Emotional Wellbeing
Our emotional life is part of what makes us human: complex, tender, sometimes painful.
In Gestalt therapy, we approach emotions as messages from the self, expressions of what matters to us.
On this page, you’ll find reflections on experiences such as anxiety, shame, grief, and anger, along with examples of how Gestalt therapy can be applied and resources to explore these experiences further. The intention is to meet these feelings with curiosity rather than judgment, noticing what they may be telling you.
Anxiety
In Gestalt therapy, anxiety is understood not as a problem to eliminate, but as energy that becomes interrupted, often when our awareness narrows around threat, uncertainty, or imagined outcomes. As our focus tightens, our body follows: breath becomes shallow, muscles tense, vision constricts. These sensations can feel so strong and overwhelming that we begin to identify with them.
One way Gestalt can support us is by gently widening awareness: noticing more of our surroundings, our breath, or what’s actually present.
The short film, Nina, beautifully illustrates how shifting our focus of attention can transform our experience of anxiety and allow more ease into the moment:
Shame
Shame can feel heavy and isolating, often pulling attention inward and making us want to hide or withdraw. In Gestalt therapy, shame is understood as a protective mechanism, a signal that part of ourselves feels unsafe or unacknowledged. Bringing gentle awareness to the sensations, thoughts, and impulses that arise can help us notice what our experience is asking for: connection, recognition, or self-kindness. Self-compassion is an important part of moving through shame, helping us stay present with our feelings without judgment.
This short video by Dr. Chris Germer offers a clear, practical exploration of shame and self-compassion, and how noticing and responding to our own experience can create space for growth:
Grief
Grief is often thought of as a response to death, but in Gestalt therapy, we recognise that it arises whenever something meaningful is lost, whether relationships, roles, routines, or parts of ourselves. We also grieve uncertainty and the erosion of hope, whether in personal life changes or in response to wider challenges such as climate change. Sometimes we tell ourselves that things are not big or important enough to grieve.
Grief can feel isolating, but it is inherently relational: we often need someone to grieve with, a witness to hold and reflect our experience. In therapy, attending to both the feelings and the relational dynamics around loss can help us stay present with grief with awareness and care, rather than pushing it away or trying to “get over it”.
🎥 Watch Alok Vaid-Menon talking on TikTok about spending time with their grief
Anger
Anger is often misunderstood and judged, both by society and by ourselves. We can internalise messages that we are an “angry person", thinking that anger defines us, rather than noticing it as information about our needs, boundaries, or limits.
In Gestalt therapy, we explore anger as a way our body and mind communicate that something matters or requires attention. Often, underneath anger lies sadness, grief, or other vulnerable emotions, and attending to these layers can deepen awareness and connection. Rather than suppressing or acting out anger, therapy provides a space to understand its meaning and to express it in ways that are safe and relational.
Watch this short video of children exploring the embodied experience of anger and what they do to be with the feelings, support themselves and slow down:
🎥 Watch Just Breathe on Vimeo
If something here has resonated with you, you’re welcome to get in touch. Therapy can offer a space to explore your feelings with curiosity and care: contact me to begin a conversation.