© 2001 Oxford University Press
Gestalt Therapy Approaches to Crisis Intervention With Suicidal Clients
The Samaritans, South Fremantle, Australia (Young), The Center for the Study of Suicide, Blackwood, NJ (Lester)
Contact author: David Lester, PhD, RR41, 5 Stonegate Court, Blackwood NJ 08012-5356. E-mail: lesterd{at}stockton.edu.
Suggestions are made based on the concepts of Gestalt therapy for areas that can be explored in clients who are in crises. Rather than being a passive counselor, simply reflecting back to the client their verbal and nonverbal communications, there are specific areas that might fruitfully be explored by a more active crisis counselor, including acknowledging the clients' suicidal ideation and their psychological struggle, exploring their suicidal plan, exploring their anger and underlying loneliness, helping them become aware of their repressed emotions and ambivalence, and exploring options.
KEY WORDS: Gestalt therapy, crisis intervention, suicide, telephone counseling