Gestalt Therapy for AD
Gestalt therapy is a tool for healing the immune system in those of us with autoimmune disorders.
Healing the immune system is the essential goal of therapy for people with autoimmune diseases. At least, it should be. Regardless of the specific autoimmune disorder, the underlying mechanism in immune-mediated diseases is the inability of the immune system to function properly. In autoimmune disorders the immune system is weak and functions erratically, attacking our body's own tissues and cells. Although treatment protocols include specific supplemental therapies to correct chemical imbalances and reduce symptoms, the true aim of autoimmune disease therapy is restoring immune system health. For instance, in autoimmune endocrine disorders, treatment protocols include specific therapies to correct abnormal hormone levels, such as anti-thyroid drugs or replacement hormones, and lifestyle changes to promote immune system healing. Unfortunately, however, many patients are never informed about these lifestyle changes that are necessary for the healing process. In my autoimmune disease topic on Suite 101, many of these lifestyle changes have already been described or will be described in future articles. These lifestyle changes include: avoiding environmental triggers, allergens and stressors, using dietary supplements, following a nutrient-rich diet, incorporating exercise into healing programs, and employing energy treatments and stress-reduction techniques. In this article I describe the stress-reduction technique known as Gestalt Therapy and explain its role in the healing process.
Gestalt therapy was developed and first described by the German trained physician Frederick (Fritz) Perls, M.D., PhD, in the 1950s. In workshops conducted at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, Perls taught other psychologists his humanistic principles, which focus on staying in the here and now and living to our full potential. In his classic book, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, Perls explained how all of our worrying, planning, and rehearsing while we relive the past and anticipate the future prevents us from experiencing living. How especially true this is for people with autoimmune disorders. The time we spend anticipating impending medical catastrophies, researching our conditions to death and imagining every symptom a hallmark of disease progression is not only time wasted, it's an immune system burden. The psychological stress we create circumvents the healing process. When we magnify every muscle cramp or headache and live in a doomsday world, we never consider that many of these symptoms often have nothing to do with our autoimmune condition.
Gestalt therapy also includes facing our fears and overcoming them through the study of our dreams and dream fragments. In his workshops and books, Perls explains how our fears and our feelings of being manipulated or bullied prevent us from functioning as an autonomous whole (gestalt). The real or imagined resentments we carry from childhood or harbor in the present and the boundaries we create (the us vs them mentality) to perpetuate hostilities affect us more than we could imagine. Every immune system cell in our body perceives our negative feelings and reactions and suffers for it.
A simplistic guide to living, Gestalt therapy helps us to focus on the present and live life to the fullest by living each minute anew rather than as a prescribed script or incompletely because of mental distractions. The joie de vivre (joy of life) we experience by living in the now is a gift that our immune system cells will thank us for. For Perls, now and how are the keywords, whereas why and what if are meaningless questions that prevent us from focusing on facing our own responsibilities. Living in the now and how, we become responsible adults living in harmony with nature. By not allowing anxiety and self-pity to take over our lives, we allow our bodies the opportunity to heal.
Resource:
Frederick Perls, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, New York: Bantam, 1969.
