The Gestalt theory is a school of psychology positing that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. The school of thought looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole. It was founded in the 20th century by Kurt Koffka in collaboration with Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler. Koffka applied the concept of Gestalt to child psychology by arguing that children first understand things holistically before they learn to differentiate them into parts.

Here and now is a concept that places a lot of emphasis on what is happening to a person’s actual surroundings at the moment it is happening. This implies that the Gestalt approach prioritizes the current interactions with the client over history and past experience.Awareness in the Gestalt approach is a state of being in contact with one’s sense organs in a specific time with his own existence. In other words, it is described as an experience between the present and the person’s own being.

Dealing with unfinished business is a concept that refers to people who do not finish things in their lives, specific people with a growth disorder. Such people often resent the past, which makes them unable to focus on the present- the here and now. The Gestalt approach helps people work through their unfinished business and bring closure.

Contact and resistance to contact is yet another concept. Contact is when people interact with the world while still maintaining their individuality. However, this is not as easy and influences people to develop defenses to keep them from being able to experience life fully and to keep them from being able to experience contact in healthy ways.

Attention to language and tone is important in gestalt therapy. Body language applies when the Gestalt therapist observes the client’s body language and movement such as MLA