Emotion‐Focused Therapy's Empty‐Chair Task for Complicated Grief: How to Make It Work

ABSTRACT Background The Empty‐Chair Task for Unfinished Business has been studied in relation to various issues, such as interpersonal conflicts or trauma. Despite having been proposed as a way to address grief, it has not been sufficiently studied in relation to clients' emotional processes which facilitate therapeutic changes in grief. Purpose In this regard, this qualitative study aimed to track clients' emotional processes related to therapeutic change in an intervention based on the Empty‐Chair Task for complicated grief. Method The study analysed a sample of 12 participants with complicated grief, of whom seven showed clinically significant improvement in grief symptoms. Additionally, observer‐based measures were utilised to triangulate qualitative observations. Results It was observed that, in cases with successful outcomes, clients were able to address and transform core emotional pain (e.g., chronic loneliness) by fully experiencing it and, subsequently, embracing adaptive experiences (e.g., connection with the deceased). In contrast, unsuccessful outcomes appeared to be associated with difficulties in engaging with core emotional pain and accessing adaptive emotional states, such as compassion. Conclusions This study underscores the transformative potential of the task for complicated grief, with implications for clinical practice and training.