What is the Empty Chair Technique and Why Do Therapists Use it?

There are several reasons for mental pressure, anxiety or depression however every illness has a cure. If the identification is right, proper therapies and treatment can help you attain the right benefits. There are different therapies for a different level of anxiety. Empty chair therapy is one such effective and unique therapy to understand and diagnose your thoughts and feelings about someone specific. Let’s explore more about this special technique.

What is Gestalt Therapy?

The empty chair technique is used to bring down your overall focus on something specific and centers around your current circumstance, connections and situations. The entire attention is put on the present time and place, instead of what was, maybe, or ought to be. The objective of gestalt treatment is to assist you with getting mindfulness and be aware of self. You get to know what you are doing and how you are getting along with it. You can also figure out how you can change, while additionally figuring out how to acknowledge and esteem yourself.

What’s the Chair For?

The empty chair therapy is a simple approach that is designed to let you gauge your interpersonal behavior or work on your internal conflicts. The chair helps you to see the imaginary situation with a different perspective and look into your inner feelings.

When you sit in front of an empty chair, you picture the person in the chair with whom wish to talk about your conflict situation. You can also picture a part of yourself in that chair to speak to your inner soul in the empty chair. Burst out or speak your heart out while explaining your thoughts, feelings, and understanding about a particular situation.

To make it more interesting, you switch the chair and respond to your thoughts and feelings with your side of the story. You can also counterfeit the other person’s role and play that person’s perspective, by taking on how they would react. Move back and forth between the chairs to exchange dialogues and take up the conversation to a meaningful solution.

The Therapist’s Role

The therapist observes your conversation and examines the situation with your thoughts and counter answers to a particular situation. The therapist analyses your conversation, objections and rebuttals and finally advise you the outcome of the deal. Whenever you think of resolving conflicts and have a hiss of confronting the conversation, you can practice the empty chair technique and the therapist can guide you in overcoming the hesitation.

Why Use the Empty Chair Technique?

There can be several reasons why you may need to practice this therapy. What’s your reason for reaching this page? Do share with us in the comment section.

Counselling for Couples

Such type of counselling is mostly useful for couples to fix their issues in their relationships. When a couple moves in for a therapy session, both the individuals are examined separately and the therapist comes to a conclusion. Based on the suggestions and feedback, the couple can finally have a conversation and come to a favorable conclusion.

Grief Counselling

Whenever there is grief between two parties, they both can go for this empty chair technique and help each other in resolving conflicts. The therapist acts as an arbitrator to understand both party’s conflict and suggest them the best possible solution.

Grief between family members, friends or businesses can also be resolved with this empty chair therapy to attain calmsage. At times you need a space to release your anger and resentment, it’s easy to take it out during the grief redressed process.

Resolve Aftereffect of Past Traumatic Situations

Past traumatic situations of not resolved in time, may cause issues in present. To resolve your internal feelings and conflicts, you should participate in this therapeutic exercise and fix whatever rage, sorrow or feelings that are hurting you.

The empty chair technique can safely allow you to express your feelings and emotions to your parents, friends, family or relatives. This practicing environment prepares you to find your words and inner conscious to frame your expressions.

Plan Your Future Conversations

When you are aware of future conflicts, and you know that it’s going to be tough with you, you can take the support of such sessions. You may also consider this as a mock conversation or practice session to fight your fear and be prepared in the best possible manner. Such sessions are helpful to resolve your anxiety, and worries while encountering the real instance. The empty chair technique allows you to practice the conversation beforehand and make the final conversation the best one.

Summing Up

Empty chair therapy or the Gestalt therapy is a unique technique to counterfeit your fear, aggression or worries and practice the scenario-based situation before you actually face the real conversation. It’s an effective technique that is practiced by many people in different fields to master the art of conversation. Practice this empty chair therapy and attain the confidence within you.