NUR 1172 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Prentice Hall, Diane Johnson, Gestalt Therapy
Document Summary
Therapeutic confrontation has been defined as the process by which a therapist provides direct, reality-oriented feedback to a client regarding the clients own thoughts, feelings or behavior. Such communications may spring from compassion and concern of form exasperation and contempt. They also vary in their intent, timing, intensity, emotional content, accompanying interventions and the relationships and organizational contexts within which they occur. Counselors who care enough to make demands on their clients are telling them, in effect that they could be in fuller contact with themselves and others. Ultimately, however, clients must decide for themselves if they want to accept this invitation to learn more about themselves. Confrontation is used at times in the practice of gestalt therapy, yet if does not have to be viewed as a harsh attack. Therapeutic confrontation can be done in such a way that clients cooperate, especially when they are invited to examine their attitudes.
