1.4 Research Questions

To theoretically examine the tension between technological simulation and human encounter, this thesis is structured around three research questions.

The starting point is the question: (1) What are the possibilities and limitations of artificial intelligence in the psychotherapeutic process? The focus here is on distinguishing between machines as functional tools and their lack of capacity for authentic relational work.

Building on this, the following is examined: (2) Why does therapeutic resonance – as cultivated by Gestalt therapy through embodiment, presence and the dialogical ‘in-between’ – remain inaccessible and thus irreplaceable? Central to this is the phenomenological rationale explaining why true empathy requires bodily presence and cannot be simulated by machines.

Finally, the thesis addresses the question: (3) What makes Gestalt therapy particularly valuable in the age of artificial intelligence? In doing so, Gestalt therapy is presented as a humanistic counterbalance to the potential de-embodiment of psychotherapy.