ABSTRACT
Many CBT therapists are surprised to learn that chairwork has been utilised in cognitive and behavioural therapies for some time. This chapter explores the evolution of these techniques in CBT and allied psychotherapeutic approaches. In summary, chairwork was first utilised in behaviour therapy as a medium for developing and refining new behavioural skills (‘behavioural rehearsal’). These techniques were later adopted into Ellis’s rational emotive behaviour therapy and Beck’s cognitive therapy and are now regarded as a particularly effective means to stimulate cognitive-affective change. More recently, chair-based techniques have been incorporated into allied models of psychotherapy including compassion focused therapy, schema therapy, trial-based cognitive therapy, and ‘integrative’ approaches. Whilst chairwork has received some recognition in process-based and competency-focused frameworks for CBT, meaningful guidance for applying these techniques remains limited.
