INQUIRY

Gestalt Group Process

Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Brisbane and online

Gestalt group work offers participants a new way of relating that they may have never experienced before. In this held container, the same group of individuals meet for 2 hrs each week. Each person explores the various ways that they show up in a group dynamic, how they are impacted and how the impact others.

It is a safe space intentionally created to explore and practice new ways of being that the individuals can then take out into their lives. This often includes sharing, expressing and exploring the parts of us that are difficult to give space to in everyday life with often so much going on.

Committing to a dedicated group of self and relational exploration has a profound effect on your life and relationships. It ripples out so that you can show up for yourself and your loved ones! 

 Benefits of Group therapy 

– Relational intelligence. Improve your relationships. Learn how to communicate with authenticity. Build a greater capacity to be present with your loved ones and colleagues through thick and thin.

– Greater self-awareness. Through being present and interacting within the group we gain a greater sense of how we are. Individual therapy is great place to start this process but taking a more relational approach in a group offers a more relational insight with a range of people

– Foster meaningful connections. Cultivating vulnerability leads to increased authenticity in interactions in your life. Not only will we gain greater self-awareness of how we are but increase our ability to communicate that in our relationships (including healing severed connections).

– Build a foundation of presence. The ablility to sit with yourself in all that shows up. In comfort and in pleasure to difficult and painful times and everything in between. This skill is often underestimated. It is so impactful for individuals and groups to be able to support ourselves and each other and is paramount to our wellbeing.

– Meet a deep unmet need.  This is a need we have often longed for our whole lives; to simply be seen, heard and acknowledged in the complexity of our humanness. It often comes from our ability to be present. Once we have tasted this it is natural to want to offer this presence and attentiveness to others. It feels so natural and right. Because it is.

– Increased internal safety in your body. This Inquiry group includes embodied learning about your unique nervous system and how to find regulation, and co-regulation. We feel this in our bodies in these groups through explorations and excersizes.

– Expanded capacity to be with difference. When we can do this, we can be more accepting of other people who have different opinions or who live differently to us. This means the ability to be open to the world not just with our closest people but others outside of that.

– Welcome wholesome living. These qualities can change some fundamentals of your entire life. It can bring depth to the relationship with yourself, with your family and friends, your colleagues, and create a more authentic and wholesome life. No matter where you are at you can always go deeper with this work.

Gestalt group process is an interactive group experience involving creative explorations and attending to what emerges. Through experimentation and exploration individuals have the opportunity to self-reflect, try new ways of being and gain greater connection to themselves and others. 

During the therapeutic encounter the facilitator seeks a balance of stimulating challenge and being supportive –  being in the presence of one another and expanding greater self-awareness as they work with whatever arises within the group in the moment. At least intially, but gets easier over time as it is a very natural way to be in the world. 

Being with what is can be a novel experience when people are so stressed, busy and used to striving for something else. It is common for people to be over thinking or worrying about the past or future and actually it requires concerted effort to come into the present moment. 

Often exacerbated by the mainstream paradigm that over inflates the importance of many things that result in us feeling isolated, insecure and disconnected from ourselves and others. Such as TV & social media that reinforce a state of being that disconnects us from ourselves and draws us away from pure presence and the simplicity of just ‘being’. 

Group process encourages us to be with what is and continually invites people to come back to what is happening for them as it happens. 

Offering a time for pause and reflection can bring a sense of spaciousness within the group process which allows for practicing presence and awareness as aspects of ourselves begin to unfurl within. 

These sessions create a safe space for people to go inward and open up and allow themselves to be courageously vulnerable which allows for the magic of deep group bonding to occur. 

“For me it felt like a missing piece in my life until I experienced relating in this way. I was shocked that it hadn’t existed in my life before that!”

Practicing this in a group leads to a greater sense of presence when you are on your own. As we become more present with ourselves and each other greater self awareness is available to us. 

The ability to practice being with what is, allows us to inhabit our body more, to be more aware of our thoughts, emotions and sensations and build a greater capacity to accept and surrender to them. 

It also has an incredible impact on our nervous system. As we become more present and aware we can self-regulate and co-regulate which offers greater connection with ourselves and others in our day to day lives. The importance of human interaction and social connection for regulation of the nervous system is paramount.

Connection

We know that as human beings we thrive on connection and we all innately desire to feel a deep sense of belonging within our community. Our willingness to connect and share is a fundamental part of who we are as humans and is intricately connected with our psychological development, physiology and neurobiology with interesting research surrounding the ‘Vagus Nerve’ and this emergent socially adaptive framework that affects our wellbeing and development. 

 From his decades-long study of the vagus nerve and deciphering the daunting complexities of its operations, neuroscientist Stephen Porges has developed the polyvagal theory, which explains the interconnectedness of body reactivity, cognitive and emotional function, and social behavior. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/vagus-nerve)

In today’s modern westernised culture and especially with the global impact of the Pandemic, our reliance on technology and digital media often results in feelings of social isolation and fragmented communities. In this fragmented society – human connection can be so powerful.

Many of us do not have a place to share our inner world with others and it is often rare to find a friend who can deeply listen and be with all that you share in a wholly accepting and non-judgmental way. 

The Gestalt Group process gives us a space to connect and share in a safe context, where we can grow and learn together how to be with what is and to acknowledge each other’s experience even when it is different from our own. In this work people often feel that a deep need is being met; a life-long need for social connection and a sense of belonging. 

Practicing this in a group leads to a greater sense of presence when you are on your own. As we become more present with ourselves and each other greater self awareness is available to us. 

The ability to practice being with what is, allows us to inhabit our body more, to be more aware of our thoughts, emotions and sensations and build a greater capacity to accept and surrender to them. 

It also has an incredible impact on our nervous system. As we become more present and aware we can self-regulate and co-regulate which offers greater connection with ourselves and others in our day to day lives . You can see below the importance of human interaction and social connection for regulation of the nervous system.

Vulnerability

Being vulnerable is often not modelled to us by our parents, not taught in our families and communities or school. But it is an incredibly important part of developing relationships, exploring intimacy and cultivating a deeper sense of connection and closeness with the ones we love. 

If you’re familiar with Brene Brown’s work, you will understand the importance of vulnerability.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o)  

As a society we have been taught that vulnerability is a weakness. So sharing our experience and vulnerabilities can be a powerful act of rebellion in this day and age – where we can empower ourselves and one another through sharing openly and courageously because vulnerability requires trust. And it also builds trust. 

Vulnerability does not mean crying. Crying may feel vulnerable for some people, or it may feel vulnerable being seen with tears. However, being vulnerable is sharing what is difficult to share such as the parts of us we struggle with. It often feels risky, and this is why it is important to build trust with people whom you want this kind of deep connected relationship with.

In a group process we can practice sharing our experience with a closed and held group of people and a facilitator. As trust builds within individuals and the group as a whole, group members reap the benefits of expressing their vulnerabilities and sharing becomes easier. This is also true out in the world. As we build our capacity to engage in this way (Brene calls it building your vulnerability muscle) with the people we have built trust with, we can more easily share what is happening for us. 

Self-responsibility from both sides of the engagement makes a world of difference when sharing vulnerably with someone.

Taking responsibility 

Self responsibility is a key part of this work and it helps us to recognise how things are for us. In group work we encourage people to speak with ‘I’ language when they are speaking about their situation. It is common for people to say ‘you’ or ‘we’ when in fact they are talking about their own unique experience. 

People often say things like “We tend to shut off when people are aggressive” or “When you do new things it is really challenging”. As people begin to own their experience by switching to ‘I’ language they get more of a sense of how things are for them and stop projecting their experience onto others. 

As we start to own our experience and speak from this way we have less of a tendency to blame and more availability to be with our emotions.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is not explicitly spoken about in Gestalt literature as such. However, I feel this is an important aspect of the work that reveals itself in the process that comes with the ability to be with what is. 

 As emotions arise in a group process the facilitator aims to acknowledge and accept them without judgment or wanting to change or fix the person experiencing them. This is impactful because often people have grown up being told ‘don’t cry’ or have been judged for being angry and for having or expressing their feelings. Through this, many people have learnt to believe that these emotions are not valid, welcome or safe. 

Unprocessed sadness, anger and grief makes our experience of the world less safe. When we shut off part of our human experience the rest is also hindered. 

By claiming our right to feel how we feel we liberate all parts of ourselves and it means we can begin to reconnect with and feel the full extent of our joy, peace and happiness. 

When we welcome and embrace all parts of ourselves, transformation can happen both within and into our families and the communities we are part of. 

Gestalt group process is an opportunity to show up authentically however you are. 

As a human. 

with all the bells and whistles. 

“Something that I love about Gestalt is the way facilitators aim to validate each person’s experience even if it is different from their own. Diversity and inclusion are a key part of this work and for me is what makes it so rich. It also requires the Gestalt therapist to do ongoing personal work”

Being with difference

As someone who has grown up always wanting to make others happy, I have struggled when someone’s opinion or way of being differs from mine. Nowadays I am more confident to be myself and also more able to allow others to be themselves. This is not always easy and is definitely a practice that can be cultivated. Vulnerability helps with this. Attentive, non-judgmental listening of someone’s personal story, allows us to see how someone could come to be the way that they are.

As someone begins to cultivate empathy, and appreciate and accept others in their differences, they also learn to accept themselves in new ways for our own differences and uniqueness as well. Where sometimes in our past we may have felt shame for those different aspects of ourselves and hide who we truly are. Being with difference begins a beautiful cycle of empowerment and acceptance of both self and other.

For more Information about Gestalt Therapy 1-1 Counselling or the Upcoming Group Course Feel free to contact me, or visit the link below to book your ticket! (Limited Spaces)