In Gestalt coaching the coach uses himself as instrument to stimulate the client’s awareness and contact through interaction and dialogue. Next to asking questions, which represents an universal tool for all coaching practitioners, Gestalt practitioners add some other elements to the coaching dialogue, such as their observations of the client as well as their own experiences when appropriate. For example, the coach may say to the client, »You seem quite angry when talking about your boss«, or, »I feel excited hearing you talking about your new assignment«.
Each coach is present in the coaching situation in a unique way, in accordance with his personal values and competencies. However, certain skills, competencies and values of the coach are particularly helpful for enhancing the client’s change and development. Most of these values and competencies are related to enhancing awareness, improving articulation and communication of the experience, managing the energy in the system and completing the experience (Nevis, 1987).
An important element of presence is the degree of integration between what the coach says and how the coach acts and behaves. The coach as a person should be consistent and congruent. In this case, the clients recognize the high degree of integration, feel interested, curious and engaged for the work, so the beneficial effects of coaching typically occur (Bluckert 2006).
Contact
Our experience takes place at the contact boundary. Contact boundary is a psychological place of energy, material and information exchange that can be found inside or outside the body (Dreitzel 2010). For example, we can be in contact with our headache or in contact with another person during deep and inspiring conversation regarding an ongoing project.
How does contact happen? To put it very simply, first the organism gets excited by a stimulus or need, after which it senses and becomes aware of it. Energy is released and the figure starts to form. He orients himself in the environment; the figure of his interest becomes sharply defined. At the top of the energy level he takes action and establishes contact: the goal has been reached. Gradually he experiences integration and fulfilment, thus becoming ready for letting go or withdrawing. In the literature, this process is usually referred to as contact cycle or cycle of experience or contact-withdrawal cycle (Critchley & Casey 1989) as represented in Figure 1.
On the more complex level, the contact cycle can be seen as a model for the previously explained change process, incorporating the described notions and principles. For example, the client, engaged in coaching as part of his leadership development, comes to the session. He talks about his current job and his particular career plans, but somehow seems uninterested and distanced. The same continues during the second session. The coach observes the client’s low energy and engagement and shares this observation with the client. The client becomes aware that he has recently been feeling very tired. The coach invites the client to explore, imagine and describe this sensation inside his body. The client focuses on the pain sensation in his upper spine imagining it as a bag pack filed with different things. During the dialogue with the coach he realizes that these belongings are related to the high demands of the current project. In continuation, he discusses delegating strategies in order to free up more capacity for his personal development.
Figure 1: Contact-withdrawal cycle (Critchley & Casey 1989)
As we see in this example, sometimes it takes time for a figure to be formed. The client might be unwilling to open the subject or simply be not aware of what is going on with him. As already mentioned in previous chapters, it is very important to stay as long as it takes in this phase and to tolerate the anxiety that might rise due to confusion. As we see in this example, sometimes we need to change the »modus« and explore some body sensations or emotions that are being raised.
Figure formation – when the right topic has been revealed – is usually accompanied with an »Aha!«-Moment or Eureka effect, leading again to the client’s increased engagement in the process. Now the activity, whether dialogue or experiment (see an example with empty chair experiment), will lead to clarification and hopefully a natural closure of the issue being raised.
3. Applying the Basic Concepts of Gestalt Coaching
Unfinished Business
A person is not always able to meet a need. For example, we are feeling sleepy, but we have to finish an important project. When it comes to the social and emotional level, the process becomes even more complicated because our needs involve other people. When we are not able to meet a need, the Gestalt is incomplete and the work stays unfinished.
Unfinished business is a frequent theme in coaching. At the individual level, for example, the topic might be an unresolved conflict with a colleague regarding taking credit for excellent projects. At the collective level, a frequent theme in today’s organizations is workers’ perception of unjust distribution of the economic crisis’ consequences among workers and the ruling elite (managers, politicians, banks etc.). As this topic is usually not discussed, on the metaorganizational level it represents a major collective unfinished business.
Unfinished business is typical for dysfunctional teams and individuals in organizations. Two facts especially complicate the situation with unfinished business in organizational settings: the unfinished tasks can be related to the client’s previous work experiences, and it is often believed that opening unfinished business is dangerous and should be addressed in psychotherapy rather than coaching. However, experience shows that coaching can be effective in closing an unfinished business. Sometimes the coach is the first person that the client can recount the detailed story to, and experience that someone has listened to him (Bluckert, 2006).
Organizational Diagnosis
The previously described Gestalt concepts can be practically applied in the area of organizational diagnosis which usually takes place prior to, or at the very beginning of the coaching process. In contrasts to long and often tedious analyses, organizational diagnosis may be efficiently set using creative techniques. During the first session, a Gestalt oriented coach often invites the client to describe how she sees herself inside the organization (field approach) using creative techniques such as drawings or statuettes. The client forms a picture that represents an own unique Gestalt view of her current organizational situation, composed of her perceptions of different organizational elements (client, peers, structures etc.). After completing the picture, the client is asked to describe it. During this process the figure is typically formed in shape of a particular emotion, sensation or thought, leading to the client’s awareness of her current situation and, hopefully, the clarification of a particular coaching problem.
An example of this approach can be vividly seen in Figure 2. In the first session the client has been asked to draw a picture on the subject »Me and my organization«. Squares on the left side represent members of the management team inside the organization. The client is represented by one of them. There is no interaction or contact among elements. The circles on the right side represent the work force inside the company. The river in-between the two sides represents the gap between the management and the workforce. Two issues are brought up: 1. The client’s feeling of isolation inside the organization, 2. His feeling of personal as well as management inferiority. The question of the client’s further development inside his organization is defined as the main coaching theme.
Figure 2: Example of a drawing on the subject »Me and my organisation«
Example of an »Empty Chair« Experiment
Experimenting in coaching is often a great way to try out a new behaviour in a »safe space«. An experiment often enables full contact with the coaching problem. Here is one example of a very common experiment in Gestalt, called the empty chair