Gestalt Approach to Working with Psychological Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Although not all people who experience trauma experience long-term negative consequences, quite often the experience of trauma affects psychological, social, physical and professional functioning, which determines the need to study techniques for processing it. The term trauma refers to experiences that cause intense physical and psychological stress reactions. The article provides an overview of theories of trauma, the concept of existential trauma, its types, as well as modern approaches to the treatment of trauma-related disorders. The existential context of the traumatic experience is indicated. Gestalt Trauma Therapy is a step-by-step model based on Gestalt principles that integrates key common factors and elements of other evidence-based approaches to trauma treatment. Gestalt therapy covers the general factors of psychotherapy and corresponds to the three main stages of trauma therapy: assessment, trauma-related work, and closure. The described model of Gestalt trauma therapy is considered effective for working with traumatic experiences.