The main strengths of the Gestalt
approach to this work are its intense focus on the constructivist model of experience, the emphasis on working within the context of the problem, the position of the therapist as a facilitator of the process, the focus on
general goals (presence and awareness, leading to better connections with others) rather than specific outcomes, and the emphasis on issues of shame as central to
relational problems and their ultimate solutions.
Other current psychodynamic
approaches - such as object -
relational and self - psychological
approaches - prefer techniques designed to change the patient's habitual patterns of living by building an especially authentic or supportive relationship with the analyst that is believed to help the patient learn new ways of relating to others and to life in
general.