The Empty Chair Technique in Gestalt Therapy
The empty chair is Gestalt therapy's most emblematic technique. It involves inviting the patient to address an empty chair onto which they project an absent person, a part of themselves or an unresolved life aspect. This role-play transforms an intellectual narrative into a living emotional experience, completes unfinished Gestalts and resolves inner conflicts. Validated by research, this technique is now used well beyond Gestalt therapy.