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Resolving "unfinished business": Efficacy of experiential therapy using empty-chair dialogue.
Abstract
In this study, 34 clients with unresolved feelings related to a significant other were randomly assigned to either experiential therapy using a Gestalt empty-chair dialogue intervention or an attention-placebo condition. The latter was a psychoeducational group offering information about "unfinished business." Treatment outcomes were evaluated before and after the treatment period in each condition and at 4 months and 1 year after the experiential therapy. Outcome instruments targeted general symptomotology, interpersonal distress, target complaints, unfinished business resolution, and perceptions of self and other in the unfinished business relationship. Results indicated that experiential therapy achieved clinically meaningful gains for most clients and significantly greater improvement than the psychoeducational group on all outcome measures. Treatment gains for the experiential therapy group were maintained at follow-up.
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“In this method clients in a therapy session typically argue with an imaginary significant other sitting across from them in an empty chair. This may also involve clients eventually sitting in that chair and then experiencing and arguing about the problem from the perspective of the significant other.”
From Conversations between self and self as Sigmund Freud—A virtual body ownership paradigm for self counselling (2015) · cites this paper as [38]
In the citing paper
“A practical application of perspective taking is the ‘empty chair technique’ of Gestalt Therapy3738.”
From Conversations between self and self as Sigmund Freud—A virtual body ownership paradigm for self counselling (2015) · cites this paper as [38]
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Paivio, S. C., & Greenberg, L. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Saskatchewan (CA)
- ORCID
- Greenberg, Leslie S.
- Venue
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- Published
- 1995
- Volume
- 63
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 419-425
- ISSN
- 0022-006X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2117
- OpenAlex
- W4229837551
- Cited by
- 233
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 6.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
- Keywords
- experiential therapy, unfinished business, unresolved conflicts, treatment efficacy
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Emotions, Female, Gestalt Therapy, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Personality Assessment, Problem-Based Learning
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