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      Figure 1: Contact-withdrawal cycle (Critchley & Casey 1989)

      As we see in this example, sometimes it takes time for a figure to be formed. The client might be unwilling to open the subject or simply be not aware of what is going on with him. As already mentioned in previous chapters, it is very important to stay as long as it takes in this phase and to tolerate the anxiety that might rise due to confusion. As we see in this example, sometimes we need to change the »modus« and explore some body sensations or emotions that are being raised.

      Figure formation – when the right topic has been revealed – is usually accompanied with an »Aha!«-Moment or Eureka effect, leading again to the client’s increased engagement in the process. Now the activity, whether dialogue or experiment (see an example with empty chair experiment), will lead to clarification and hopefully a natural closure of the issue being raised.

      3. Applying the Basic Concepts of Gestalt Coaching

      Unfinished Business

      A person is not always able to meet a need. For example, we are feeling sleepy, but we have to finish an important project. When it comes to the social and emotional level, the process becomes even more complicated because our needs involve other people. When we are not able to meet a need, the Gestalt is incomplete and the work stays unfinished.

      Unfinished business is a frequent theme in coaching. At the individual level, for example, the topic might be an unresolved conflict with a colleague regarding taking credit for excellent projects. At the collective level, a frequent theme in today’s organizations is workers’ perception of unjust distribution of the economic crisis’ consequences among workers and the ruling elite (managers, politicians, banks etc.). As this topic is usually not discussed, on the metaorganizational level it represents a major collective unfinished business.

      Unfinished business is typical for dysfunctional teams and individuals in organizations. Two facts especially complicate the situation with unfinished business in organizational settings: the unfinished tasks can be related to the client’s previous work experiences, and it is often believed that opening unfinished business is dangerous and should be addressed in psychotherapy rather than coaching. However, experience shows that coaching can be effective in closing an unfinished business. Sometimes the coach is the first person that the client can recount the detailed story to, and experience that someone has listened to him (Bluckert, 2006).

      Organizational Diagnosis

      The previously described Gestalt concepts can be practically applied in the area of organizational diagnosis which usually takes place prior to, or at the very beginning of the coaching process. In contrasts to long and often tedious analyses, organizational diagnosis may be efficiently set using creative techniques. During the first session, a Gestalt oriented coach often invites the client to describe how she sees herself inside the organization (field approach) using creative techniques such as drawings or statuettes. The client forms a picture that represents an own unique Gestalt view of her current organizational situation, composed of her perceptions of different organizational elements (client, peers, structures etc.). After completing the picture, the client is asked to describe it. During this process the figure is typically formed in shape of a particular emotion, sensation or thought, leading to the client’s awareness of her current situation and, hopefully, the clarification of a particular coaching problem.

      An example of this approach can be vividly seen in Figure 2. In the first session the client has been asked to draw a picture on the subject »Me and my organization«. Squares on the left side represent members of the management team inside the organization. The client is represented by one of them. There is no interaction or contact among elements. The circles on the right side represent the work force inside the company. The river in-between the two sides represents the gap between the management and the workforce. Two issues are brought up: 1. The client’s feeling of isolation inside the organization, 2. His feeling of personal as well as management inferiority. The question of the client’s further development inside his organization is defined as the main coaching theme.