The devil and all his works

[smokingboot]

Studied Gestalt therapy last night. Interesting. We worked with rocks. I am the Happy Whale.

This class is full of excellent people and some are becoming chums. One such gave me a present she'd been saving for me, something she said she would never use, it had been given to her and sat in a box for months; an Orange mobile phone. She is so kind, but this fills me with dread.

I have had a mobile phone before; you know what? These things are only good for when you are trapped down a mine or something, and the rescuers above can find you via the signal. Otherwise, they are just tags on you. Anyone can call you at any time, and they will. If your phone is switched off, you are to blame for them not being able to reach you. You miss calls and it feels like something terrible must have happened, cos hey, first they tried your landline then they tried your mobile. It must be important. God, it's horrid.

No-one talks on phones, I certainly can't. It's the lukewarm porridge of communication, OK for when there's no other way. Let's talk face to face, or let's write stuff down, both funky and accurate ways of expressing oneself. Let's use the phone for emergency chumship and quickfire arrangements. Much more civilised.

I had a vodaphone given to me by a friend most excellent, years ago. I believe it was a combination gift from several beloved chums, but she was the originator and most ardent supporter of the idea. For the first 12 months there was some kind of deal that saved me lots of money or something, I don't know, cos I mainly used the phone for calls from her saying 'Are you using the phone I gave you?' After that, it snowballed into a permanent drain on my account. 'You have to shop around for the right deal,' she would say, but I hate shopping and comparing savings and all that kind of stuff. I just couldn't be arsed. And Vodaphone were arses themselves to deal with. No, I was grateful when it ended.

And now it starts again.

The thing lies sleeping in its box down in the front room. I am ignoring it.

Comments

Re: Studied Gestalt therapy last night.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

Transactional Analysis focuses on transactions between people and the roles they take in those. So theories like the Persecutor/Victim/Onlooker Triangle and the Parent/Adult/Child options both come from there. It's an interesting relational theory.

I love Gestalt. Hopefully in a couple of years time I shall be an accreditted Gestalt Psychotherapist. Currently I'm a Gestalt Counsellor.

Re: Studied Gestalt therapy last night.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Didn't know that...go you!

Gestalt sparks me up, but our tutors are a bit ambivalent; Perls doesn't seem to have liked women much, and our tutors considered his methods powerful but perhaps counter-productive for the vulnerable. But I feel really drawn to the little I've seen of it. I would like to find out more.

Re: Studied Gestalt therapy last night.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

Your tutors aren't aware of the fact that Perls was but one of the founders of Gestalt and by no means the best example? I much prefer the work of his wife frinstance. The developments in the field over the last thirty years have also changed a lot. It winds me up when people teach intro courses as if each approach was simply a collection of techniques, without looking at the underlying philosophy of the theories.

Re: Studied Gestalt therapy last night.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

The course seems well-intentioned, but I could do with something more structured and deeper in analysis. Certainly compared to this whole 'contracting' thing, the theories and techniques have suffered real time deficit. Now we are told to go away and read, but no reading list was given at the start of the course... tuesday night,we got a couple of names and books, but it's mid-term now!

I suppose this is because it really is just an introduction, to see who's up for more and who isn't. As I am very interested, it's a bit frustrating, though the course has stimulated my interest a lot.