The Use and Evaluation of Gestalt Techniques in a Program for the Parents of Handicapped Children

• Main Authors: Hammond, Richard Roy, Phillips, Robert E.
• Format: Others
• Published: PDXScholar 1975
• Subjects: Children with disabilities > Family relationships; Gestalt therapy; Social Work
• Online Access: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1817; https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2818&context=open_access_etds

The goal of this paper will be to further explore the use of Gestalt therapy in the Parent-Education Program and to find a way in which its effectiveness in freeing parents of emotional barriers to growth can be evaluated. Our specific objectives will, therefore be to (1) review the literature and present our own assumptions on parental responses to having a handicapped child, (2) explore the basis of Gestalt therapy and relate it to the needs of parents who have handicapped children. (3) describe the setting in which the Parent-Education Program and its Gestalt component takes place, and (4) suggest the use of the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) as an appropriate tool for future use in evaluating the effectiveness of the Gestalt component of this program.