Online therapy has become an indispensable resource for mental health care. Offering flexibility, accessibility, and convenience, it has transformed how practitioners can connect with clients. However, this evolution also requires therapists to creatively adapt their approaches to maintain the depth and impact of in-person sessions.
Many aspects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) seamlessly lend themselves to the virtual format but it’s important that we consider how ACT can also be enhanced when paired with other approaches online such as chairwork. This experiential, versatile method encourages deeper self-awareness, emotional growth, and psychological flexibility but how does it work when you don’t have the chairs or clients in the room with you?
We wanted to share this short guide to show how chairwork can complement ACT, and how practitioners can adapt it for online sessions. Additionally, we will share actionable skills for incorporating chairwork techniques into your therapy practice.
What is chairwork?
Chairwork, traditionally known as the “two-chair technique,” is an engaging, experiential therapeutic tool used to facilitate insight, self-reflection, and emotional exploration. It involves the creative use of chairs (or representative spaces) to symbolise different aspects of a client’s internal experience or interpersonal dynamics. Clients physically move between chairs, enacting dialogues between different “selves,” parts of their identity, emotional states, or even their values and fears.
Through this process, clients engage in meaningful conversations with themselves, paving the way for cognitive and emotional shifts. It’s widely used in therapies such as gestalt therapy, compassion-focused therapy (CFT), and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and is increasingly being recognised as a powerful complement to ACT.
The synergy between ACT and chairwork
ACT’s goal is to help clients nurture psychological flexibility, enabling them to live lives aligned with their core values despite the presence of difficult emotions or thoughts. Chairwork aligns with ACT processes in multiple ways:
- Facilitating acceptance and defusion: By literally or symbolically stepping into dialogues with uncomfortable emotions or rigid thought patterns, clients can confront inner struggles in a safe, experiential manner. This process makes abstract ACT concepts, like acceptance and cognitive defusion, more tangible and personal.
- Building a healthier relationship with the self: Chairwork allows clients to explore relationships between parts of themselves, from the inner critic to the compassionate observer. This can strengthen their self-identity and help embed the ACT principle of self-as-context.
- Clarifying values: When ACT and chairwork intersect, clients can physically engage with their values, creating space to untangle conflicts and connect with their deeper motivations.
The benefits of chairwork in ACT
Integrating chairwork into ACT can create a richer therapeutic experience. Some key benefits may include:
- Enhanced self-awareness: Engaging with different “selves” or perspectives builds a greater understanding of internal conflicts and emotions. Clients recognise patterns and gain insights into their motivations and beliefs.
- Emotional resonance: The deeply experiential nature of chairwork encourages clients to connect with and process difficult emotions at a profound level. It invites emotional expression while fostering resilience and growth.
- Cognitive flexibility: Through embodying opposing perspectives or encouraging dialogues, clients practice stepping out of rigid thought patterns, allowing them to adopt fresh viewpoints and improve problem-solving skills.
- Strengthened therapeutic alliance: Collaborating on experiential deepens trust and rapport between client and therapist, supporting a shared sense of discovery and innovation.
Adapting chairwork for online ACT therapy
The physical aspect of chairwork may seem complex to replicate in virtual settings, but with a bit of adaptation, online chairwork can be equally effective. Below are a few strategies to facilitate chairwork within the online format:
- Imaginary chairs: Guide clients to imagine two or more chairs and move physically within their space to “inhabit” different positions. Encourage them to embody these shifts fully, using tone of voice and posture to enhance engagement.
- Role-playing through postures or gestures: Instead of relying on physical seating, clients can adopt specific postures, hand gestures, or movements to symbolise various parts of themselves (“the critic” vs “the nurturer”) or roles they are engaging with in their dialogue.
- Utilising virtual backgrounds: Encourage clients to use video conferencing tools creatively by switching virtual backgrounds to “represent” different perspectives. They can select symbolic visuals like a calm beach for their “wise self” or a stormy sky for their “critical self.”
- Symbolic props: Ask clients to gather small household objects or drawings to symbolise the opposing parts of themselves or the roles they wish to explore. These props can serve as physical anchors, helping guide the unfolding dialogue.
- Recording sessions: Obtain client consent to record chairwork exercises. Recorded sessions allow clients to revisit their work, reflect on their learning, and deepen their insights between sessions.
- Creative multitasking: Encourage clients to pair online chairwork with self-directed exercises such as journaling, which can help them process the dialogues they’ve created during live sessions.
Key chairwork skills for practitioners
For therapists integrating chairwork into their ACT practice, here are some essential techniques to consider:
- Facilitating dialogues between selves: Help your client establish a dynamic conversation between their “observer self” and another part of their experience, such as their inner critic or emotional fear. Keep the dialogue flowing with gentle prompts and reflections.
- Role reversal: Encourage the client to switch roles and embody opposing perspectives fully. For example, they might move from being “their future, wiser self” to inhabiting the perspective of their “current, unsure self.”
- Utilising metaphor and imagery: In ACT, metaphors hold therapeutic power. During chairwork, ask clients to visualise their conflicting parts metaphorically—whether as opposing forces, voices, or characters in a story.
- Enhancing emotional expression: Normalise emotional processing and encourage authentic expression as clients inhabit different chairs. Help them stay with their emotions when they feel heavy or overwhelming.
Chairwork as a path to transformation
By integrating chairwork into ACT therapy, therapists empower clients to engage deeply with their inner landscape, encouraging meaningful change. While online sessions may require adaptation, the creative possibilities of chairwork ensure even virtually its effectiveness remains intact. From strengthening self-compassion to clarifying value-driven living, clients can gain the tools they need to navigate life with psychological flexibility.
Ready to get started?
If you’re eager to enrich how you facilitate chairwork, explore our upcoming training session, led by Dr Tobyn Bell and Dr Matthew Pugh – Chairwork skills in action. Learn practical methods to address self-criticism, conflict, and inner struggle, both online and in-person.