Purpose 🎯

Help clients explore unresolved emotions, relationships, or experiences through structured dialogue while increasing emotional awareness and expression.

Let’s Talk About It 🗣️

Invite the client to imagine a person, past version of themselves, or situation represented in an empty chair.

Explore:

• “What would you want this person to know?”
• “What did you need from them that you did not receive?”
• “What would you say if you did not have to hold anything back?”
• “What would you want to say to your younger self?”

Allow the client to move between perspectives when clinically appropriate.

If the Conversation Gets Stuck 💡

Remind clients that they do not need to force an emotional response. The exercise can focus on identifying what they wish they could say, rather than fully processing the experience.

Telehealth / Whiteboard Version 💻

Place a visual representation of the “empty chair” on the screen and use separate spaces to write what the client wants to say and what they imagine hearing in response.

Why This Works 🌱

The empty chair can provide a structured way to externalize unresolved emotions and practice expressing thoughts or needs that may be difficult to communicate directly.

Clinical Pearl 🧠

Use this intervention based on the client's readiness and stability. Pause or shift toward grounding if emotional activation becomes overwhelming.

Documentation Language 📝

Client participated in an empty chair exercise to explore unresolved emotions and communication related to a significant relationship or past experience.

Clinical Focus: Emotional Processing, Unresolved Experiences, Self-Expression