ABSTRACT Violence in intimate relationships can generate situations where both union, in the sense of respectful contact with the other, and separation, that is, accepting that paths can diverge and lead to new experiences, are no longer an ongoing process but frozen and blocked. This two-part article seeks to retrace the phenomenology of experiences where such blocks occur in a deafening and icy way so that they can turn energy and excitement into violence. It examines cases of women who experience physical or sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner in their lifetime. All the episodes considered involve a power imbalance between women and men, which obviously implicates the social background as well. In this second part, examples are taken from both fiction and real life to illustrate how, in approaching intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences with the tools and methods of Gestalt therapy, it is necessary to bring out all the specificities of the situation, all the blocks and areas of absence and freezing, both in the dual relationship and in the wider background. The orientation given for therapeutic, educational, or even simply “diagnostic” settings is to define what necessary support is required in the given field. Gestalt therapy emerges as a valid tool for analyzing situations because it helps us to understand a phenomenon within life as a whole in all its complexity and to find the best support according to each specific need.
Gecele et al. (Wed,) studied this question.