Field-theoretical strategies

"The field" can be considered in two ways. There are ontological dimensions and there are phenomenological dimensions to one's field. The ontological dimensions are all those physical and environmental contexts in which we live and move. They are the office in which one works, the house in which one lives, the city and country of which one is a citizen, and so forth. The ontological field is the objective reality that supports our physical existence. The phenomenological dimensions are all mental and physical dynamics that contribute to a person's sense of self, one's subjective experience, but are not merely elements of the environmental context. This could be the memory of an uncle's inappropriate affection, one's color blindness, one's sense of the social matrix in operation at the office in which one works, and so forth. It is in the way that Gestalt therapists choose to work with field dynamics that makes what they do strategic (Brownell, in press, 2009, 2008). Gestalt therapy focuses on the character structure; according to Gestalt theory, the character structure is dynamic rather than fixed in nature. To look into ones character structure, the focus would be on the phenomenological dimensions rather than the ontological dimensions.

Source: Wikipedia