Gestalt Approach and Chairwork

The Gestalt approach aims to help clients to reconnect with their ‘whole selves’, to understand their physiological reactions to the issues, as well as their thoughts and feelings, and how these affect them in the here and now. Gestalt coaching encourages clients to identify and reflect on their patterns of behavior and through their insights to test out new ways of being, before implementing these changes to their lives. In this chapter we will aim to explore the gestalt approach, and how the approach can be adapted to work with coaching clients, with a specific focus on Chairwork, a tool which can be used to help clients take alternative perspectives and express their thoughts and feelings to other stakeholders within the coaching conversation.