Resolving Inner Conflicts with the Empty Chair Technique

If I say talking to an empty chair make you feel better. Would you believe it? might seem hilarious right! Let’s learn how it works. Did you ever felt hard to express what you feel? Have you ever felt so relaxed after sharing something that disturbed you for a long time? Do you consciously avoid sharing some information because of the fear of reliving it?

In this article, what we’re going to explore about is, “Empty chair technique” which is also called “chairwork” or “dual chair technique”. It is a technique being used in Gestalt therapy.  Let’s discuss an overview on gestalt therapy. 

Gestalt Therapy 

Gestalt therapy is a kind of psychotherapy that comes under Humanistic therapy, which was developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman. The word gestalt is derived from a German word meaning “whole” or “put together”. The key principle of Gestalt is “whole is greater than sum of it’s parts”. This means when we perceive a set of elements, we would interpret it as a whole pattern rather than its part or pieces, against a background.  

Gestalt therapy strongly believes that an unexpressed or supressed emotion of an individual is the reason for the suffering of an individual. In gestalt therapy, it is what called as “unfinished business”. Giving a more practical example: Let’s say your classmates insulted you by name calling. You felt really upset but moved on with a smile, though you really felt hurt inside. This is how we are practised to, while facing a painful circumstance. We always try to put down the things that bother us and we think the problem got over. But what we actually do is we just go through it out of awareness. According to gestalt therapist it is an “unfinished business” (because we didn’t give any proper closure) from where the problem starts. 

Gestalt therapists say,

“Letting go of emotions make you feel as a whole”

Core components of Gestalt therapy  

• Wholeness: Wholeness refers to the whole person or the individual’s mind and body as a unit rather than its separate parts. 
• Integration: Gestalt therapy focuses on the integration of the whole person and his or her environment.
• Here and Now: Gestalt therapy focuses on the present (Here and Now) not the past or future. Practising here and now helps to develop self-awareness. 

I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now

Edna Mose, The Incredibles

Self-awareness 

The gestalt philosophy rejects the concept that one part of the self or a single trait or a diagnosis can define a person. Instead, it stresses that their total self should be understood.  Being aware of our own self helps to identify the unfinished business inside us. Preoccupation affects the awareness of the individual. By resolving it, we can increase our self-awareness which in turn improves emotional understanding, regulate oneself and sense of control. 

Read More: 5 Hacks to Increase Self-Awareness

Strategies to improve self-awareness 

• Being mindful about what we’re doing. 
• Contact with the environment. 
• Practising Here and Now 
• Taking responsibility of our own actions. 

Responsibility 

Taking responsibility of your own actions and avoid blaming others. 

Empty Chair Technique 

As we discussed earlier, it is one of the most popular techniques used in Gestalt therapy. Empty chair technique was initially introduced by Fritz Perls and developed by Edgar Stuntz (White, 2023). In this technique, the client is made to sit on a chair and consider the empty chair in the  opposite as part of their self or another person (i.e. it may be a loved one or even a diary etc.) with whom they have some unresolved conflicts.

The client is asked to change seats and reverse roles, thus changing the dialogues from another perspective. By doing so they became aware of their emotional experience and start healing thereby addressing the emotional and psychological conflicts. It’s most helpful in clients with internal conflicts or splits. It works by helping the client to understand emotions and getting insight into their internal struggles or in relationships.  

It helps the client to bring out their introjection and asked to vent out their unresolved emotions or feelings. Study reveals that Empty chair technique reduces excessive anger in youth. 

Read More: The Role of Introspection in Overcoming Cognitive Biases 

Types of split the client experiences 

According to Greenberg (1976), the client experiences three types of split  

1. Conflict split 

The split will be in opposition. e.g. I want to do this, but I can’t do. 

2. Subject or Object split 

The client does something to themselves. e.g I’m too hard on myself 

3. Attribution Split 

The client may attribute some aspect of themselves to the world. e.g. she made me feel stupid. 

Core component of empty chair technique 

• Exchanging conversation 
• Role switching 
• Identifying unresolved emotions or conflicts 

Experiencing chair vs Other chair 

The experiencing chair is the one the client first inhabited. 

The chair opposite to the experiencing chair where the opposing person or self is inhabited is called the other chair. 

Steps in Empty Chair technique 

1. Identify the object: The therapist should identify with whom or what the client wants to exchange conversation. 
2. Conducting the dialogue: The client needs to exchange dialogue with the person whom they imagined in the other chair. 
3. Switching places: The client will be asked to switch places and play the role of the other person. 
4. Assessment and conclusion: The therapist will debrief and help the client to understand their unresolved conflicts. 

Role of a therapist 

1. To give an outline about how the technique works: The therapist should give an outline on how the therapy works, how helpful it will be  for them and what are the goals to be attained at the end of the therapy. 
2. Ask question or provide ideas on topics to be discussed with the empty chair: During the client exchanging dialogues the therapist should listen carefully and offer questions to create deeper understanding. 
3. Identify clients’ hidden feelings: The goal of the therapist is to make the client to identify their hidden emotion and create awareness at the present over the past. 
4. Encourage client in perspective taking while shifting the chairs: Therapist should encourage the client in perspective taking while shifting chairs, which helps to understand the different versions of their inner struggles by fuelling empathy and deepen understanding. 
5. Create a safe environment: The therapist should make sure that the client feels comfortable to express their feelings and emotions by supporting and encouraging openness. The therapeutic environment plays a crucial role in making the client to bring out their emotions. 
6. Provide insight about the session by pointing out the client’s unresolved conflicts: The therapist should reflect on the session and debrief by highlighting the thoughts and emotions emerged. This helps to gain new perspective and insight for handling future situations. 
7. Helps to provide closure and integration: The therapist should make sure that the client has got the closure for their inner conflicts. 

To whom this therapy can be used  

The therapy can be useful for individuals who have 

• Depression 
• Anxiety disorder 
• Interpersonal relationship conflict 
• Low self-efficacy 
• Low self-esteem

FAQs 

1. What is empty chair technique? 

 It is a technique being used in gestalt therapy. In this technique, the client is  made to sit on a chair and consider the empty chair in the opposite as part of their self  or another person (i.e. it may be a loved one or even a diary etc.) with whom they  have some unresolved conflicts. It is used to solve the unresolved conflicts. 

2. Do the Empty chair technique has effect on unresolved conflicts?

A study on 34 clients with unresolved conflicts empirically proved that empty chair  technique has significant impact on general symptomatology, interpersonal distress,  target complaints, unfinished business resolution, and perceptions of self and other in  the unfinished business relationship. (Paivio, S. C., & Greenberg, L. S. ,1995). 

3. To whom the empty chair technique is effective? 

 The therapy can be useful for individuals who have 

• Depression 
• Anxiety disorder 
• Interpersonal relationship conflict 
• Low self-efficacy 
• Low self-esteem