"If all life goes inevitably towards its end, we must, during this life, tint it with the colours of love and of hope"
Marc Chagall
Alessandra Merizzi
Gestalt Psychotherapist & Clinical Psychologist
with a passion and specialisation in working with older people
English & Italian
What is Gestalt Psychotherapy? Gestalt is a German word that means 'shape', and it is particularly described as a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Starting from this point of view the Gestalt Therapy approach considers the human being holistically, as a whole being: our mind and thoughts are important as well as our body and physical feelings are. This because we are an entire person, our brain is part of our body, the so called central nervous system is tightly connected to the rest of our body, and these are constantly interacting and influencing each other. In more, as a whole being, we are continuously in contact with the environment, again affecting each other (for environment we consider both the physical world and the relational dynamics happening within the family, at school, at work, with friends, etc.) Lastly, Gestalt Therapy doesn't focus on our past experiences and childhood nor on problem simply searching the cause and its effect, instead it focuses on the Here and Now, the present moment: when a person talks about her/his past events these memories are experienced in the here and now accompanied by feelings, and all this experience happens within the therapeutic relationship.
Therefore, a Gestalt Psychotherapist notes the reciprocal interaction between our brain (thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc.) and our body (body perceptions, muscle tension, pain, etc.) and works with the client on the awareness of their whole experience in the here and now. The main focus is on the present therapeutic relationship that the therapist and her/his client are building together. During these moments the client brings their unfinished businesses (unclosed relational situations linked to unrecognised and unsatisfied needs), the therapist helps her/his client to recognise their needs and work with her/him to finally meet these, possibly ending the perpetuating and painful situation.
I wanted to add one of my favourite videos, at the bottom of this page, in which Fritz Perls, the founder of the Gestalt approach, explains the principles of Gestalt Therapy. I hope you enjoy it.
Who is it for? It is for everyone who experiences ‘psychological’ issues such as: anxiety, depression, difficulties in relationships, etc.
As a Gestalt Psychotherapist I have experience working one-to-one with people from age 18, with different multicultural backgrounds, and presenting different problematic aspects such as anxiety, depression, panic attack, trauma, bereavement, anger/emotional management problems, and so on. Please, fill free to contact me if you would like to know more about my expertise.
What else I do: I run workshops at the Manchester Gestalt Centre and national conferences, particularly with a focus on the ageing process. Attending the first international AAGT/EAGT Conference 2016, I presented a poster titled 'Fear and Seduction in Encountering the Other' - see below. I like writing and collaborating with organisations. I have been working on a couple of manuscripts, both recently published:
Alessandra Merizzi, (2018) "Virtual Dementia Tour®: limitations and ethics", Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, https://doi.org/10.1108/QAOA-11-2017-0042
"Fear and Seduction in Encountering the Other" in M. Spagnuolo Lobb et al. (Eds.) (2018), The Aesthetic of Otherness: meeting at the boundary in a desensitized world, Proceedings. Siracusa (Italy): Istituto di Gestalt HCC Italy Publ. Co. (www.gestaltitaly.com)
I am currently involved with the EAGT newsletter, the UKAGP consultative group, the research committee organising the next International Gestalt Research Conference and I will soon start shadowing the GPTI treasurer so that I may replace her in the future. Additionally, I recently started training to become an accredited Gestalt trainer and supervisor.
What do I do working with older people? As a clinical psychologist I am experienced in working therapeutically with older adults who live with brain conditions (dementia, stroke, brain cancer, etc.). I facilitate psycho-educational groups for people with dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and their family members/carers. I collaborated in developing services for people with a diagnosis of MCI and I am part of the National FPOP (Faculty of the Psychology of Older People) MCI Workstream. Other activities included in my practice are administering neuropsychological assessments and offering one-to-one and couple psychological therapy with an integrative approach tailored to their needs. I am also involved in research and I am currently working on two research projects, "Journey Through Dementia" and "Developing a UK specific Driving and Dementia Decision Aid for individuals living with dementia".
As a psychotherapist I volunteered for Age UK in Stockport and Manchester - home based counselling and psychotherapy service - and I successfully helped older adults with psychological issues such as anxiety, social phobia, bereavement, etc. I also run Gestalt oriented Community Workshops on the process of ageing at the Manchester Gestalt Centre. Please, to find out more visit http://www.mgc.org.uk/
Marc Chagall
Alessandra Merizzi
Gestalt Psychotherapist & Clinical Psychologist
with a passion and specialisation in working with older people
English & Italian
What is Gestalt Psychotherapy? Gestalt is a German word that means 'shape', and it is particularly described as a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Starting from this point of view the Gestalt Therapy approach considers the human being holistically, as a whole being: our mind and thoughts are important as well as our body and physical feelings are. This because we are an entire person, our brain is part of our body, the so called central nervous system is tightly connected to the rest of our body, and these are constantly interacting and influencing each other. In more, as a whole being, we are continuously in contact with the environment, again affecting each other (for environment we consider both the physical world and the relational dynamics happening within the family, at school, at work, with friends, etc.) Lastly, Gestalt Therapy doesn't focus on our past experiences and childhood nor on problem simply searching the cause and its effect, instead it focuses on the Here and Now, the present moment: when a person talks about her/his past events these memories are experienced in the here and now accompanied by feelings, and all this experience happens within the therapeutic relationship.
Therefore, a Gestalt Psychotherapist notes the reciprocal interaction between our brain (thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc.) and our body (body perceptions, muscle tension, pain, etc.) and works with the client on the awareness of their whole experience in the here and now. The main focus is on the present therapeutic relationship that the therapist and her/his client are building together. During these moments the client brings their unfinished businesses (unclosed relational situations linked to unrecognised and unsatisfied needs), the therapist helps her/his client to recognise their needs and work with her/him to finally meet these, possibly ending the perpetuating and painful situation.
I wanted to add one of my favourite videos, at the bottom of this page, in which Fritz Perls, the founder of the Gestalt approach, explains the principles of Gestalt Therapy. I hope you enjoy it.
Who is it for? It is for everyone who experiences ‘psychological’ issues such as: anxiety, depression, difficulties in relationships, etc.
As a Gestalt Psychotherapist I have experience working one-to-one with people from age 18, with different multicultural backgrounds, and presenting different problematic aspects such as anxiety, depression, panic attack, trauma, bereavement, anger/emotional management problems, and so on. Please, fill free to contact me if you would like to know more about my expertise.
What else I do: I run workshops at the Manchester Gestalt Centre and national conferences, particularly with a focus on the ageing process. Attending the first international AAGT/EAGT Conference 2016, I presented a poster titled 'Fear and Seduction in Encountering the Other' - see below. I like writing and collaborating with organisations. I have been working on a couple of manuscripts, both recently published:
Alessandra Merizzi, (2018) "Virtual Dementia Tour®: limitations and ethics", Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, https://doi.org/10.1108/QAOA-11-2017-0042
"Fear and Seduction in Encountering the Other" in M. Spagnuolo Lobb et al. (Eds.) (2018), The Aesthetic of Otherness: meeting at the boundary in a desensitized world, Proceedings. Siracusa (Italy): Istituto di Gestalt HCC Italy Publ. Co. (www.gestaltitaly.com)
I am currently involved with the EAGT newsletter, the UKAGP consultative group, the research committee organising the next International Gestalt Research Conference and I will soon start shadowing the GPTI treasurer so that I may replace her in the future. Additionally, I recently started training to become an accredited Gestalt trainer and supervisor.
What do I do working with older people? As a clinical psychologist I am experienced in working therapeutically with older adults who live with brain conditions (dementia, stroke, brain cancer, etc.). I facilitate psycho-educational groups for people with dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and their family members/carers. I collaborated in developing services for people with a diagnosis of MCI and I am part of the National FPOP (Faculty of the Psychology of Older People) MCI Workstream. Other activities included in my practice are administering neuropsychological assessments and offering one-to-one and couple psychological therapy with an integrative approach tailored to their needs. I am also involved in research and I am currently working on two research projects, "Journey Through Dementia" and "Developing a UK specific Driving and Dementia Decision Aid for individuals living with dementia".
As a psychotherapist I volunteered for Age UK in Stockport and Manchester - home based counselling and psychotherapy service - and I successfully helped older adults with psychological issues such as anxiety, social phobia, bereavement, etc. I also run Gestalt oriented Community Workshops on the process of ageing at the Manchester Gestalt Centre. Please, to find out more visit http://www.mgc.org.uk/
