Communication Skills

"Change occurs when one becomes what one is, not when one tries to become what one is not."  ~ Arnold R. Beisser

"Nothing is permanent about our behaviour patterns except our belief that they are so."~ Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc.

I am co-author of the book published in 2007: Korb, Davenport, Korb & Martin; i-Contact: A Gestalt Guide to Skilled Communication. (International Gestalt Press). I wrote the work-book section of this guide based on my teaching notes from support groups and communication classes at the Florida School of Massage and the Gestalt Center of Gainesville, Inc. over the past 20 years.

This is a method of psychotherapy that is both respectful and creative. The therapist is available without being intrusive. The client is supported in ways that facilitate recognition of their own unique answers. If the client is "resistant" or "stuck" the therapist will continue to support them where they are without trying to "fix" them or the situation. Instead the therapist will select creative tools to help people explore and experience exactly how they are in the present. Creative gestalt techniques are respectful ways of facilitating awareness in the client's process.

Margaret (Pat) Korb, Ph.D., 1920-2009, was Director and Co-Founder of the Gestalt Center of Gainesville.     She began her career in Gestalt therapy in 1970 and was a co-author of the text, Gestalt Therapy: Practice
and Theory (Pergamon Press, 1989). Pat held an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of Florida. She was a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida and a founding member of the International Gestalt Therapy Association (IGTA). Pat continued working with clients right up until her death in August 2009.

I began training in 1982 with Dr. Korb and after five years of training, I became an assistant trainer in Gestalt skilled communication groups. I decided to acquire the credentials for psychotherapy and in 1993 completed my MSW degree with Florida State University. In 1995 I completed the first Gestalt Therapy Professional Training and became a trainer for subsequent professional training programs. Pat Korb has remained one of my primary professional and personal support persons. I am eternally grateful for all of her influences in my life and I have been blessed to have her as a friend and mentor. Josie Davenport, LMT LCSW

How does Gestalt therapy relate to massage therapy? Are there any techniques or philosophies that go for both? Explain.

Gestalt is a way of being as well as a therapeutic method. At the Florida School of Massage, gestalt techniques have been incorporated into our whole method and philosophy for making respectful and supportive contact with people that is not intrusive.

Qualities of Gestalt therapeutic interactions that are fundamental to our training programs at the Florida School of Massage:
-radical respect

Radical respect is about dropping our own agendas, our desire to "help", and all of our advice giving and instead trusting that this person already has everything they need inside themselves to guide them to their own health. They are unique and already whole. Their personal "gestalt" can only be recognized and completed by them.

-respecting resistance

Respecting resistance in a talk therapy session means that when someone is stuck, don't try to get them to move. Instead, be present with them in that stuck place. Ask what they need to feel safe. Guide them in exploring what it's like to be stuck and support them there. Rather than trying to get the client to move forward, the therapist may ask, "what might happen if you did move forward?" This is a way of staying with the present while still addressing the fear. In bodywork, there are physical cues for resistance. The person may tense up or feel cold. The therapist will do whatever they can do to offer support and safety. For example, if the client turns on their side and folds, the therapist will assist that process by offering a pillow to hug or an extra blanket.

-healthy boundaries

The primary training tool for understanding boundaries at the Florida School of Massage is the exercise in which we practice separating what we directly perceive with our senses and the conclusions that we form about those perceptions. When I am aware of the judgments that I constantly make about myself and others, I can begin to open myself to the real uniqueness that we each possess. The possibilities are limitless.

-asking for clarification

As a therapist, I have learned to set my life aside while I lend myself to listening to my client. It is the same process with Gestalt or with massage. Massage therapists listen with ears and eyes and also with hands. A muscles suddenly tightens. I could say, "are you aware that this just tightened?" This is a way of asking without putting any interpretation in the question.

-following body process

In Gestalt therapy, I may ask, "when you tell that story, does anything resonate in your body? Is there any change in sensation?" Then the client may speak of physical shifts that can't be seen by the therapist. Some body processes are visible like blushing, clenching, or holding the breath, as well as overall relaxation, sighing or yawning. In either a Gestalt session or a massage session, bringing a clients attention to shifts in the body in the present moment can be meaningful. When a gestalt is complete, the client often experiences a sense of relaxation, spreading warmth and well being.

-health and wholeness

See "radical respect"

The following words are from our web page: floridaschoolofmassage.com

The students begin the program with sensitivity and perceptivity exercises which help form the base for contacting our clients with safety and respect.