The empty chair technique, or “hot”, as Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt Psychotherapy, called it, is one of the intervention techniques that can be used within the relationship between psychotherapist and patient.
To facilitate contact between the multiple facets of experience and the colorful nuances of the person’s emotional life, it is possible to experience within the therapeutic configuration, in the first person, the dialogue between characters or parts of oneself.
It is not just about talking about one’s own difficulties or emotions, but rather about talking about one’s difficulties by identifying an interlocutor (a real-life person, an emotional aspect of oneself, a fantasy character or object) and expressing one’s own desires, thoughts and what one wants from the other: in other words, both actors in the dialogue declare their intentions without “cheating” and with the help of the therapist. In this Psychology-Online article we will go in depth then What is the empty chair technique and how to apply it.
What is the empty chair technique in psychology
The empty chair is a technique of psychodramatic origin that comes from psychotherapy. According to this orientation, the empty chair is used when the patient has the need to communicate with “the absent other”, but present and alive as a fantasy or as an internal representation. It is a symbolic space, where the patient’s perceptions, projections, fears, and desires are placed.
It is the most well-known gestalt technique, and consists of performing a dialogue between the parties in conflict through an experiential condition in which the client speaks alternately from two chairs placed opposite each other, where one part of herself defends the change, while the other attacks it.
When to use the empty chair technique in therapy
What is the empty chair technique used for in psychology? Used in Gestalt therapy, its main objective is the integration of ambivalent tendencies, called “polarity.” The integration of polarities It helps the patient become who he is instead of identifying with his ideals.
A conflict between values, actions, thoughts and feelings is dealt with here by simultaneously expressing the two aspects of the problem. The idea is that when one aspect of the self is overvalued, the opposite polarity tends to emerge. As in a parental couple, in which when one parent is too rigid the other becomes too lenient, according to this hypothesis in the individual the development of an extreme trend It also produces the accentuation of the opposite.
The integration of opposing tendencies helps the individual to make the connection of vital energies, and this is the reason for the use of the empty chair technique in psychology. This technique is then indicated cWhen an individual is in conflict with two opposing tendencies.
Example of the empty chair technique in psychotherapy
Let’s take the example of a woman who feels unable to act because of her . In a dialogue between these two emotions, thanks to this technique, the incapable part will become aware of the energy contained in the feeling of anger: he did not dare to use it because he was afraid of its destructive aspect. He now she can do it, since she has overcome her apprehension. At the end of the session, the patient will be able to imagine a personal force that is not destructive.
The pairs of opposite trends (polarity) common in patients are:
- Having extreme dependence vs. tendency to be rejected and independent.
- Having constantly vs. tendency to disregard the feelings of others at all.
- Being extremely trusting vs. be very distrustful.
- Being extremely emotional vs. be too rational.
- Being sexually abstinent vs. have unbridled sexuality.
- Express what should be done vs. express what must be achieved.
How to apply the empty chair technique step by step
The different steps of the empty chair technique depend on the individual therapist and the person participating in the therapy, but some basic steps that can form the basis of most “empty chair” sessions can be summarized as follows:
- Identify the object: Through discussion with the therapist or consultant, the patient identifies with whom or what he or she would like to talk to, in a dialogue with the empty chair. For example, the therapist may recommend a conversation with a metaphorical “emotional wall” that appears at certain times; or it may suggest talking to someone who is dead.
- Dialogue direction: With the help of the therapist, it is now possible to talk to the appearance of ourselves or to the person we imagine is in the empty chair. If the object is an aspect, we could play that role and answer your questions. For example, in the case of the “emotional wall,” the therapist might ask why we are satisfied and what would happen if we didn’t.
- Change of location– often switches places and plays the opposite role with the person or appearance we are talking to. How this manifests depends on the goals in therapy.
- Evaluation and debate: After an empty chair session, the therapist may want to debrief: we may therefore be encouraged to discuss the conversation and how we feel.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Chambon, O., Cardine, M. M. (2002). The basis of eclectic and integrative psychotherapy. Rome: Sovera.
- Gepp, K., Lovering, C. (2021). ANDmpty Chair Technique: What It Is and How It Helps. Retrieved from: https://psychcentral.com/health/empty-chair-technique