Arjun, 35, a bank clerk in Lucknow, has felt anxious for months. For months, Dr. Sen has kept the same Saturday hour for him and has never missed a meeting. When he describes a hard day at the bank, she seems to sense his worry from the inside, the way he feels it himself. Arjun says these Saturday meetings help him most. At the same centre he also joins a group. There, Kabir, who never speaks of his anger towards his father, is asked to play out an imagined talk with him in front of the others. While he speaks, he is asked to notice the tightness in his jaw and fists.
The method used with Kabir in the group belongs to a therapy whose goal is to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → increase an individual's self-awareness and self-acceptance
Option (1) help clients find meaning and responsibility in their life — Incorrect. Finding meaning and responsibility in life is the goal of logotherapy, given by Victor Frankl. Kabir is not helped to search for meaning; he is made to play out a feeling he keeps hidden.
Option (2) help clients gain insight into unconscious conflicts through transference — Incorrect. Gaining insight through transference belongs to psychoanalytic therapy. Kabir does not shift old feelings onto the therapist; he acts out an imagined talk and watches his body, which is Gestalt work.
Option (3) increase an individual's self-awareness and self-acceptance — Correct. Acting out an imagined scene about a hidden feeling, while noticing body tension, is the method of Gestalt therapy (Fritz and Laura Perls). Its goal is to increase self-awareness and self-acceptance by helping the client see the emotions and bodily processes he blocks out.
Option (4) help clients dispute and change their irrational beliefs — Incorrect. Disputing irrational beliefs is the method of rational emotive therapy. Nobody questions Kabir's beliefs here; he is asked to play out a feeling and notice his body.
NCERT (2026-27): “Gestalt Therapy |