Gestalt therapy and Logotherapy are two of the approaches used within the humanistic-existential framework. Humanistic and existential psychotherapies involve a range of approaches such as therapeutic goals, intervention strategies and conceptualisation. Gestalt therapy revolves around the notion that only through the clients personal experience and descriptions can the experiential world of a client be understood by the therapist. Logotherapy is based on the belief that the meaning in life is identified as a motivational force in human beings based on the three concepts; freedom of will, will to meaning and meaning of life. By comparing two of the many therapies found within the humanistic-existential framework the similarities and differences are addressed as well as the strengths and limitations and why certain types of therapies are more useful for some clients rather than others.
The Existential-Humanistic Approach
With no singular definition of existential-humanistic approach, humanistic psychology and existential psychology are also hard to define. There are many overlaps between both approaches, though different types of therapies found within the approach allow insight into how the existential-humanistic approach works with values, ideas, similarities, differences strengths and limitations. Gestalt therapy founded by Frederick Fritz in the late 1940's and Logotherapy founded by Victor Frankl in the 1930's are two types of existential-humanistic approaches used in certain cases depending on the client and the context. These two types of therapies are different in their therapists roles, techniques and beliefs used, but relate on many levels as well.
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Existential-humanistic psychotherapy is the powerful combination of both existential therapy and humanistic therapy. With humanistic therapy's key themes being acceptance and growth and existential therapy's being responsibility and freedom, the belief that people have the capacity for self-awareness and choice is believed by both, although concluded using different theories. Existential-Humanistic psychotherapy does not involve clients being broken down into types, but a process-oriented therapy which focuses more on the potentials and limitations.
Gestalt therapy was founded by Frederick "Fritz" Perls with collaborators Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in late 1940s. This type of therapy was designed as an alternative to other therapeutic methods used at the time which revolved around focussing on past experiences and issues, rather than the present. Gestalt therapy provided a more practical approach with more immediate results, this is a humanistic therapy which revolves around acceptance and growth. Gestalt refers to shape, pattern or whole form, therefore Gestalt therapy looks to not only the individual person, but to the context the individual exists in.
The role of a Gestalt therapist is to act as a guide for the client, helping the client to gain awareness on their own through the use of sharing observations, personal experiences, emotions and reactions and giving the client honest feedback without judgement. In this type of therapy the therapist acts as more of a partner to the client, rather than an authority figure.
Gestalt therapy is a more directive, experimental and here-and-now based therapy. Here-and-now based therapies revolve around focusing on the present moment which is the only time where awareness, responsibility and change may occur. This type of therapy involves facilitating awareness to the client in order for them to self-regulate. There are many key concepts of gestalt therapy, one main concept is known as unfinished business. This concept involves the unpleasant emotions or current difficulties, the goal being to allow clients to make decisions on their own, using their own motives rather than the constant suppression of emotions. This may be seen as a strength as it involves dealing with the present moment, where as other therapies focus more on the past and how past occurrences may affect or trigger present emotions.
Although Gestalt therapy has many strengths, like all therapies, it also has limitations. This type of therapy lacks a well defined theory of human development, it's also very limited in dealing with serious psychological problems and is theoretically unsupported.
Logotherapy is another type of existential-humanistic therapy, but unlike Gestalt therapy, Logotherapy is less directive. This type of therapy was founded by Victor Frankl in the 1930s and was a response to Frankl's own life crises when he experienced time in Nazi concentration camps and when reduced to skin and bone, knew that one thing Nazis could never take away was his freedom to choose his attitude. Logotherapy translates to 'therapy through meaning'. Frankl's Logotherapy approach has three key concepts both philosophical and psychological, those being the freedom of will, will to meaning and meaning to life. Freedom of will; enabling people to be responsible agents, making choices and being held accountable for their own actions. Will to meaning; the motivation of seeking meaning and intending to lead a meaning full life, and lastly meaning of life; life has meaning and there is meaning found in even the most tragic circumstances.
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Logotherapy, like Gestalt and all other therapies, too has its limitations. Though it is said there are three main limitations of this therapy. The first being what is referred to as the Franklin philosophy, this being the fact it is difficult to link it to relevant psychology research. The second limitation being that Frankl did not intend for Logotherapy to provide a comprehensive framework of psychotherapy. Many of Frankl's fans or 'loyalists' opposed to any extension of Logotherapy, trying to ban others from extending Logotherapy in any way, this being the third limitation.
Logotherapy differs from Gestalt therapy as Logotherapy is described as "A psychotherapy which not only recognizes man's spirit, but actually starts from it may be termed Logotherapy. In this connection, logos is intended to signify 'the spiritual' and beyond that 'the meaning'" (Frankl, 1986). It involves the belief that the human spirit is our healthy core and may be blocked by psychological or biological sickness and the main aim of Logotherapy is to get rid of these blockages in order to fulfil the human spirit again. Paradoxical intention and dereflection are two main techniques used in Logotherapy. Paradoxical intention involves simply encouraging the client to confront their worst nightmare so the client uses the act of self-distancing and by doing so, gains clarity on it allowing them to no longer let the problem define them. Dereflection on the other hand is a technique where a client is asked to shift their focus from a intractable problem to something more positive, simply, the client aims to rise above the problem.
Logotherapy therapists role is to assist clients to listen to their conscience. They help clients explore and identify meanings from different issues, obtaining broader views and offering suggestions to help guide the client, also analysing dreams to try and discover meaning.
In my personal opinion, I prefer Gestalt therapy as it allows therapists to help clients focus on the present moment and present issues. It doesn't focus on trying to connect present emotions to past issues or occurrences that may have triggered the emotions. It also focuses on the concepts of the now, contact and figure-formation which revolve around being in touch with one's own existence using senses, using "what" and "how" questions to help the client with the present moment and focussing on what is seen in the foreground rather than getting distracted by what is in the background. Keeping the client and therapist on the same level, making the client feel comfortable enough and not intimidated in order to have complete and total honesty and get the best results.
In conclusion, both Logotherapy and Gestalt therapy are efficient types of therapies within the Existential-Humanistic psychotherapy. Though both types of therapies have different techniques, strengths, limitations and beliefs, they also have many aspects similar, all aiming towards helping the client to become self aware and being able to self-regulate and understand their issues and how to resolve them. The differences and limitations of each type of therapy allow therapists to help the client get the right type of therapy rather than pursuing a therapy which has less benefits for the client than another.
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