The gestalt experiment in sex therapy.

The couple with a sex dysfunction is at an impasse. The natural process of sexual self-regulation is interrupted by the self. Growth requires experimenting with new solutions for unsolved problems. The gestalt experiment is a major modality of treatment applicable to sex therapy. To experiment is to invent and discover solutions and to find and make meanings. In posing an experiment, the therapist attempts to create a safe emergency in which risk and support are balanced, permitting the person to stay with the mounting excitement and coming solution. An atmosphere of playfulness and creativity invites experimentation. Thorough familiarity with modes and methods of experimenting permits the therapist's creativity to emerge. Applications of sexual metaphors and sex dysfunction as a nightmare are presented which use methods drawn from gestalt dream work. The use of gestalt experiments are illustrated in a client-therapist dialogue.