The Empty Chair: a Gestalt therapeutic technique

A therapeutic technique to alleviate the stages of grief and other ailments.

The Empty Chair technique is one of the most striking and, in some ways, spectacular tools of Gestalt therapy: people who sit in front of an empty chair and address it as if a being relevant to them were sitting there; a being who, in some way, is not only a person, but also a person who is not a person.a being who has somehow been involved in a life-changing event.

Of course, in reality, there is no one sitting there in front of it (it is not called the Empty Chair) it is imagination and suggestion that are intertwined in this therapeutic approach, not esotericism. But... what does it really consist of?

Sitting in the empty chair

"Ania lost her father at the age of nine due to a car accident. That night her father was leaving work at high speed because the little girl was ill when a drunk driver hit the vehicle. Now sixteen years old, Ania still remembers the night of the accident as if it were yesterday. She feels some guilt because if it hadn't been for her condition her father wouldn't have run so fast to get home, and she also feels an intense sense of anger at the man who caused the accident."

Stories like this occur relatively frequently in real life.. Many of those who suffer a loss of this type suffer great situations of emotional blockage or extreme affective lability, sudden aggressive reactions or feelings of guilt that drag on for long years unless treatment is sought. Even pathologies such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are possible.

The Empty Chair technique is one of the possible techniques that are often used to help overcome this type of experience based on past experiences.

What is the Empty Chair technique?

The Empty Chair technique is one of the best known techniques of Gestalt Therapy. It was created by the psychologist Fritz Perls with the purpose of developing a method to reintegrate unresolved phenomena or issues into the lives of patients. The technique in question is to reproduce an encounter with a situation or a person in order to dialogue with him/her and to emotionally contact the and emotionally contacting the event, being able to accept the situation and give it a conclusion.

The name of the Empty Chair technique comes from the use of a real chair, in which the patient imaginary "sits" the person, situation or facet that provokes the emotional blockage in order to establish the aforementioned dialogue.

The use of the Empty Chair

Its use is very frequent in cases similar to the one shown in the example, as a way of coping with traumatic losses, or in the process of grief. However, its application is not only circumscribed to this area, but it is also used as an element to is also used as an element to allow the acceptance of facets of one's own personality or thinking that are not considered to be or thinking that are not considered acceptable by the patient, as well as to work on the perception of limitations and disabilities (loss of faculties, amputations, etc.).

It is also a valid technique for dealing with traumatic situations, which may or may not involve PTSD and/or dissociative disorders, such as rape, divorce or survivor syndrome. The characteristics of this technique also allow it to be applied in the world of education or even at the level of organizations, in phenomena such as burnout or harassment.

In all cases, it acts under the belief that "the patient only needs an experience, not an explanation" to close the unfinished process and accept his situation.

At the therapy level, in addition to being an element for the client to explore his own vision and contact his emotions, it is an element that provides a lot of information both to the individual and to the professional and to the professional about the way in which the patient processes the situation and how it has affected his quality of life, favoring the application of other actions that improve the treatment of the problems analyzed.

How the technique works

Let us now see how the use of the Empty Chair works.. First, in a preparatory phase, the patient is physically confronted with the empty chair. That is, the empty chair is positioned in front of the individual (although sometimes it is placed diagonally oriented so that no opposition to the imagined person or situation can be seen).

Next, the patient is instructed to project the person, situation or feeling or part of the personality with which the dialogue is to take place onto the chair in an imaginary way.

In a third phase, the patient is invited to describe the projection made, in order to strengthen the imaginary image that has been represented. Both the positive and negative aspects of the person, the situation or its effects should be mentioned.

In the case of a death or a separation, it is useful to recall the relationship before the event and what happened before it.In the case of feelings, traumas or unacceptable facets of the self, it is useful to look for the moment when it appeared or when it became a problem. It is likely that in this context the revelation of what was left pending or the sensations produced by the situations in question will emerge, making blocked elements conscious.

Initiating the dialogue

Subsequently, in the verbal expression phase, the patient initiates the dialogue aloud, the patient initiates the dialogue out loud with the projection, trying to be sincere and revealing those details that the patient does not dare or has not been able to show in his daily life or in front of the person in question, how the patient has experienced the situation and why it has been so. The therapist has to monitor the dialogue and redirect it in order to avoid deviations that worsen the situation, without restricting the flow of thought of the individual.

Although in some variants of the technique it is not applied, it is useful to have the patient exchange his/her chair with the projection chair, putting him/herself in the other's place in order to facilitate emotional expression. This exchange will occur as many times as deemed necessary as long as the transition is necessary and consistent with the problem to be addressed.

Finally, the patient is pointed out and helped to reflect on the sensations that he/she is showingFinally, the patient is pointed out and helped to reflect on the sensations he/she is showing, so that the subject is able to identify and become aware of his/her emotional reactions, how the event has affected him/her and how this affects his/her life.

To end the technique, the therapist instructs the patient to close his eyes and imagine the projection going back inside him, and then eliminating all the images created while he returns to pay attention only to the real context in the consultation room.

Difficulties in the use of the Empty Chair

Although this technique has shown its usefulness for emotional unblocking, self-acceptance and the resolution of grief processes, its application can be hindered by a series of resistances, its application can be hindered by a series of resistances..

To begin with, this type of technique requires the ability to imagine and project the image of a person, be it a being who is not present or a part of the person him/herself. That is, someone who does not have the ability to accurately imagine the person or personality facet in question will not be able to derive the intended level of benefit from the technique. The patient can be guided through the technique by asking questions to facilitate the projection.

A second difficulty is that the patient himself refuses to use it because he considers it ridiculous, or because of fear or difficulty in expressing out loud his own thoughts.

A third and last problem may come from the ability to detect the blocked element, so that the patient is not able to find another perspective of the situation experienced, which must be worked on. Sometimes, the element that produces discomfort is difficult to identify.

Final considerations

It is important to keep in mind that this technique should be used only under the supervision of a therapist who can direct the situation..

Also, although it has many possible uses, the Empty Chair is used intermittently, only when it is relevant to facilitate the emotional contact with a part of the self of the patient or to explore the problem situation.

Bibliographical references:

• Castanedo, C. (1981) Gestalt therapy applied to adolescent dreams. Rev. Cost. Sci. Med.; 2(1), pp. 25 - 28.

• Fromm - Reichmann, F. (1960). Principles of Intensive Psychotherapy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

• PerIs, F. (1976) Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy. Bantam Books, New York.

• PerIs, F, Hefferline R., Goodman, P. (1951). Gestalt Therapy. Doll Publishing Inc., New York.

• Martin. A. (2013). Practical Manual of Gestalt Psychotherapy. 11th edition. Desclée de Brouwner, pp. 159 - 161.

• Greenberg, L.S. et al. (1996). Facilitating emotional change. The therapeutic process point by point. Barcelona: Paidós.