A case illustration of resistance from a gestalt-experiential perspective
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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
David Engle1, Marjorie Holiman
16420 N. Avenida Manzana, Tucson, AZ 85741-2934, USA. engdav4@aol.com
Abstract:
The case of Victoria illustrates psychotherapy with a woman faced with a difficult and unexpected divorce. The authors present a summary of typical struggles faced by Victoria through three phases of therapy. The therapy focused initially on coping with the divorce, then moved to work on her career dissatisfaction, and finally to her efforts to develop a new relationship. The case presentation illustrates resistance as it manifested itself in both a behavioral manner and as in-session resistance to awareness of internal states. The behavioral mode of resistance is manifested by her inability to follow through on decisions made in therapy sessions and by her interruptions of ongoing therapy. A transcript of a typical in-session exchange illustrates the resistance to awareness. The authors also describe interventions intended to work with the resistance.
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Gestalt Psychology
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Deindividuation
Perceptual Constancy
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
