ABSTRACT
Cognitive-behavioural gestalt therapy is based on the philosophical underpinnings of a humanistic framework and is an integration of gestalt therapy as outlined by F. S. Perls et al. and E. Polster and M. Polster and cognitive-behavioural therapy as described in the works of A. T. Beck and A. Ellis. This chapter focuses on two particular aspects of cognitive-behavioural gestalt therapy, namely, breathing and awareness. Natural breathing has an even rhythm with equal amounts of breath being exhaled or inhaled. Attention to breathing can identify the balance of self-support and environmental support from which individuals operate. Participants are invited to relax through breathing and are then asked to visualize a light way out in space, which gradually comes closer to them until it is behind their foreheads. The humanistic framework, in which cognitive-behavioural gestalt therapy is embedded, emphasizes attention to the whole person. The awareness of a specific action by an individual may provide a springboard for change.
