One of most frequently referenced articles in Gestalt Psychotherapy literature is that of the Paradoxial Theory of Change by Arnold Beisser (1970).
The premise of the theory is that 'trying' or 'insisting on' therapeutic change as an outcome of the therapeutic process is counter-productive. It is only through completely inhabiting and feeling what is truly happening in the present, what one 'really is' in every moment, that change inevitably occurs.
As Beisser states, "Change can occur when the patient abandons, at least for the moment, what [they] would like to become and attempts to be what [they] are."
A client comes to therapy understandably longing for some aspect of their life to be different; this is understandable. Gestalt therapists view this desire for change as an intra-psychic battle. The client has an idea of how they or their lives 'should be' rather than how they 'are', which causes distress, anxiety and loss of confidence. Described sometimes as the 'Top Dog/Under Dog dynamic, one part of the self is attacking and trying to change another. Similarly to Rogers' theory of conditions of worth, the client experiences incongruence and anxiety at this lack of integration.
By seeking to 'help' a client, the therapist automatically moves into a position of 'expert' in relation to the client's helplessness, re-playing the Top Dog/Under Dog dichotomy in the therapeutic relationship, should the therapist align themselves with one of the positions and attempt to 'change' the client.
Ultimately, change will occur when the client and therapist can remain in full contact with each other, despite the inevitable conflict that will occure between them. Both are moved to adapt themselves to each other in order to maintain this full contact in a fluid and changing way. The Gestalt approach puts great emphasis on this ability to yield rather than to strive for a 'fixed' sense of self. The theory does not strive for change but understands that changing is happening all the time, when in genuine contact with the environment and with the other.
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