Integrated Masculinity: Using Gestalt Counseling with Male Clients

Many of the theoretical principles and techniques common in Gestalt work fit well with recommendations for conducting effective counseling with men. Gestalt therapy values each client's unique context and diversity variables and strives to understand the client's experience from his or her perspective (Resnick, 1995). This alone suggests that a client's gender expression will play a vital role in a counselor's ability to connect with the client and help him meet his therapeutic goals. Additionally, Gestalt work is often characterized by active experiments both in and out of session that can challenge traditional notions of counseling (Clarkson, 2004). This matches nicely with recommendations for working with men in therapy, including using "male-friendly" language rich with active verbs (Kiselica & Englar-Carlson, 2010), sitting side-by-side (instead of face-to-face) with men, or engaging male clients in physical activity while working with them (Kiselica, 2003). However, a literature search using PsycINFO revealed no published works exploring the use of Gestalt counseling with male clients. Although some published works did stress the importance of gender as a diversity variable, none provided specific recommendations for tailoring counseling to meet men's needs. In this article, we examine some of the constructs and interventions common in Gestalt work and how this applies to work with men. Masked case examples are used to illustrate the use of certain ideas and techniques. Finally, implications for clinical practice and future process and outcome research are discussed. Gestalt Counseling Overview Field Theory, Dialogue, and Phenomenology Gestalt counseling is a humanistic, process-oriented therapy that integrates dialogue, field theory (Lewin, 1951), and phenomenology. For a more complete discussion of Gestalt theory, see Joyce and Sills (2010) and Resnick (1995). Although the word dialogue commonly refers to talking or discussing, it has a more profound place in Gestalt counseling. Here, it is an expression of both parties' genuine experience in the moment. The term also reflects both parties' willingness to join with the other's experience while maintaining their own centeredness. Additionally, dialogue is the willingness to surrender to the interpersonal process that develops in the interaction between the parties without either one trying to control the interaction's outcome (Resnick & Estrup, 2000). Field theory is the tool through which Gestalt counselors will most directly attend to issues of masculinity. The theory might be best understood through the metaphor of a photograph. Looking at a picture, one might initially see one's mother. In this case, the person prominently pictured represents the figure. The ground is composed of the grass, sky, birds, and other objects that appear in the picture's background. If, in discussing the picture, a person explains that the dog stole her mother's sandwich, the dog might suddenly seem more prominent in the photo. Similarly, a client's specific content discussed generally represents the figure in session. Also, the counselor's agenda or recent influential experiences might be the figure in the session because they are prominently in the counselor's awareness. As other factors become important, those factors emerge from the ground into the figure because they were always present but have become prominent (Polster & Polster, 1973). Diversity and ecological factors in the ground constantly interact with one another in constant and complex ways. Social norms regarding masculinity and their effect on the client (e.g., adherence to restrictive gender norms) inform the client's ground and might become figural during the course of counseling. A counselor's awareness of the client's field will ensure that he/she recognizes the role that masculinity plays in informing the client's behavior, internal experience, and relationships. …