In this lecture, Harmony discusses various experiments for working with contact boundary disturbances in gestalt therapy. Watch Video Here: https://youtu.be/GveUituZuGU
When working with any contact boundary disturbance in gestalt therapy, you’re essentially engaging with the same incomplete situation—the same unfinished business or incomplete gestalt. For example, when a client is projecting, they might speak critically about their partner—highlighting everything the partner isn’t doing—while unconsciously denying their own unmet needs. You recognize the projection, and once you begin working with it, you inevitably touch on every other boundary disturbance because of their deep interconnection. In gestalt, the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and this interconnectedness means no contact boundary disturbance exists in isolation.
So, if you’re unsure which experiment to begin with—whether you’re noticing multiple entry points or boundary disturbances—rest assured that working with any one of them can activate transformation across the system. They are all embedded in the same unfinished situation.
Gestalt is inherently an intuitive, creative process. Many of the ways I work with contact boundary disturbances have emerged through collaboration and attunement with my clients. Since the cycle often begins with deflection, that’s where we’ll start.
Deflection
Deflection is the impulse to turn away. You’ll often notice it in a client’s thoughts—perhaps they’re thinking, “I want to escape this pain” or “I’ll never get out of this.” It might also show up as perfectionism or an outward focus on controlling the environment. These are all ways of turning away from one’s inner world.
One experiment I love involves using proprioception to follow that turning-away energy. If I notice deflection, I might say:
“It seems like you’re trying to find a way out right now. If you’re open to it, I invite you to consciously turn away. Maybe close your eyes, notice where your mind is pulling you, or even let your body move in that direction.”
This comes from a Taoist-informed Gestalt approach—following the client’s energy rather than resisting it. Instead of forcing the client to turn inward, we allow them to explore the act of turning away, which builds congruence between their inner and outer experience. That congruence is regulating to the nervous system.
Introjection
Introjections are absorbed beliefs, values, behaviors, and emotional patterns—often inherited from caregivers or the environment. The key to working with introjection is awareness: helping the client recognize that this belief or value is not inherently theirs.
Because introjections live in the foreground of the mind, clients are usually highly identified with them. Creating distance—psychological or imaginal—can be profoundly helpful. I often say:
“We’re not trying to get rid of this; we’re just trying to learn from it and understand why it’s here.”
As the client gains perspective, the introjection loses its grip. They may realize that what once felt large is now small—and they are bigger than the thought or belief. I often externalize the introjection or, if it’s linked to the inner child, I invite the client to give it back:
“If this doesn’t belong to you, you might try giving it back to where it came from.”
This is a powerful moment of choice. The client can decide what to keep and what to return—reclaiming their sovereignty and sense of self.
Projection
Projections are particularly meaningful to work with because they show us what the client has disowned and assigned to others. As the projection unravels, the client moves toward humility, self-responsibility, and empowerment.
What makes projection unique is its attempt to complete unfinished relational business. The client is unconsciously hoping someone else—a partner, boss, parent—will repair a wound from the past. This keeps them emotionally entangled.
To work with projection, I usually begin by asking:
“Would it be okay to let that person be where they are, just for a moment?”
We energetically invite everyone they’ve mentioned to step out of the room, creating space for the client to come fully into the present.
This simple gesture often brings profound clarity. Without others in the room, the client reconnects with themselves and often has realizations about where the original wound began. They’re not being taught; they’re discovering.
If there’s a deeper wound, I’ll then bring in the inner child and invite the client to be their own reparative figure. Once healing has occurred internally, we may invite the original person back into the room and see what’s changed. Typically, the client feels more neutral, present, and able to see others clearly without projection.
Retroflection
Retroflection often gets overlooked because it’s entangled with introjections. It’s when energy meant to move outward turns inward—resulting in self-criticism, shame, perfectionism, or guilt.
When I notice this, I get curious:
“Given everything I know about this client, is this something they might have wanted to say to someone else when they were younger?”
Just that question can begin to move the energy outward. I often use an empty chair to help clients redirect those thoughts or feelings to their intended recipient. This allows the energy to move and release, rather than remain stuck internally.
Confluence
Confluence is the blurring of boundaries—the loss of a separate sense of self. Supporting clients in developing their energetic boundaries is essential here.
A critical first step is helping clients connect with their desire. Often, people in deep confluence don’t know what they want. An effective experiment is an empty chair dialogue with desire itself. You might explore the polarity between disowned desire and people-pleasing, which can reveal a blend of introjection and confluence.
I also use somatic boundary-building experiments. For example:
“If I were to move closer, where would you want me to stop?”
Or I have them raise a hand like a stop sign and say something like:
“I’m here. You’re over there.”
This helps them sense where they end and others begin—physically, emotionally, and energetically.
The Golden Thread of Interconnection
Whether you’re using an empty chair, a polarity experiment, or toning the vagus nerve, you’re always working with the entire system. Each contact boundary disturbance is connected to the others. For example, when a client says “no” in a session, they may simultaneously be ending retroflection, releasing introjections, reclaiming responsibility, stopping projection, and separating from confluence.
These patterns often show up as polarities. A client might say, “I need to take care of everyone else” (introjection) and “I don’t know what I want” (confluence). Another might act both victim and aggressor, expressing projection and introjection at once. By tracking these polarities, we can identify which boundary disturbances are at play.
In gestalt, every entry point opens a path to the whole. Trusting the client’s process and following their energy is what ultimately brings integration and healing.
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