A client says 'It is difficult to get a job in New York City.' A gestalt counselor would be expected to...

A client says 'It is difficult to get a job in New York City.' A gestalt counselor would be expected to...

• A. Reframe to an external attribution
• B. Move to an objective fact
• C. Change verbalization to an 'I' statement
• D. Dream analysis

Answer: (C)

In gestalt therapy, the emphasis is on owning the present experience and increasing awareness through I-statements. When a client says “It is difficult to get a job in New York City,” the counselor would guide them to shift the language to take personal responsibility for their experience. By saying something like “I am having difficulty finding a job in New York City” or “I feel frustrated about my job search in NYC,” the client connects with their own feelings, perceptions, and actions in the here and now. This helps bring clarity, fosters self-awareness, and invites exploration of what the client is choosing to think, feel, or do that affects the situation. The other options don’t fit gestalt practice because they either distance the client from their internal experience, reduce emotional engagement, or rely on methods from other theories (for example, non-I statements externalize the issue, objective facts remove emotional content, and dream analysis comes from psychodynamic approaches).

In gestalt therapy, the emphasis is on owning the present experience and increasing awareness through I-statements. When a client says “It is difficult to get a job in New York City,” the counselor would guide them to shift the language to take personal responsibility for their experience. By saying something like “I am having difficulty finding a job in New York City” or “I feel frustrated about my job search in NYC,” the client connects with their own feelings, perceptions, and actions in the here and now. This helps bring clarity, fosters self-awareness, and invites exploration of what the client is choosing to think, feel, or do that affects the situation. The other options don’t fit gestalt practice because they either distance the client from their internal experience, reduce emotional engagement, or rely on methods from other theories (for example, non-I statements externalize the issue, objective facts remove emotional content, and dream analysis comes from psychodynamic approaches).