What is Gestalt?
In Simple Words?
Gestalt is a sacred space to be real, to heal, and to remember who you are.
Gestalt is a holistic approach that invites us to look at the whole person, not just one problem, one emotion, one behavior, or one part of your story.
Your thoughts, emotions, body, relationships, experiences, beliefs, and past all have a place in your experience of being you.
Rather than pushing certain parts away or deciding that one part of you is the "problem," Gestalt invites us to become curious about what is happening within the whole of you and how those different parts interact.
And instead of constantly looking backward for answers or rushing ahead toward what comes next, Gestalt brings our attention to what is happening right now.
Because sometimes, when we slow down enough to notice what is actually happening within us, we begin to understand what we've been trying to tell ourselves all along.
Why Does the Present Moment Matter?
So much of our lives happen somewhere other than right now.
We replay what happened yesterday.
We worry about what might happen tomorrow.
We carry old beliefs and experiences into new situations without always realizing it.
Gestalt brings our attention back to what is happening right now.
What are you feeling?
What are you noticing?
What is happening in your body?
What are you thinking?
What do you want?
What are you avoiding?
What keeps showing up?
Awareness gives us information. And when we become aware of something, we have more opportunity to choose what we want to do with it.
It's More Than Just Your Thoughts
We often try to understand ourselves by thinking our way through everything.
But we're more than our thoughts.
Our emotions, our bodies, our relationships, our behaviors, our beliefs, and the ways we've learned to protect ourselves can all tell us something about what we're experiencing.
Gestalt invites us to slow down enough to notice those things.
Sometimes your body notices something before your mind has words for it.
Sometimes a familiar reaction points toward a pattern you've been repeating.
Sometimes what you're feeling in the moment gives you information you haven't allowed yourself to hear.
You Can't Change What You Don't Notice
I don't believe coaching is about telling you who you should be.
It's not about giving you a list of things to fix.
It's about becoming more aware of the ways you're showing up now.
Maybe you notice a belief you've carried for years.
Maybe you recognize a pattern that keeps repeating.
Maybe you realize you've been saying yes when you really mean no.
Maybe you discover you've been living according to what everyone else needs instead of listening to yourself.
Awareness doesn't necessarily give you an immediate answer.
But it can give you something incredibly important:
choice.
Once you can see what is happening, you can begin deciding what you want to do differently.
So What Does This Actually Look Like?
There's no script you have to follow.
You don't have to come to a session knowing exactly what you want to talk about.
We might start with something that happened during your week.
We might explore something you've been feeling.
We might notice a reaction you're having or a pattern that keeps showing up.
I may ask you questions that invite you to slow down and pay attention to what you're experiencing in the moment.
We might notice what is happening in your body.
We might sit with an emotion instead of immediately trying to push it away.
And sometimes, simply having the space to slow down and really notice yourself can reveal something you didn't realize was there.
What I Don't Do
I'm not here to tell you what you should do with your life.
I'm not here to diagnose you.
I'm not here to tell you what your experience means.
And I'm not here to make decisions for you.
My role is to help create a space where you can become more aware of yourself, explore what is happening for you, and discover what feels true for you.
You are the expert on your own life.
I'm here to walk alongside you.
And Sometimes, a Horse Becomes Part of the Conversation.
Gestalt coaching can happen without horses.
It can happen in person, over Zoom, or on the phone.
And sometimes, a horse becomes part of the work.
Horses can offer a unique way of experiencing the present moment and noticing what is happening within us.
That's where Equine Gestalt Coaching comes in.
The foundation is still Gestalt.
The horse becomes a partner in the process.