The foundation of TA is the theory of personality and this suggests that we experience and reveal our personality mainly through three ego-states, i.e. Parent (P), Adult (A) and Child (C). Later in this essay, I will show how creativity can originate from ego-states. The Child ego-state, the Parent ego-state, where I “borrowed” uncritically from my parent figures and in Adult ego-state, how I was behaving, thinking and feeling in response to what was going on around me in the here and now, therefore promoting personal growth and awareness.
“Lose your mind and come to your senses” (Fritz Perls). …show more content…
The word “Gestalt” (of German origin) refers to a “whole, configuration, integration, pattern or form” (Patterson, 1986). Gestalt focuses on an experiential and humanistic approach rather than analysis of the unconscious. “All contact is creative adjustment of the organism and environment” (Perls et al., 1972: 230). Gestalt therapy rejects the divisions of mind and body, body and soul, thinking and feeling, and feeling and action. Perls did not see people as made up of separate components, i.e. mind, body and soul, rather human beings function as a whole. The purpose of Gestalt is for self-knowledge, acceptance and growth by looking at the current existence. This theory involves concepts around what is happening in the here and now rather than in the past. I will later describe my personal experience of awareness in the context of a drama