Awareness forms the heart of the theory and practice of gestalt therapy (Sills, Fish & Lapworth, 1995, p. 22). According to Perls, awareness is the ability of the individual to be in communication with his entire perceptual environment. The individual is in communication with his own existence; noticing what is happening inside and around him; establishing bonds with oneself, other people and the environment; knowing what he thinks, senses or feels; It is the capacity to know how one responds to each moment (Clarkson & Mackewn, 1993, p. 44).
Awareness is not just a cognitive process; It includes all experiences, whether cognitive, sensory, emotional or physical. It is a holistic process that involves the entire organism (Clarkson & Mackewn, 1993, p. 44). Because awareness; is to notice, make sense of and connect, and includes lived experiences of the spiritual, emotional, cognitive and physical dimensions of our existence. Therefore, true awareness; It is different from cognitive processes such as thinking, weighing and introspection, which do not directly affect a person's development. Holistic awareness is grounded in rich somatic and emotional experiences and includes both intuition and bodily sensations (Mackewn, 2004, p. 113).
awareness; It is a way of understanding ourselves and our needs, organizing our environment, and making sense of our experiences (Mackewn, 2004, p. 113). The things we are aware of in daily life are very few, and increased awareness can be very enriching. Experiences and perceptions become more colorful and powerful. Interactions that have become semi-ritual due to habit gain freshness and novelty. We connect with ourselves and the reality of the world around us (Sills, Fish & Lapworth, 1995, p. 22). Considered from this perspective, awareness is a blessing because it allows us to perceive and make sense of what is happening around us and within us, and thus allows us to investigate what we can do to make ourselves, our environment and others better (Mackewn, 2004, p. 113). In other words, healthy awareness is not being aware of oneself, but being aware of both oneself and the other (Yontef, 1993, p. 429). Totally different from ourselves Being present means knowing ourselves and living our lives in a much richer way (Sills, Fish & Lapworth, 1995, p. 22).
The main purpose of Gestalt therapy is not to change behavior, but to create awareness (Breshgold, 1989, p. 9; cited in Cole, 1994). Perls emphasized that the goal of therapy is to increase awareness, contact and integration, because these inevitably lead to development and change. Similarly, Yontef (1993) said that the whole purpose of gestalt is to develop awareness, because people cannot change by wanting to change, they can change by being fully aware of who and what they are (cited in Mackewn, 2004, p. 114). Beisser (1970, pp. 77 – 80) describes this as “Change does not occur by trying to be something one is not; "It is only possible if one realizes what one really is." He explained by saying (cit: Sakarya, 2003). True growth can occur when one has a conscious awareness of how one is affected and how one affects others (Corsini & Wedding, 2007, p. 329).
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