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.

Efficacy of emotion focused therapy for adult survivors of child abuse: A preliminary study

“…Effect sizes were substantial and comparable to those reported in other successful treatment outcome studies (Lambert & Bergin, 1994). Results of the present study replicate and extend previous findings (Paivio & Greenberg, 1995) on the efficacy of experiential therapy for resolving interpersonal issues from the past. EFT-AS was based on the same model of therapy, refined and tailored to a particular client group (Paivio & Shimp, 1998).…”

“…Measurable steps in the process that discriminated resolvers from nonresolvers were expression of emotion and unmet need, and changed perceptions of self and other (Greenberg & Foerster, 1996). A shortterm treatment based on this model of resolution was found to be effective with a general clinical population (Paivio & Greenberg, 1995). That sample included a subgroup of individuals who were dealing with child abuse issues.…”

Schema Therapy for Aggressive Offenders with Personality Disorders

“…In chair-work, the patient switches between chairs and is invited to have dialogues between different parts of the self (Kellogg, 2004;Paivio & Greenberg, 1995). The patient sits in one chair when he plays a certain mode and switches chairs when a different mode is addressed or becomes active.…”

Self-Directed Affiliation and Autonomy Across Acute and Continuation Phase Cognitive Therapy for Recurrent Depression

“…For example, Paivio and Greenberg (1995) found that in outpatients (N = 34; selected for interpersonal problems and clinically judged appropriateness for psychotherapy), affiliation improved more after 3 months of experiential therapy than of psychoeducation (a control condition). In the experiential therapy group, treatment gains were maintained at a 4 month follow-up but were no longer significant at a 1-year follow-up.…”