Coaching with Impact: Harnessing the Gestalt Cycle of Experience for Lasting Results
Coaches often encounter clients who struggle with persistent barriers to growth—such as difficulty recognizing their needs, getting stuck in repetitive patterns, or failing to follow through on intentions. These challenges can stall progress and diminish the impact of coaching sessions. The Gestalt Cycle of Experience (COE) provides a robust framework to help coaches address these issues directly.
The Gestalt Cycle of Experience (COE) is a conceptual framework that outlines the stages an individual goes through when interacting with their environment to satisfy a need. The stages include sensation, awareness, mobilization, action, contact, satisfaction, and withdrawal. Each stage represents a crucial part of the process of experiencing and responding to the world, making it a valuable tool for coaches.
For coaches, using the Gestalt Cycle of Experience offers numerous benefits. Firstly, it enhances their ability to understand and track their clients' experiential processes. By recognizing which stage a client is in, coaches can tailor their interventions more effectively, providing support that is both timely and appropriate. This targeted approach can lead to more meaningful and lasting changes for clients.
Secondly, the COE helps in identifying and addressing interruptions or blockages in the client's experience cycle. Coaches can pinpoint where clients may be stuck and facilitate their movement through the cycle, promoting a smoother progression towards achieving their goals.
Moreover, the COE encourages a holistic perspective, emphasizing the interconnectedness of thoughts, emotions, and actions. This holistic approach helps clients develop greater self-awareness and emotional intelligence, enhancing their personal and professional growth.
Overall, the Gestalt Cycle of Experience empowers coaches to create more impactful coaching sessions, fostering deeper insights and more effective client outcomes.
Matt Kerzner, Ph.D., GPCC™
Matt is a Business Psychologist, Human Resource Professional, and Family Business Advisor in the New England Center for Family Business Excellence. Currently, Matt has more than 30 years of experience in human resources and organizational development, with a specialization in assisting family owned and closely held businesses in addressing transition, financial stability, sustainability, human resources and performance management matters.