What Is The Empty Chair Technique In Psychology?

Sitting across from and speaking to an empty chair may seem like an unusual therapeutic approach, but this method has been used by therapists for decades to help clients address certain types of conflicts. The empty chair technique is an approach that comes from Gestalt therapy. It’s based on the general idea that emotional expression about a particular conflict may help a person start healing from it. Understanding how this method works might help you decide if you’d like to explore it for yourself. Many types of support are available when you work with an in-person or online therapist.

What is the empty chair technique in Gestalt therapy?

It’s part of the Gestalt counseling approach. Gestalt theory is based on helping clients understand and manage their perception of and interaction with certain environmental factors to promote healing.

Specifically, the empty chair exercise involves the therapist guiding the client in a dialogue with an empty chair. The chair represents a specific imagined person in the client's life (such as a parent) or an aspect of their own spiritual or internal parts (such as their inner critic) that is related to their symptoms in some way. 

In other words, the client is encouraged to picture this significant person or the embodied version of one of their perceived negative traits sitting in the empty seat, so they can speak with it to gain a greater understanding of their relationship. Once they’ve expressed their feelings toward their visualization of this person or quality, the therapist may invite the client to switch seats and imagine how the person in the chair would respond. Finding an in-person or online therapist you feel comfortable with can be key to the success of a technique like this.

What chair dialogue might help with

The empty chair technique is a versatile method that may help people understand their feelings and externalize any internalized conflicts. According to research, clients experiencing challenges like the following may be most likely to benefit from this approach.

Grief

Fritz Perls was the founder of Gestalt therapy and first introduced the empty chair technique. One of his original intended applications, according to the British Psychological Society, was using it to address grief.

Research suggests that a version of this approach known as the Empty Chair Method for Unfinished Business, may be useful for individuals who are grieving, particularly those experiencing complicated grief. A 2025 study suggests that participants experienced “significant improvements in symptomatology” of complicated grief after this treatment. It may help individuals:

• Address unresolved feelings
• Address “unfinished business.”
• Work through any past conflicts with a deceased loved one

That way, they may be able to process their grief, reduce guilt, and find a greater sense of peace.

Interpersonal conflict

Following the therapist’s guide questions to dialogue with an empty chair may be a valuable tool for working through present or past conflicts or trauma that involve another person. It might be used to address past trauma with a parent, past bullying from a peer, or a present issue with a current romantic partner, for example, allowing the client to express what they need to even if it wouldn’t be safe or possible to say this to the person in real life. This process may help a client gain clarity and a deeper understanding of the experience and process their feelings about it. 

Inner conflict

The empty chair technique may also be used for a conflict that’s internal, like strong feelings of shame or high levels of self-criticism. Research suggests that the empty chair method may help increase self-compassion, self-awareness, and self-understanding, which could be helpful for people looking to take more personal responsibility and gain more control over various types of inner conflicts.

Depression and anxiety

There’s also evidence to suggest that the empty chair method may be effective in treating individuals with depression and/or anxiety. It may help the individual uncover and process suppressed feelings and negative thoughts that may be contributing to symptoms and work toward increasing awareness and finding emotional release.

Who may benefit most from chair work?

Chair work can be an intense emotional experience, so it may not be the right approach for every client in every situation. It may be most helpful for those who are ready to have difficult conversations with a part of themselves or with a significant person from their present or past and explore multiple perspectives on a particular event or conflict. 

Safety considerations and limitations

The empty chair technique may not be right for those who have very recently experienced loss or trauma, as the intense emotions that often arise during the experience may be counterproductive in these cases. It can also be important to only engage in this practice under the supervision of a qualified mental health professional, who can guide the method appropriately and provide support if strong emotions come up.

There may also be clients who are not aligned with the basis or process of this practice, such as those who are personally or culturally uncomfortable with the externalization required. In such cases, using a modified version or another approach altogether may be best.

For example, consider a 2025 study that tested a variation of the empty chair technique among a population of middle-aged South Korean men. The authors note that individuals in this population may find the empty chair technique’s “traditional format uncomfortable because of cultural norms and traditional gender roles that discourage emotional expression.” 

Instead, the researchers used virtual reality headsets to provide a more immersive experience for the subjects. The study’s results suggest that this variation produced positive patient experiences because they found an innovative way “to overcome the limitations of the traditional approach.” To connect with a therapist who can tailor your treatment to your needs, consider exploring a platform like BetterHelp.

How the empty chair exercise works

A therapist might propose chairwork to eligible clients after several sessions, once they’ve built a rapport with them and have a clear understanding of their challenges. They’ll typically explain the method to the client and see whether they’re interested in moving forward with it. This exercise can be emotionally intense, so the provider will usually make sure the client fully understands how it works and what to expect so they can decide if they’d like to try it.

If the client has agreed and they’re ready to begin, this therapeutic process may proceed as follows:

1. Arranging the space. The therapist will usually set up two chairs facing each other: one for the client, and one that will be the empty seat. 
2. Identifying the occupant of the empty chair. The therapist and client will agree on who the client will imagine in the empty chair, whether it’s a parent, an ex, a personification of their inner critic, etc. The therapist may have the client picture and describe this individual in a good deal of detail, from what they look like to the body language they’re showing.
3. Initiating a guided conversation. Next, the therapist may invite the client to speak directly to the occupant of the chair that they’re imagining, expressing thoughts and feelings openly and honestly. The therapist may guide clients in conversation as needed to help them get the most out of the experience, such as by asking questions or sharing prompts.
4. Switching chairs. In some versions of the exercise, the therapist may then invite the individual to switch chairs, using role reversal to help clients explore the issue from the chair occupant’s point of view. Being able to switch perspectives like this may help promote additional understanding and healing.

After the exercise is complete, the therapist will usually help bring the client back to the present moment and then guide them in processing the experience. At the end of the session and in future sessions, the two parties may work together to understand and explore what came up during the exercise and find ways to apply any meaningful takeaways.

Is the empty chair technique an evidence-based method?

The empty chair technique was introduced in the 1950s and has been studied extensively since then. This approach can be proven effective for some clients in several different types of situations.

In general, a study from 2023 suggests that incorporating periodic chairwork into ongoing therapy sessions “may bolster process and intervention outcomes.” If you’re interested in chairwork for self-reflection and emotional healing, you might consult with a therapist to see if this method may be right for you.

Finding a therapist trained in Gestalt therapy and the empty chair technique

If you’re interested in exploring the empty chair technique, there are a few different ways to search for a therapist who practices this and other Gestalt therapy modalities. One option is to use a directory, like the one run by Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy. Another is to do an internet search for “Gestalt therapist [your city]” to look for in-person providers near you.

Another option for finding mental health care is to explore online therapy. With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed marriage and family therapy provider (LMFT), counselor, social worker, or psychologist based on the needs and preferences you outline in your onboarding questionnaire. You can then meet with them for remote sessions from anywhere you have an internet connection. 

Is online mental health therapy right for me?

Compared to traditional in-person care, online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp may be a more convenient form of care for many clients who:

• Don’t have many in-person therapists in their area
• Aren’t able to commute to in-person appointments
• Simply feel more comfortable attending virtual sessions from home

Once you've been matched with a therapist, you can schedule your first appointment, which can take place via phone, video call, or live chat. In addition to providing convenience, online therapy tends to be more affordable than the cost of traditional in-office sessions without insurance. Also note that certain BetterHelp therapists now accept select insurance plans (state-limited), which may further lower the cost of care for some users. For qualifying non-insurance users, financial aid may be available, and BetterHelp also accepts HSA/FSA cards.

Research on the effectiveness of online therapy

A growing body of research points to the effectiveness of online therapy for many different situations. There’s currently no available research on the impact of Gestalt techniques like empty chair therapy when delivered online. However, studies suggest that other methods, like virtual cognitive behavioral therapy, may often be effective for treating conditions like depression and anxiety and improving mental well-being overall.