Learn Gestalt

Lian came to me because she had a skin rash on her face which she couldn't get rid of. I asked about some contextual information - her life, her stress levels, her healthy, diet, exercise, and family.

She was young - early 20’s - and already meditated. She had tried many health treatments, but nothing had got rid of it.

She was a quiet person, and said people often didn't notice her, except for her rash.

So I asked her to imagine that she was the rash, to describe herself. She said things like:

• I am red

• I cant hide

• I am sensitive

• I wont go away

• I am pushing people away

• I am ugly

• I am inflamed

I checked with her what she felt in her body when she made these statements. She reported feelings sensitive, hot, and uncomfortable.

I then explored with her each of the statements. I said ‘tell me about red’, and helped her to explore what red meant in her life. She told me about a sad memory of Chinese new year, with lots of red colour around, but her father did not return home.

Other statements also yielded stories. When she talked about hiding, she expressed how she wanted to hide from her mother, who beat her.

I asked her about pushing people away. At first she couldn't explain that to me - she was a very kind person, who always wanted to do things for other. But as we went deeper, it became apparent that she used being the ‘giver’ in relationship to not allow people close to her. To accept from others means to let them come closer.

The one that yelled a lot of power was ‘pushing people away’. I asked her to say that to me directly: “I want to push you away.” This brought up a lot of energy, once she got over her shyness. I invited her to push against my hands, so she could embody the pushing away.

She did this tentatively at first, and then more and more strongly. All her energy came through her hands.

I asked her what she felt: anger. So we worked with her embodying her anger.

I only saw her twice, but she reported to me some time later that her rash had mostly cleared up, and that she was able to be more assertive in her life and relationships.