CEU Course
ON DEMAND TRAINING

The Empty Chair: A Healing Dialogue

with instructor Alexander Antonucci, LPC

Cost $25.00
Credit Hours 2 CEs
Level Introductory
Delivery Method Recorded Webinar
Interactivity Type Non / Self-Study*
Date Developed June 2024
The Empty Chair: A Healing Dialogue

2 clinical CEs

$25.00

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Course Overview

It happens often that clinicians are faced with clients experiencing inner conflict regarding important relationships, decisional ambivalence, and emotional avoidance. Attachment science, within its emphasis on emotion focused therapy, has been strengthening its presence in the field and stands as a path with promise in the future of psychotherapy (Johnson S. M. 2019).

CBT is currently the treatment of choice for many individuals, particularly for those who are anxious and depressed. However, Timulak and Mclvaney (2016) note that it has been documented that not all clients benefit from cognitive behavioral strategies and that an emotion focused approach, such as the two-chair intervention, can help these clients change through a sequence of emotional processing steps. Sutherland, Peräkylä, and Elliot (2014) explain that two-Chair interventions were devised to help clients access and express previously unacknowledged emotions and aspects of self. These two chair interventions can be oriented "internally" by addressing polarities within oneself. They can also be employed "externally" by addressing lingering negative feelings about a significant other.

This course is designed to elucidate the elements, stages, and key factors involved in the two-chair intervention so that clinicians can employ the intervention confidently with clients that would benefit from an emotion focused approach in treatment. Additionally, the course covers the history and theory of Gestalt therapy, the parent model of the two-chair intervention. The goals, focus, and "spirit" of this model will help clinicians bring awareness to the subtleties of the two-chair intervention and, thus, increase its effectiveness.

Learning Objectives

       
    • Participants will describe elements of Gestalt Therapy.
    •  
    • Participants will apply the two-chair intervention confidently with adolescents and adults.
    •  
    • Participants will identify the usefulness of the two-chair intervention in addressing attachment ruptures in treatment.

     

Course Outline

Module Topic
SECTION 1

Introduction & Course Overview (Conflicts of interest, learning objectives, limitations)

SECTION 2

 Gestalt Therapy Theory( Goals & Interventions) and Two-Chair research

SECTION 3

Two-Chair technique (setup, deepening, coaching the client, addressing resistance, contraindications)

SECTION 4

Q&A

Instructor Bio

Alexander is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor. Certified by the Gottman Institute, he specializes in working with couples providing, both, regular appointments and Marathon Intensive Couples Therapy. He also works with individuals and families. Conferred an MA degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University, Alexander has trained with some of the world’s leading mindfulness and meditation teachers. As the Program Manager for Cognitive Behavior Institute’s Center for Clinical Supervision, Alexander oversees a team of site supervisors and develops programs that provide training, supervision, and consultation to other psychotherapists.

Course Bibliography

Johnson, S. M. (2019). Attachment theory in practice: Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) with individuals, couples, and families. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Reidar Stiegler, J., Uleberg Vildalen, V., Heggem, T., Båfjord Ismaili, S., & Schanche, E. (2022). The effect of the two‐chair dialogue intervention on self‐compassion ‐ adding an emotional evocative component to a basic Rogerian condition. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 23(2), 349–358. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12534

Shahar, B. (2020). New Developments in Emotion-Focused Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(9), 2918. doi:10.3390/jcm9092918

Shahmoradi, S., Afshar, H. K., Goudarzy, M., & Lavasani, M. G. A. (2019). Effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy in reduction of marital violence and improvement of family functioning: A quasi-experimental study. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 21(11).

Sutherland, O., Peräkylä, A., & Elliott, R. (2014). Conversation analysis of the two-chair self-soothing task in emotion-focused therapy. Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, 24(6), 738–751. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2014.885146

Timulak, L., Keogh, D., Chigwedere, C., Wilson, C., Ward, F., Hevey, D., Griffin, P., Jacobs, L., Hughes, S., Vaughan, C., Beckham, K., & Mahon, S. (2022). A comparison of emotion-focused therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: Results of a feasibility randomized controlled trial. Psychotherapy, 59(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000427

Timulak, L., & McElvaney, J. (2016). Emotion-focused therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: An overview of the model. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy: On the Cutting Edge of Modern Developments in Psychotherapy, 46(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-015-9310-7

White, T. (2023). The empty chair and its use in psychotherapy. Edukacyjna Analiza Transakcyjna, 12, 15–29. https://doi.org/10.16926/eat.2023.12.01

Approvals

Cognitive Behavior Institute, #1771, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 06/30/2022-06/30/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 2 clinical continuing education credits.

Cognitive Behavior Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0098 and the State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0646 and the State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0216.

Cognitive Behavior Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7117. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Cognitive Behavior Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Cognitive Behavior Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Cognitive Behavior Institute maintains responsibility for content of this program.

Social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors in Pennsylvania can receive continuing education from providers approved by the American Psychological Association. Since CBI is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education, licensed social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed professional counselors in Pennsylvania will be able to fulfill their continuing education requirements by attending CBI continuing education programs. For professionals outside the state of Pennsylvania, you must confirm with your specific State Board that APA approved CE's are accepted towards your licensure requirements. The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) has a process for approving individual programs or providers for continuing education through their Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. ACE approved providers and individual courses approved by ASWB are not accepted by every state and regulatory board for continuing education credits for social workers. Every US state other than New York accepts ACE approval for social workers in some capacity: New Jersey only accepts individually approved courses for social workers, rather than courses from approved providers. The West Virginia board requires board approval for live courses, but accepts ASWB ACE approval for other courses for social workers. For more information, please see https://www.aswb.org/ace/ace-jurisdiction-map/. Whether or not boards accept ASWB ACE approved continuing education for other professionals such as licensed professional counselors or licensed marriage and family therapists varies by jurisdiction. To determine if a course can be accepted by your licensing board, please review your board’s regulations or contact them. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

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