Exaggeration Technique
Another stage of "chair work," states Norman Friedman[1] is to use an Exaggeration Technique to "encourage both the two sides to confront one another and to intensify the conflict. Much like the Empty Chair Technique, the Exaggeration Technique uses encourages the patient to In other words, it aims to produce the "reenactment" of "unfinished business" which, according to Perls' theory, is essential to experiencing and assimilating unacknowledged feelings.
A primary goal for the therapist during two-chair work is to help the client keep the partial aspects of the self separated, which can aid in conflict resolution and integration (Clarke & Greenberg, 1988)[2] The therapist’s direction can improve the client’s attention to inner processes and may help raise the client’s awareness of what he or she is experiencing in the moment. For example, the therapist may ask the client to focus on a particular nonverbal behavior that is interrupting the experience or may ask the client to exaggerate statements or voice inflection to intensify affective experiencing (Daldrup, Beutler, Engle, & Greenberg, 1988)[3].
The Technique
Another common exercise in gestalt therapy is the exaggeration exercise. During this exercise, the person in therapy is asked to repeat and exaggerate a particular movement or expression, such as frowning or bouncing a leg, in order to make the person more aware of the emotions attached to the behavior.
Example of an Exaggeration Dialogue
- PT: I am feeling angry.
- TH: You don't appear to be angry.
- PT: It makes me really mad (smiles and makes slight movement of arm and and limp fist).
- TH: Can you show me with your fist how angry you are?
- PT: (makes fist)
- TH: And if you exaggerate that impulse what does your fist do?
- PT: (softly bangs arm of chair)
- TH: And if you allow yourself to feel the full experience of that anger what is it like?
- PT: Shows more force in movement.
- TH: And what does that impulse feel like?
- PT: Like a volcano wants to explode in my chest!
References
- ↑ Friedman, N. (1993). Fritz Perls's layers' and the empty chair: A reconsideration. The Gestalt Journal, XVI(2), pp. 95-118.
- ↑ Clarke, K. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (1988). Clinical research on Gestalt methods. In F. N. Watts (Ed.), New developments in clinical psychology (Vol. II, pp. 5–19). New York: Wiley and the British Psychological Society.
- ↑ Daldrup, R.J., Beutler, L.E., Engle, D., & Greenberg, L.S. (1988). Focused expressive psychotherapy: Freeing the over controlled patient. New York: Guilford Press
