Gestalt Psychotherapy and Coaching for Relationships provides psychotherapists and coaches with a thorough understanding of two-person dynamics and offers practical interventions for working with couples and with two-person teams within larger organizations. Part I of this text relates contemporary gestalt therapy theory and gestalt-based coaching to developments in phenomenology, hermeneutics, cognitive science, extended cognition, embodiment, and kinesthesiology. Through a variety of narratives, Part II builds upon these themes and examines issues that typically emerge during couples work, including infidelity, provocative language, asymmetric relationships, sex, the use of emotion, limits and boundaries, and spirituality. Also included are general strategies for assimilating coaching into psychotherapy and vice versa, as well as recommendations for further study.
List of Figure and Tables Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Grounding Work Involving Two Clients 1. An Orientation to Contemporary Gestalt Therapy 2. An Orientation to Gestalt-Based Coaching 3. Contacting, the Satisfaction of Interest, and Positive Psychology 4. Related Subjects and Issues Part II: Attending to Specific Aspects of the Situation 5. It’s Never About Just One Person 6. It’s Often About the Feedback Loop of Mutual Interpretation 7. Turning Around Destructive, Reactive, and Counterproductive Communication 8. Accounting for the Influence of Past Experience 9. Overcoming the Trauma of Infidelity 10. When Asymmetric Relationships Work–And When They Don’t 11. Using Emotional Processing to Strengthen Relationship 12. Volition and Motivation 13. Sexuality and Sexual Dynamics 14. Limits and Boundary Dynamics 15. Spirituality 16. Dyads Within Teams, Families, and Organizations Part III: General Strategies for the Therapist and/or Coach 17. Referring to Research Literature 18. Assimilating Coaching Into Psychotherapy 19. Assimilating Psychology Into Coaching Conclusion Index
Biography
Philip Brownell, MDiv, PCC, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in Idaho and North Carolina, certified professional coach (International Coach Federation), certified gestalt therapist (European Association for Gestalt Therapy), and ordained clergyman. He is also codirector of the Portland Gestalt Therapy Training Institute and staff psychologist at Family Health Services, a patient-centered medical home offering integrated health care to communities in southern Idaho. Dr. Brownell is a writer, editor, and leader in the global movement for research in gestalt therapy, and a frequent conference presenter.
"This book is an original contribution that focuses on a specific topic: the support for dyadic relationships, both from the perspective of coaching and of psychotherapy. It is a bright journey that refreshes the basis of Gestalt therapy theory and practice. Philip Brownell is not only deeply rooted in the theoretical explorations but also in the ongoing dialogue that is developing in the international community of researchers and practitioners. The live examples and vignettes are particularly helpful in clarifying the differences between coaching and therapy."
Gianni Francesetti, Gestalt Therapy Trainer, Istituto di Gestalt HCC Italy, Associate Member, New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy"Philip Brownell is a major contributor to gestalt therapy. Here he describes, in a practical way, how this relational approach can be applied to the context of two-person relationships to transform the conventional individualistic paradigm. Scientific and philosophical issues are presented in a conversational style, including personal reflections. The reader is drawn into a journey where the contents are integrated with a "something more", which helps to see your own relationships with a transcendent eye."
Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb, Director, Istituto di Gestalt HCC Italy"This book by a master gestalt therapist uniquely integrates relational contemporary gestalt therapy with both couples counseling and the specific skills of coaching. The breadth of his study includes philosophy, spirituality, and psychology. This results in a synergy that intensifies our understanding of these approaches and opens doors to new considerations of relationality. "
Dan Bloom, JD, LCSW, psychotherapist, faculty, New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy
