The frontiers of contact in Gestalt-Therapy

In order to expand the initial proposal of Perls, Hefferline and Goodman (1951/1997) presented in the book gestalt therapythe couple Polster & Polster wrote a chapter of the book integrated gestalt therapy about contact boundaries.

In chapter 5, they begin talking about how they understand contact for Gestalt Therapy (GT), stating that “it is only through the function of contact that the perception of our identities can fully develop” (p. 112) and that “life requires contact at all times and in many ways” (p. 113). After that they bring the classic description of the Gestalt-therapy of PHG:

“Basically, contact is awareness “of” and behavior “for” with assimilable novelties, and rejection of non-assimilated novelties. What is diffuse, always the same, or indifferent is not an object of contact” (PHG, 1951/1997).

The couple also expands the understanding of the border by calling it the “border of the self”, since these borders are “determined by the entire range of experiences in life and by their internal capacities (of the human being) to assimilate the new or intensified experience” ( p. 120). Didactically, they divided the border of the self into 5 other borders: borders of the body; value boundaries; familiarity boundaries; expressive borders; and exposure boundaries.

It is worth noting that the proposal to understand the borders in five does not mean that they are in different “places”, but that they are specific ways of understanding the contact border, expanding and integrating the knowledge proposed by PHG.

In the session on body boundaries (p. 127), the couple is very objective and provides examples of how they understand this boundary, citing the case of a man who said he was impotent, and did not contact parts below his neck. In a very general way, this boundary concerns the physical body, some parts of our bodies are our “favorites” (p. 127), so we are more or less aware of them.

As for value boundaries (p. 129), they cite the case of a sixteen-year-old boy who had very rigid value boundaries that were hindering his school performance. They discuss the importance of expanding these borders of values ​​so that it is possible to have a more flexible life.

The borders of familiarity (p. 130) talk about what is common to us and what is strange to us. He cites the case of people who limited themselves, crystallizing into an “I-am-as-I-always-was-and-as-I-always-will-be” (p. 131). The couple states that it is important to have this knowledge of what is familiar, since “the sense of being deprived of everything that is familiar is a vacuum that threatens to suck everything within its reach”, however, they emphasize the importance of allowing yourself go to the contact, get the new one.

With regard to expressive boundaries (p. 132), Polster & Polster talk about the ways in which we express ourselves in the world. They claim that since the beginning of life, people are repressed, introject several “no” and that over the years, they express themselves in a less fluid way. They cite two examples to clarify their ideas, in one of them they talk about a 21-year-old woman who, due to her modeling profession, ended up keeping the voice and appearance of a teenager, without developing into an adult.

The fifth and final frontier is the exposure frontier (p. 134), discussing the ways in which people expose themselves or fear exposure. During the session, the authors highlight the gains of psychotherapy by guaranteeing secrecy in the face of what is exposed in the psychotherapeutic process. They bring as an example the story of Irene, who begins to narrate an experience in a fantasy way, in order to avoid exposure, but at the end of the report she accepts reality and cries when narrating the facts experienced.

Finally, Polster & Polster point out that “there is a considerable interrelation between the different forms of borders of the self” (p.134), making it clear that they are not separating borders, but broadening the understanding of them.

References

PERLS, F.; HEFFERLINE, R.; GOODMAN. P. Gestalt-Therapy. 2nd ed. São Paulo: Summus, 1997. (Original work published in 1951)

POLSTER, E. & POLSTER, M. Integrated Gestalt Therapy. Sao Paulo: Summus. 2001. (Original work published in 1973)

Other information: Visit the website of the Study Group in Gestalt-Therapy (GEGT/Belém) – www.gegtbelem.com.br

Related