How to write a case for certification of the 2nd degree of Gestalt

Most recently, I finished writing a certification case for certification as a Gestalt therapist. As a result, she was definitely certified. I myself was faced with how little information I had that I could rely on in my work. I found a couple of articles on Google, one example was sent to me by a colleague, one by our trainer, but still there was no internal understanding of how it should be designed and look like.

I will say right away that the idea that the essence of the case is not so much in the description of the sessions and even not so much how skillfully you formulate hypotheses using Gestalt terms and theories, but how you are able to analyze the client’s history and how you are able to reflect on your work as a therapist, helped me a lot.

In order to calm my inner anxiety a little, I decided to start writing the case from the structure, from the skeleton I would say.

Case structure

I created a special folder in Google documents, and in it – five Word files

1. The main file that I will eventually send for review
2. Essay on work in three
3. First case
4. Second case
5. Third case

Thus, I used the strategy of cutting an elephant into small pieces) I cut the same large elephant, which cannot be eaten whole, into five pieces, which individually looked less complicated.

Running ahead, I will say right away that what will definitely facilitate your task when writing cases is a regular, detailed, detailed description of each session of each case client. Over time, many things are forgotten, and since the case description is not just a description of the sessions themselves, but rather your reflection as a therapist on your work, then sometimes completely insignificant details at first glance can lead you to a very deep understanding of the processes that your client and you as a therapist experienced. Therefore, write down everything, but preferably immediately after the session, and not during it.

Figures about the length and volume of the case

But let’s get back to what we can rely on – personally, I like to rely on numbers. I was tormented by questions – how many pages, how many words, how many symbols should be in my case work. All the information I had at the beginning of writing the case was in the “plus-minus” style. Therefore, I hope that my numbers will help you at least a little.

• So, I used Ariel font size 11.
• The number of pages of the entire case together with the title page turned out to be 36 pages.
• Essay about working in threes – a little less than 4 pages, 1159 words or 7800 characters

The first case turned out to be 9 pages long. In it, I described the case of a client from the intensive, it was 9 sessions. The case actually consisted of several points – the first is general information about the client, then a description of the sessions (I did not describe all the sessions, if anything), then there was a section in the form of a list describing the dynamics of therapy and the final section in the conclusions. According to this principle, all three cases were described.

I want to say that dividing the case into separate sections was also very logical for me, so I once again divided the task into even more manageable pieces. This really made the whole process of writing the case much easier.

Yes, the number of words for the first case turned out to be 3022!

In the second case, I described 10 sessions with a client, so the pages turned out to be 10. Words – 3175. Also, the case included four sections and I also did not describe all 10 sessions (I could skip one or two or literally describe it in one or two sentences).

Well, the third case, the largest, describing 20 meetings with the client, turned out to be 13 pages long. There were 3921 words.

I also want to tell you about my mistake, which could have cost me dearly in the end, but everything worked out. Please check your texts for errors! I don’t know how it turned out for me, but it turned out that I sent a certification paper full of spelling and grammatical errors, although it doesn’t look like me at all – apparently, I was not childishly worried after all.

But it’s good that everything worked out. Now let’s go through the description of the cases.

Case sections

What was in the “General information” section, what are the points? Here they are:

• Getting started
• Final works
• Client (name/pseudonym, age, gender, brief description of life circumstances with which the client came)
• The reason for the appeal and description of the problem
• Expectations from therapy
• Description of the problem
• Who advised to apply
• Previous requests for psychotherapy
• Session language

Next, describe each session in your own language, try to reflect during the description, reason, describe your therapeutic point of view.

What to write in the “Dynamics of therapy” section?

Here is what I described there:

• Features of the setting
• Topics covered in the sessions
• Self-diagnosis
• Figure of escape
• The main goal is the client’s need
• Ways to interrupt contact
• Client resources detected during sessions
• Changes in the ratio of excretion and hunger
• The level of interpersonal communication according to V. Kulyshov
• Transference and countertransference
• Personality type according to McWilliams

I will say once again that I did not use all of the listed points directly in every case – I wrote only what I was sure of as a therapist. That’s right, I tried to show my strengths.

And the last section is Conclusions. What did I describe in this section? I wrote my thoughts about what was successful in therapy, what kind of therapist I thought I was, I wrote about my feelings after this work, I actively used metaphors. I also wrote about what was not successful, what could be done if it was long-term therapy. And everything is in this spirit.

And in conclusion, I would like to bless future therapists for writing deep honest cases. I wish with all my heart that the writing of the case was a fascinating exploration of your therapeutic identity. I wish you luck on the certification, of course – unconditional certification. And, of course, I want to build my practice. I sincerely wish you this!

VIDEO “HOW TO WRITE A CASE”

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