Person-Centred Vs Gestalt Therapy Paper

After completing the assigned reading for this week there are two theories that stood out to me. The two theories are person-centered counseling and Gestalt therapy. As I was reading about these two theories I realized I could identify with both of them for two reasons. The first reason is because they focus on the entire person, and how everything they do, say and think affects them as a whole. According to Henderson and Thompson (2016), “the foundation of the person-centered approach to counseling is the idea of the sovereign human” (p. 183). Henderson and Thompson (2016) go on to say that, “the person includes all components of the human being-thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and physical self…” (p. 183). As counselors, it is crucial to evaluate the person as a whole, not just the cognitive-behavioral aspect. Gestalt therapy “helps individuals know …show more content…
Every counseling case is different, and there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. Counselors must follow ethical standards and use their judgement to determine which counseling approach to use, whether it be Adlerian, Rogerian, cognitive-behavioral, or psychoanalytical. They also need to use their judgment when it comes to deciding how and when to terminate counseling. There are some who need counseling for a short period of time, while others need counseling for a long period of time. As I was reading through each of the cases and came to the last one, I was not surprised that Patrick O’Malley had counseled a young man for seven years (Golden, 2002, p. 142). Sometimes, it takes years to help a person reach their full potential and to overcome whatever challenges they are facing. As a result, it is critical for counselors to have patience with their clients, to utilize different approaches until they find one that works for their client, and to realize that counseling may take longer than