Introduction and Overview
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Tatkin’s keynote focuses on the empty chair technique and its role in relational work.
Empty Chair Technique: Origins and Purpose
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Rooted in Gestalt therapy and psychodrama; used to externalize internal parts or significant others.
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Aids in understanding internalized relationships and object relations theory.
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Promotes self-awareness by making unconscious dynamics visible.
Neurological and Cognitive Foundations
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Emphasizes the development of a "witness state" (reflective self-awareness).
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Linked to cognitive science, AI, and adult attachment interviews.
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Helps integrate emotional and neurological pathways for deeper insight.
Use in Couples Therapy
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Helps partners recognize projections and unresolved past relationships.
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Each partner benefits from externalizing key figures or dynamics in the relationship.
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Goal: Shift ego-syntonic (comfortably familiar) patterns to ego-dystonic (clearly problematic).
Video Demonstration
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Tatkin shows an empty chair exercise conducted via telehealth.
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Subject reenacts past dynamics by addressing a parent in the empty chair.
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Focus on adult self-activation and examining old emotional patterns with “adult eyes.”
Analysis of Example
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Subject confronts unresolved feelings toward her mother’s passive-aggressive behavior.
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Therapist supports differentiation and insight into repeated relational patterns.
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Outcome: Better understanding of current behavior and increased individuation.
Therapeutic Adjustments and Insights
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Tatkin highlights how to refine the technique with follow-up questions and reflection.
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Emphasizes therapist collaboration and creativity in guiding the process.
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Goal is to help the client revise internal object representations for healing.
Q&A Session
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Tatkin explains the need for 2–3 hours for this deep process.
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Stresses therapist role as strategic guide—active and intentional.
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Reinforces the importance of structure and therapeutic presence.
Final Encouragement
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Tatkin urges therapists to try the technique despite its complexity.
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Emphasizes therapy as a collaborative and evolving practice.
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Closes with a reminder of the transformative power of relational work.