Violet Oaklander's Gestalt Therapy Theory

Violet Oaklander utilizes various approaches when working with children and adolescents. She is able to incorporate the Gestalt Therapy Theory into her philosophy, while implementing creative and expressive techniques with her clients. There are five important concepts that she uses in her work. It is significant to develop a relationship with the client, as well as to strengthen the child’s sense of self and contact functions. Furthermore, she assists the client in expressing their emotions, and the normal development and growth of the child is also vital.
The relationship that is developed with the client is the foundation of the therapeutic process (Violet Oaklander, 1997). It is a powerful tool that requires careful nurturing in order
Oaklander utilizes various approaches to further enhance their contact functions from then on. Before she initiates the techniques, it is important to assess the child first. She begins by observing whether the client is able to make and maintain effective contact during the sessions, or if they are constantly in and out of contact or having difficulty initiating any contact at all. If a child that regularly demonstrates effective contact skills suddenly appears distracted in the beginning of the session, it may be a sign that something has happened, so it is important to utilize observational skills with the clients. The reason contact functions are significant to the sessions is due to the fact that nothing can happen without it. Oaklander makes a point to focus on the way the child is functioning within the sessions, rather than what occurs when the child communicates outside. It is also vital to concentrate on how comfortable the client is in the session, as this will impact the whether they can initiate and maintain contact. By giving this aspect attention, the therapeutic relationship continues to develop to further enhance the client’s potential within the sessions. If the child is present during the sessions, that reflects effective contact functions, which is through their senses, body, emotional expression, and intellect. However, having effective contact functions also exposes the ability for the child to appropriately withdraw instead of becoming rigid in the situation, which Oaklander describes as a phony attempt to initiate contact functions. There are clients that have experienced trauma or abuse and it has caused them to desensitize themselves from their contact functions. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the children with opportunities that will reintroduce them to their contact