Gestalt therapy in a social psychiatric setting: the 'oil & water' solution.

In this case study, a provincial government residential treatment center for mentally and emotionally disturbed adolescents, used Gestalt Therapy as its primary therapeutic and staff-development ideology. Based on participant observation, document analysis, source material Survey on Gestalt Therapy, staff-sample interview and patient sample (of diagnostic, socioeconomic status and intelligence) data, it was demonstrated that Gestalt Therapy was neither designed nor intended for treatment of young adolescents manifesting severe psychiatric or behavioral disorders, for people from lower socioeconomic status families, or of low verbal skill and intelligence. It was discovered that a disporportionately large number of the case study population were: young adolescents, from lower socioeconomic status families, and that a significant proportion were of low verbal skill and intelligence. It was further suggested th,t Gestalt criteria for: physical environment, behavioral expectations (on staff and patient) and group-living ideology were incompatible with professional, legal and treatment expectations in an institutional treatment setting.