The empty chair technique aims to facilitate what in grief therapy?

• A. Direct communication with the deceased
• B. Increase withdrawal from feelings
• C. Avoid talking about the deceased
• D. Rehearse future events

Answer: (A)

The empty chair technique is about creating a direct dialogue with the person who died. In this exercise, the client speaks to the empty chair as if the deceased are present, sometimes switching to respond from the chair as if they were the other person. This encourages the bereaved to voice unresolved feelings—anger, guilt, love, longing—and to say goodbye, seek forgiveness, or give forgiveness. By externalizing the conversation, emotions that were stuck can surface, leading to catharsis and a more integrated understanding of the loss.

This approach focuses on open communication and emotional processing rather than avoidance or withdrawal. It isn’t about avoiding the deceased or rehearsing future events; it’s about bringing honest, present-m tense dialogue into grief work to achieve closure and better adaptation to the loss.