Gestalt work / GST-A02-3
Figure and Ground — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about figure and ground while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: A job application fills Rae's attention while hunger and noise fade into the background.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. What becomes prominent depends on the surrounding situation.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore figure and ground using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: What becomes prominent depends on the surrounding situation. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Draw a foreground concern and place competing demands in the background; change their sizes to show attention. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: A job application fills Rae's attention while hunger and noise fade into the background.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What changes when the background is included? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What changes when the background is included?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
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.