IFS · Experiential

Empty Chair Script

A clinician-guided gestalt/IFS/EFT protocol

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The empty chair (Perls, gestalt; adapted across IFS and EFT) puts an internal conflict into the room where it can be spoken to instead of only felt. This is a clinician-guided script with prompts you can read aloud.

Set-up

Who / what is in the other chair (initials, part, feeling, or younger self)

Client's goal for the dialogue (be heard, set a limit, ask a question, receive)

1. Ground. Feet on floor. One slow breath together. "Take your time."

2. Place them. "Where is [X] sitting? What are they wearing? What's their face doing?"

3. Speak. "Tell them what's been true for you — starting with 'When you ___, I felt ___.'"

4. Switch. Move to the other chair. "Now you are them. What do they say back?"

5. Return. Back to the first chair. "Hearing that, what do you notice? What do you want to say now?"

6. Close. "Is there a last sentence — from you, to them — before we end?"

What the client said (a line or two worth remembering)

What shifted (body, breath, tone, posture)

Homework or next-session thread

About this worksheet

The empty chair (Perls; adapted across IFS, EFT, and schema therapy) puts an internal conflict into the room where it can be spoken to instead of only felt. This is the version for clinicians running the intervention live: a read-aloud script with six numbered prompts — ground, place, speak, switch, return, close — plus set-up fields (who is in the other chair, what the client wants from the dialogue) and post-dialogue debrief fields. The dialogue works with a person living or dead, a part of the self, a younger self, an inner critic, a body part, or a decision. The clinician's job during the dialogue is small: hold the frame, slow the pace, and prompt movement between chairs. The client does the work.

When to use it

Unfinished business with a person living or dead.
IFS parts work when a part is ready to be dialogued with rather than only witnessed.
EFT for individuals — self-critical vs. experiencing self.
Schema therapy chair work between modes.

How to use it

1
Set the frame explicitly
Name what you're about to do. 'We're going to talk to X in the chair over there. It sometimes feels strange at first — that's expected.'
2
Ground and place
Feet on floor, one breath together. Then help the client see the other chair clearly — 'where are they sitting, what are they wearing, what's their face doing'.
3
Prompt movement, not content
The client provides content. Your job is to say 'now switch chairs' at the right moments and 'take your time' at all the others.
4
Close with a last sentence
'Is there one last sentence — from you, to them — before we end?' The last sentence is often the most important.
5
Debrief in the third-person chair
After the dialogue, have the client return to their original seat and reflect. What shifted in body, breath, tone.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need specific training?+

The intervention is more forgiving than it looks. Gestalt or EFT training gives you more range, but a competent generalist can run a basic empty-chair dialogue safely with this script.

When should I not use it?+

Active dissociation, psychosis, or acute suicidality. Some IFS practitioners avoid chair work with severely trauma-organized parts until unblending is more stable.

Is this worksheet free?+

Yes. Free printable PDF. Sign in to send as a secure client link.

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Universal

Inner Critic Dialogue

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Worksheet — Empty Chair Script — provided by TherapistAssist for clinical use. Not a substitute for assessment or treatment.