Introduction
Anna’s story illustrated joblessness despite a struggle to complete university to earn a nursing degree and make money by working as an escort at night and as a single parent and student during the day. Anna depended on financial aid from her parents to raise her son since she lacked the resources to renew her expired nursing license. Her parents are not convinced that she can care for her son alone. Her current physician and former therapist are hesitant to assist her in getting better. This study focuses on two theories that helped Anna resolve her issues: Gestalt therapy and Holland’s Theory. Gestalt therapy is a compassionate, client-centred, holistic therapeutic method founded on psychological principles and broader Gestalt theory. Its plans are original, proactive, and generally client-focused. At the same time, Hollands’ approach focuses on the surroundings and individuals. Holland developed a model, RIASEC, Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional, to analyse personality types and environments. People are more inclined to be accomplished and content if they choose a workplace that fits their personality type. Additionally, it discusses how the two theories compare and contrast and their advantages and disadvantages concerning Anna’s case.
Counselling Theory One – Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy, which Fritz Perls created in 1940, is a type of counselling that emphasises a patient’s current situation more than their last memories. The idea emphasises perceptions and focuses on the way we assign significance, interpret our surroundings, and generate an understanding of our encounters. The interpretation we give to our encounters encompasses our thoughts, feelings, and the steps we take to deal with the many challenges we face in life. The Gestalt method emphasises an individual as an entirety, the singularity of their encounters, and accepting responsibilities instead of blaming another (Bhasin, 2020). Gestalt therapy aims for the patient to work with the counsellor to raise individual consciousness of the here-and-now time and confront the barriers impeding recovery. The main supports are: The Gestalt therapist knows that nobody can be completely impartial since our surroundings and actions shape how we perceive the world. The therapist should never force their opinions on the patient as they openly express their feelings. The client understands their circumstances and the outside factors affecting their conduct (Farnsworth, 2022). To help individuals become fully conscious of their situations, opinions, and reactions to everyday occurrences, Context Matters asks gestalt therapists for insight concerning their patients’ emotions. By being aware of oneself and accepting ownership of their behaviours, the therapist assists individuals in disclosing some of their darkest mysteries while listening to them. Focusing on the now is the prominent distinguishing feature of Gestalt therapy. The patient and the psychotherapist play a vital role in fostering a sense of security and trustworthiness in the therapy. Suppose a clinician feels that the patient is wasting excessively long in the memories or that their worry is hurdling toward the unknown as they communicate. In that case, the goal of a Gestalt psychotherapist is to return the patient to the moment (Clarke, 2023). Additionally, activities like analysing a client’s body language or facial expressions help them become more aware of the present. The customer in the Stepping with the Suffering idea is provided a secure environment to examine their hurts and wounds sufficiently, and the therapist supports them. At the same time, they do so to heal internally without being judged or criticised. Self-Awareness concept relies on role acting, guided imagery, and props to assist the patient in communicating and comprehending with the counsellor,. It may be cultivated by being fully present in the here and now, focusing on their senses, being aware of everything around them, and accepting responsibilities. (StudyMode, 2021).
Theory Applied to Scenario Client
In the scenario of Anna, the following strategies and processes would be applied: The psychotherapist may take advantage of Anna’s aptitude in the performing arts to help deal with her feelings. Anna’s fondest recollection is receiving awards for writing and acting. Writing gives Anna the freedom to address the worries, panic attacks, and poor self-worth that have plagued her from infancy through parenting. She can additionally act out her experiences growing up with bodily and psychologically violent parents, her struggles as a single mother plus a nursing student, and harassment from her ex-boyfriend. Role-playing and creativity aid Anna in gaining a more excellent knowledge of herself, her experiences, and the beginning of the healing process (Yontef, 1993). The unoccupied seat approach involves Anna conversing with the person opposite her, whether it be her parents, ex-boyfriend, or another aspect of herself. The therapist would urge her to express her concerns, anxieties openly, and wants when speaking about the vacant seat. As a result, Anna would grow increasingly conscious of her feelings to begin recovery (Lindsay, 2022).
The gestalt psychotherapist will subsequently monitor Anna’s body behaviour and motion, for example stamping her leg, squeezing her palms, or producing a specific facial reaction throughout an appointment before asking her to talk from that position and offer an utterance. The counsellor subsequently cites their findings and queries the client about what may be happening at that particular period. The therapist prioritises accepting while minimising any assessment so that Anna can freely express her sentiments. To effectively communicate her true feelings during treatment, Anna should be taught to utilise “I” words and phrases, such as impatience when furious. It sheds light on the precise rationale behind her relocation to another town. She may genuinely go forward in modifying her emotions and actions once she becomes mindful of the causes behind them (PT, 2017).
Strengths and Limitations
The benefits of Gestalt therapy in Anna’s case include Improvements in her capacity to control and supervise her state of mind, knowledge of her desires, and tolerance of unpleasant feelings, enhanced interaction abilities, enhanced emotional intelligence, enhanced awareness and a higher sense of self-worth and self-assurance, being conscious of oneself and adaptability to current circumstances have risen—greater appreciation of oneself, resolving challenges and disagreements in families and relationships (Maria, 2020). However, the approach needs to place more emphasis on the present. The duration of therapy could be extended since Anna could fail to recall her past experiences in the present. Counsellors could get compelled to use Gestalt counselling routines and activities irresponsibly if they do not fully understand the concept underlying it, which makes it doubtful to match the patient’s aspirations (Clarke, 2023). Whereas Perls advocated open communication between the patient and the psychotherapist during sessions, gestalt therapists cannot elicit private information from Anna unless required (Mukherjee, 2022).
Counselling Theory Two- John Holland’s theory
John Holland is a psychotherapist whose personality, career theory, and practice advances have primarily been concerned with choosing a career and adapting to it. He was curious about the processes and choices involved in picking, responding to, and changing jobs (Zainudin et al., 2020). He created The RIASEC framework, which is used to analyse types of personalities and environmental factors (Abey, 2020). Several additional crucial ideas considered vital to the Holland hypothesis; identity, differentiation, consistency, congruence, and calculus are also graphically shown using the hexagon form. Calculus describes how closely linked all personalities are based on how far apart they are on a hexagon. The following tenets of the theory pertain to persons and situations that are easier to comprehend when one has a basic understanding of calculus. Nearby pairings of traits on the hexagon are the most connected and, hence, the most reliable (Career Key, 2023). Congruence is the degree to which a person’s personality and the characteristics of the job environment they ultimately choose are complementary. Differentiation looks at an individual’s purity of character traits and whether they match one or two types while separating themselves from others. For instance, a person is deemed strongly distinct if they score well on conventional and much lower on other categories. A sign of a solid professional identity is an in-depth understanding of the professional image, which involves being aware of one’s passions, ambitions, and abilities and moving to the proper employment context. The ideas of differentiation and consistency are closely tied to levels of identity. Holland concluded that the people there defined the surroundings’ nature (Iresearchnet, 2016).
Theory Applied to Scenario Client
According to Holland’s view, an individual’s character and choice of employment are intrinsically linked. The therapist will guide Anna through RIASEC character types that scholars use as a guiding principle when choosing their future occupations. Realistic individuals take a practical or problem-solving attitude to mechanical or human situations (Grandy & Stahmann, 1974). Anna’s scenario shows that she has a passion for creating art, hence her artistic personality. The counsellor should guide Anna to write about her life worries instilled by her abusive parents, ex-boyfriend and the inability to acquire a valid nursing license to provide for her son and herself in an unrestricted atmosphere. It fosters originality and individual freedom in the artistic (A) setting. Through professional writing, Anna can earn an income to support themselves and avoid depending on handouts from her parents. Anna worked for an escort agency as she pursued a degree in nursing, conveying her social personality, passions, and beliefs. The therapist can encourage Anna to embrace the dramatisation of her fears and life struggles as a problem-solving approach in groups of individuals with the same personalities in the social (S) environment (Meier, 2009). The activity will help her to relive her past, accept the reality and begin a recovery journey. The Conventional (C) environment is characterised by structure and plan. Finally, by deciding to work in a hospital, Anna has a conventional personality. The counsellor should prioritise having financial literacy advice with Anna and adhere to regulations and instructions by renewing her nursing license on time. When Anna is placed in an occupation that suits her personality, she will feel happy (Guy-Evans, 2021).
Strengths and Limitations
The benefit of applying Hollands’ theory to Anna’s situation is that therapists may assist her in evaluating her hobbies and job setting and comprehending their connection. She can find job situations that suitably fit her personality using the RIASEC model. Additionally, Annas’ RIASEC results may be used to assist in narrowing her professional alternatives down to realistic ones. Holland emphasises that individuals are more likely to be successful and content if they choose to work in an environment that suits their unique traits (Bullock & Reardon, 2004).
The drawbacks of using Hollands’ theory include that Ann’s unemployment position needs to be sufficiently articulated in theory and that the therapist may have overlooked certain crucial aspects that connect Ann’s surroundings and personality (TEC, 2019). Additionally, avoiding assuming that Anna is liberated to use passions as the primary consideration in her learning and professional careers is crucial. Because financial developments and shifts in the workforce mean that she has limited job possibilities, economic limitations have increased the number of compelled to switch careers, and internationalisation and technological advancements have caused swift changes in the workplace structure. The therapist needs to be more expansive in what she can do to help Anna with her unemployment (Putri & Sari, 2018).
Similarities and Differences across the Approaches
Both Gestalt therapy and Holland’s theory of professional choices place a strong emphasis on the individual-environment interaction. Gestalt therapy is based on the idea that people interact with one another and their environment to meet needs. The six personality types proposed by Holland flourish in a specific environment. The therapists in Gestalt therapy and Hollands’ theory must comprehend Anna’s circumstances to provide suitable guidance.
In contrast to Holland’s thesis, which holds that expert personality and labour environment congruence form the basis of one’s occupational pleasure, gestalt therapy heavily focuses on what is recognised as a whole and the virtue of staying engaged in the present time and accepting responsibility for her behaviour. Using the Holland Theory, individuals can identify their expert personality, career enthusiasm, and labour ethic (Walsh, 2004). While Gestalt therapy addresses Anna’s present issues regardless of the traumatic events in past experiences that may hurt her future, Hollands’ theory is successful in occupation and college choices to use in future career life (Nauta, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gestalt therapy urged Anna and others to concentrate on raising their level of self-awareness, remaining present, and thinking about things in the present. Patients are given a chance to accept and embrace their encounters, feel more in charge of those experiences, and develop better ways to govern their feelings and connections with others. As counsellors work to help patients heal and integrate their self-aspects, they may eventually develop into healthy people. According to Hollands’ theory, careers are decided by a personality-environment interaction utilising the RIASEC model, which stands for Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Utilising the RIASEC model, people are encouraged better to comprehend their needs and desire in a profession. The greater the match between a person’s personality and surroundings, the more satisfied they are with their job.
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