changes should be. Often, the insights that arise are created during sessions through deep discussions and are developed between sessions.
Counselling can be challenging, as it may bring old memories, feelings, and past hurts to the surface. However, sharing these thoughts and feelings will give you a clearer understanding of why they still cause you pain, an ability to reduce that pain, and even help you find healing from those experiences.
I offer a Humanistic Integrative approach in a person-centred way. This means that we focus on you as an individual, working with your agenda, allowing you to explore those difficult memories and feelings. I use a combination of approaches to suit your individual needs because I believe one size does not fit all. We are all unique.
This is entirely up to you and something we can discuss during our initial consultation. Sometimes, starting with six sessions can be beneficial, and during these sessions, we can review whether you would like to continue or terminate them. Short-term counselling can be helpful during an immediate crisis to support you through it.
Long-term counselling allows for a deeper exploration of your problems, helping you understand how they affect you and where they stem from. We can start with weekly sessions and later move to fortnightly or every three weeks, depending on the situation and what would benefit you. Remember, this is your decision. At the end, we can have a final review and look at ways to help you move forward in your life, making the transition as safe and comfortable as possible.
Often, you will know when your counselling is nearing its end. You will feel more confident and at peace within yourself, and the memories will not cause you as much pain. You will be able to reflect on them in a way that no longer distresses you. We will discuss how you would like to conclude the counselling process.
We can have a final review a few weeks after counselling ends to see how you have been coping and how you’ve incorporated these changes into your daily life.
I currently charge £50 per session. I also offer concessions for those in need and will try to match your income, as I understand that affording regular counselling can be challenging.
For students studying for their Diploma or another qualification who need hours towards their personal counselling, I also offer a concession if needed.
Your first appointment may seem daunting, but it’s an opportunity for us to meet and get to know each other. We can then discuss how we can best work together and how I may be able to help you.
I also offer a free 20-minute phone call to briefly discuss the therapy and how we can begin.
