Rabia was referred to a therapist when she was suffering from severe self-doubt and social anxiety. She was encouraged by the therapist to act out her fantasies about feelings and conflicts within her. This enabled Rabia to develop self-acceptance and emotional integration. Identify, which approach was the therapist using?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Gestalt therapy
Option (1) Cognitive behavior therapy — Incorrect. CBT combines cognitive therapy with behavioural techniques: it changes the client’s irrational thoughts and uses methods such as relaxation and reinforcement to change behaviour. Acting out fantasies is not part of it.
Option (2) Psychodynamic therapy — Incorrect. Psychodynamic therapy holds that the therapist understands the client’s intrapsychic conflicts better than the client, and so it is the therapist who interprets the client’s thoughts and feelings to her or him. Rabia is not given interpretations; she acts out her own feelings.
Option (3) Gestalt therapy — Correct. Gestalt therapy, given by Fritz Perls with Laura Perls, aims to increase an individual’s self-awareness and self-acceptance. The therapist encourages the client to act out fantasies about feelings and conflicts, so that the emotions blocked out from awareness are recognised. The German word gestalt means ‘whole’, which fits the emotional integration Rabia reached.
Option (4) Behaviour therapy — Incorrect. Behaviour therapy treats faulty behaviour patterns by changing what comes before and after them, with techniques such as reinforcement, token economy and systematic desensitisation. It does not work through a client’s fantasies.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 02-06-2023 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Gestalt Therapy … The German word gestalt means ‘whole’. This therapy was given by Freiderick (Fritz) Perls together with his wife Laura Perls. The goal of gestalt therapy is to increase an individual’s self-awareness and self-acceptance. The client is taught to recognise the bodily processes and the emotions that are being blocked out from awareness. The therapist does this by encouraging the client to act out fantasies about feelings and conflicts. This therapy can also be used in group settings.…” |