ABSTRACT

When it comes to working with dyads within teams, families, and organizations, one is not simply working with the two people in question. One is working primarily at the larger level of the group, or as some say, “level of system.” In fact, it is often the case that there are larger, systemic or field factors at play in all the various scenarios one might encounter while working with dyads within organizations. The role of the gestalt coach is to become an awareness-raising partner, and one way to do that is to use observational language, because it contributes to reflexive thought on the part of the client, which has been found to be conducive to change. Reflexive thought is when a person stops to consider him or herself, as if pausing to take a look at what he or she has been thinking, feeling, doing, valuing, and wanting. This chapter considers working with dyads in the context of families, teams, and other groups, and it further develops the concept of observational language.