Deck 8: Gestalt Therapy

Question 1

Gestalt therapy is a form of:

A)Freudian psychoanalytic therapy.
B)neo-Freudian analytic therapy.
C)behavior therapy.
D)existential therapy.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Often Greta,who struggles to feel good about herself,comes to sessions with slouched posture.In order to help Greta gain a clearer understanding of the inner meaning of her slouched posture,a Gestalt therapist might:

A)ask Greta to exaggerate her poor posture,which is likely to intensify her feelings attached to it.
B)have Greta undergo hypnosis.
C)ask Greta to free associate to the words "slouched posture."
D)refer her to an orthopedic surgeon to rule out scoliosis.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to the Gestalt perspective,if people do not remember their dreams:

A)they may be refusing to face what is wrong with their lives.
B)that suggests they have no internal conflicts.
C)they are sound sleepers.
D)they lack creativity.
E)they should be referred to a therapist with a different theoretical orientation.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When a person experiences an internal conflict (namely a conflict between top dog and underdog),which of the following techniques would be most appropriate?

A)making the rounds
B)the reversal technique
C)the internal dialogue exercise
D)the rehearsal exercise
E)the exaggeration exercise

Question 5

Which of the following is not considered one of the six methodological components of Gestalt therapy?

A)assessment
B)the here and now
C)the authentic encounter
D)process-oriented diagnosis
E)the paradoxical theory of change

Question 6

According to Gestalt theory,people use avoidance in order to:

A)keep themselves from facing unfinished business.
B)keep from feeling uncomfortable emotions.
C)keep from having to change.
D)all of these

Question 7

The paradoxical theory of behavior change suggests:

A)we change by setting future-oriented goals.
B)clients should pay particular attention to becoming the person they wish to be.
C)careful attention should devoted to changing behavior in the moment it is happening.
D)we change through becoming aware of who we currently are.
E)change is facilitated when we accept our mortality.

Question 8

A contribution of this therapeutic approach is that:

A)it enables intense experiencing to occur quickly.
B)it can be a relatively brief therapy.
C)it stresses doing and experiencing,as opposed to talking about problems.
D)all of these.
E)none of these.

Question 9

A Gestalt technique that is most useful when a person attempts to deny an aspect of his or her personality (such as tenderness)is:

A)making the rounds.
B)the reversal exercise.
C)the rehearsal exercise.
D)the empty chair technique.

Question 10

In Gestalt theory,the experiment is considered:

A)a specific technique of therapy.
B)a theoretical proposition crafted to fit the client's unique needs.
C)a ready-made exercise used to achieve a behavioral goal.
D)a scientific procedure to assess the effectiveness of therapy.

Question 11

In Gestalt therapy,the relationship between client and counselor is seen as:

A)a joint venture.
B)an existential encounter.
C)an I/Thou interaction.
D)all of these

Question 12

Mariah tells her therapist,a Gestaltist,that she dreamt she got married to a pit bull and felt uneasy about telling her parents that she married a dog.When her parents discovered their son-in-law was a pit bull,they disowned her and suddenly became dogs themselves.In response to this dream,Mariah's therapist:

A)may need to contact a psychiatric hospital (and possibly an animal shelter)since it is likely Mariah unconsciously desires to marry a dog.
B)should interpret the dream for her client.
C)should assist her client in reliving the dream as though it was happening in the now and have her become each part of the dream.
D)should encourage her client to forget the dream since it was meaningless.

Question 13

According to Gestalt theory,all of the following are true about contact except:

A)contact is necessary for change and growth to occur.
B)one maintains a sense of individuality as a result of good contact.
C)withdrawal after a good contact experience indicates neurosis.
D)contact is made by seeing,hearing,smelling,touching,and moving.
E)we often tend to resist contact with others.

Question 14

The Gestalt therapist:

A)freely makes interpretations for the client.
B)pays attention to the client's nonverbal language.
C)is mainly nondirective.
D)helps the client understand why he or she is behaving in self-defeating ways.
E)assigns homework to bring about specific cognitive and behavior changes.

Question 15

A critical difference between early Gestalt therapy and relational Gestalt therapy is:

A)the emphasis on contact.
B)the approach to confrontation.
C)the use of techniques.
D)the focus on the figure formation process.

Question 16

A healthy contact experience involves all of the following except:

A)interacting with others while maintaining a sense of self.
B)creativity.
C)maintaining balance between the figure and the ground.
D)projection.

Question 17

Field theory suggests that:

A)the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
B)human beings have a innate capacity to self regulate.
C)everything in human experience is relational and in constant flux.
D)phenomenological inquiry is the key to behavior change.
E)the "how" of behavior is more important than the "why" of behavior.

Question 18

Who among the following is not considered a relational Gestalt therapist?

A)Fritz Perls
B)Laura Perls
C)Miriam Polster
D)Erv Polster

Question 19

Empirical support for Gestalt therapy is:

A)weak.
B)well-developed.
C)becoming stronger.
D)unavailable.

Question 20

The basic goal of Gestalt therapy is:
A)attaining awareness,and with it greater choice.

A)to understand why we feel as we do.
B)to uncover repressed material.
C)to help clients develop better social skills.

Question 21

Which of the following aspects of a client's use of language would a Gestalt therapist not focus on?

A)"it" talk
B)"you" talk
C)questions
D)language that denies power
E)semantics

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of the Gestalt group leader's roles?

A)designing experiments for group members
B)evoking group catharsis.
C)engaging in self-disclosure
D)facilitating contact in the group setting

Question 23

Which of the following is not one of Miriam Polster's three stages in her integration sequence?

A)reunification
B)discovery
C)assimilation
D)accommodation

Question 24

The Gestalt therapist typically uses diagnosis and interpretation as a basic part of the therapeutic process.

Question 25

Which of the following is not true about Gestalt techniques?

A)"Exercises" are ready-made techniques.
B)"Experiments" grow out of the interaction between therapist and client.
C)Clients need to be prepared for their involvement in Gestalt techniques.
D)Experiments are always carried out during the therapy session,rather than outside it.
E)Techniques are used for the purpose of increasing the client's awareness.

Question 26

Without proper training,Gestalt therapists may:

A)evoke catharsis without having the ability to work it through with their client.
B)design faulty experiments.
C)may use ready-made techniques inappropriately.
D)may damage the therapeutic relationship with the client.
E)all of these.

Question 27

A Gestalt therapist pays attention to ways the client uses language.

Question 28

In the Gestaltist view,unfinished business is best explored in the present.

Question 29

Which of the following is not true about Fritz Perls?

A)He developed Gestalt therapy.
B)During his childhood,he was a model student.
C)He was trained in psychoanalysis.
D)He gave workshops and seminars at the Esalen Institute.
E)He aroused various reactions in the people he met.

Question 30

Therapy is based upon the successful resolution of the transference relationship.

Question 31

Gestalt therapists say that clients resist contact by means of:

A)retroflection.
B)projection.
C)introjection.
D)all of these

Question 32

Contemporary Gestalt therapists view client resistance as:

A)a way that clients avoid confrontation.
B)a sign of poor motivation for therapeutic work.
C)a therapy interfering force that needs to be overcome.
D)an element of therapy that needs to be respected.

Question 33

Gestalt therapy makes use of a wide variety of techniques that are designed to increase the client's awareness of his or her present experiencing.

Question 34

Gestalt theory is best considered as a form of psychoanalytic therapy.

Question 35

The empty chair technique:

A)assists clients in reowning parts of their personality.
B)balances internal polarities.
C)allows clients to externalize an introject.
D)helps to resolve unfinished business.
E)all of these.

Question 36

Which of the following Gestalt techniques involves asking one person in a group to speak to each of the other group members?

A)the rehearsal exercise
B)the reversal technique
C)making the rounds
D)the exaggeration technique

Question 37

Which of the statements below regarding emotion-focused therapy (EFT)is not true?

A)EFT methodology is similar to Gestalt therapy but emphasizes empirically supported treatments.
B)EFT was developed by Fritz Perls' wife,Laura.
C)EFT blends the relational aspects of the person-centered approach with the active phenomenological awareness experiments of Gestalt therapy.
D)EFT entails the practice of therapy being informed by understanding the role of emotion in psychotherapeutic change.
E)All are true.

Question 38

Because of his need to be liked,Jose makes careful efforts to get along with everyone and minimize interpersonal conflicts.Which boundary disturbance is Jose exhibiting?

A)introjection.
B)projection.
C)retroflection.
D)confluence.

Question 39

Which of the following is not true about the Gestalt view of the role of confrontation in therapy?

A)It is not possible to be both confrontational and gentle with clients.
B)It is important to confront clients with the ways they are avoiding being fully alive.
C)Confrontation does not have to be aimed at negative traits.
D)Confrontation should be a genuine expression of caring.

Question 40

Both contact and withdrawal are necessary and important to healthy functioning.

Question 41

Gestalt therapy focuses on the cognitive aspects of therapy.

Question 42

Gestaltists typically ask why questions in the attempt to get clients to think about the source of their problems.

Question 43

The goal of Gestalt therapy is to solve basic problems,to resolve one's polarities,and to help the individual to adjust to his or her environment.

Question 44

Gestalt therapies view a client's avoidance behavior as related to unfinished business.

Question 45

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT)is synonymous with Gestalt therapy.

Question 46

In Gestalt terms,awareness refers to our connectedness to our external and internal worlds.

Question 47

Since Gestalt therapy focuses on the here-and-now,the past is neither explored nor given emphasis.

Question 48

One of the contributions of Gestalt therapy is the vast empirical research that has been done to validate the specific techniques used.

Question 49

Part of success in using Gestalt techniques is contingent upon preparing clients for these techniques.

Question 50

According to Perls,awareness of and by itself is not sufficient to lead to change; clients must also put their experiences into some type of cognitive framework if change is to happen.

Question 51

Since Gestalt therapists believe that questions have a tendency to keep the questioner hidden,safe,and unknown,they often ask clients to change their questions into statements.

Question 52

In Gestalt therapy,a client's resistance is welcomed and used to deepen their therapeutic work.

Question 53

People who rely on retroflection tend to inhibit themselves from taking action out of fear of embarrassment,guilt,and resentment.

Question 54

Gestalt techniques can be considered experiments.

Question 55

A current trend in Gestalt therapy is toward greater emphasis on the client/therapist relationship rather than on techniques.

Question 56

Retroflection involves doing to others what we would like them to do to us.

Question 57

Gestalt therapy is designed for individual counseling,and it typically does not work well in groups.

Question 58

Blocked energy is a form of defensive behavior.

Question 59

Most of the Gestalt techniques are designed to intensify one's experiencing.

Question 60

The Gestalt approach to dream work consists of the therapist interpreting the meaning of the symbols in the dream.

Question 61

Gestalt group therapists use experiments to encourage clients to move from talking about action to taking action.

Question 62

Fritz Perls' wife Laura stated,"Without the constant support from his friends,and from me,without the constant encouragement and collaboration,Fritz would never have written a line,nor founded anything."

Question 63

Although Perls used a highly confrontational approach in dealing with client avoidance and resistance,the confrontational model is not representative of contemporary Gestalt therapy.