Gestalt work / GST-A02-1
Figure and Ground — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind figure and ground and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: A job application fills Rae's attention while hunger and noise fade into the background.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. What becomes prominent depends on the surrounding situation.
The idea
What becomes prominent depends on the surrounding situation.
An ordinary example
A job application fills Rae's attention while hunger and noise fade into the background.
What this can look like
Draw a foreground concern and place competing demands in the background; change their sizes to show attention.
Check the fit
What changes when the background is included? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
Awareness is information, not a demand to explain every sensation or change immediately.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- What changes when the background is included?
Conceptual background
Gestalt Therapy: An Introduction — Gary Yontef
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.