Experimental Freedom

Gestalt therapy has distinguished itself by moving to action, away from mere talk therapy, and is considered an experiential approach (Crocker, 1999). Through experiments, the therapist supports the client's direct experience of something new instead of the mere talking about the possibility of something new. Indeed, the entire therapeutic relationship could be considered experimental, because at one level it is the provision of corrective, relational experience for many clients, and it is the "safe emergency" that is free to turn this way and that. An experiment can also be conceived of as a teaching method that creates an experience in which a client might learn something as part of their growth (Melnick & Nevis, 2005). Examples: (1) rather than talking about one's critical father, a Gestalt therapist might ask the patient/client to imagine the parent was present, or that the therapist was the parent, and talk to that parent in this fashion; (2) If a client/patient is struggling with how to be assertive, a Gestalt therapist could either (a) have the patient say some assertive things to members of a therapy group, or (b) give a talk on how one should never be assertive; (3) A Gestalt therapist might notice something about the non-verbal behavior or tone of voice of the client; the therapist might have the client exaggerate the non-verbal behavior and pay attention to his/her experience while doing so; (4) a Gestalt therapist might work with the breathing or posture of the client, and changes in these when the client talks about different content. Through all these means the Gestalt therapist is working with process rather than content, the How rather than the What.

Source: Wikipedia