ABSTRACT
Gestalt therapy focuses on the client’s feelings, awareness at the moment, body messages, and blocks to awareness. In short, the focus of Gestalt therapy is on how nonverbal cues betray feelings and information the client may be unaware of, denying, or repressing. The goal of the therapist is to help the client pay attention to his feelings and body cues and to resolve the underlying issues. Of course, this is a thumbnail sketch of Gestalt therapy, but will suffice for the purpose at hand. People who interview abusers and sex offenders would benefit significantly from the precepts of Gestalt theory. The offender will often give clues as to the truth; therefore, paying careful attention to the perpetrator as he is interviewed can result in detecting truth from deception. The perpetrator persona has far too much pride not to be seen. In fact, most of the time when a perpetrator offers his explanation for his offense situation, he may truly be unaware of the truth, yet is fully aware of the truth.
