Dialogue With Yourself: A Study Of Effects Of Gestalt Therapy Techniques On Promoting The Self-Growth Of Female Undergraduates

The concept of Gestalt therapy was first appeared in Perls's works. It is considered as a branch of humanistic school, and was praised to have the ability of promoting people's mental health and fostering one's self-realization. The main purpose of this study is to assess the effects of Gestalt therapy techniques on promoting the growth of female undergraduates, meanwhile, discuss its applicability in Chinese society. The thesis firstly describes the theory framework and the clinical process of Gestalt therapy, and reviews relative researches (including studies on Gestalt group counseling) both in and out of country. And it discusses and summarizes the mental developmental charatistics and mental health status of female undergraduates.Then it goes on with group research and case study. In group research, 20 volunteers were assigned randomly and averagely to treatment group and control group. The treatment group participated in the Gestalt therapy group counseling (approximately 1.5 to 2 hours each time, 10 times in total) designed by the researcher. All subjects received pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test with Self-Worth Scale and Emotion-Stability-Test, the data was analyzed to test the hypotheses. After the group, all group members were interviewed to better understand the effects of Gestalt therapy group counseling. Both quantified and qualified data were used in this part of research. In case study, a case of female undergraduate student who confronted with lovelorn affairs and interpersonal difficulties was used to demonstrate the special techniques and values of Gestalt therapy.The results of the above study were discussed, and suggestions for future research and application in the field of Gestalt psychotherapy were proposed at the final.