ABSTRACT
The family is the place where the child learns to relate. At the time of the pandemic, it fulfills the function of support and protection but can sometimes amplify the emotional suffering associated with forced isolation. In Gestalt therapy, work with the family is a valuable intervention tool to restore sensitivity to the internal and external boundaries of contact and to stimulate the vitality of the nucleus and its members. The article illustrates a clinical case and the related family therapy experience according to the model elaborated by Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb. The theoretical frame refers to the Polyphonic Development of Domains, which the therapist perceives as the emotional/relational background of the family; and to the relational aesthetic knowledge of the therapist who – with respect to the single members and to the whole family Gestalt – perceives the existential drama and the resonances evoked by the situation. The intervention, set out in its fundamental “steps”, is aimed at developing awareness and restoring the spontaneity of the members. This objective can be achieved, in any case, only thanks to the attentive and participating presence of the therapist, an integral part of the clinical situation.
