Adolescents navigating complex life transitions often face emotional challenges, including unresolved guilt linked to risky behaviours or difficult life circumstances. In a 2019 study, Trijayanti, Nurihsan, and Hafina explored the use of Gestalt therapy, specifically the Empty Chair Technique, as a method to help adolescents process guilt and move toward emotional healing. Their research highlights the therapeutic value of facilitating dialogue with the self or imagined others to resolve “unfinished business” and support psychological well-being in at-risk youth.

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Overview

This research explores how Gestalt therapy using the Empty Chair Technique can reduce feelings of guilt in adolescents who are at risk—particularly those facing challenges like unplanned pregnancy, sexual activity, or lack of family support.

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Why This Matters

Adolescence is a complex period of change—physically, emotionally, and socially. Many young people struggle with:

• Identity formation (“Who am I?”)
• Pressures from peers, media, and family
• Engagement in risky behaviours, such as premarital sex, substance use, or delinquency

These factors can lead to guilt, especially when adolescents feel they’ve done something wrong but haven’t processed those feelings properly. This “unfinished business” can impact their mental health.

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Theoretical Background

• Gestalt Therapy focuses on present awareness and personal responsibility.
• The Empty Chair Technique allows individuals to express and resolve unresolved emotions by imagining a conversation with someone (e.g., themselves, a parent, a partner) sitting in an “empty chair.”
• It helps bring internal conflict into awareness and promotes emotional release and healing.

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How the Empty Chair Technique Works — and Why It Helps

In practice, the Empty Chair Technique involves:

• Two chairs: One for the client, and one left empty for the imagined person or part of the self they need to address.
• The client speaks directly to the empty chair, expressing emotions or unresolved issues.
• Then they switch seats, responding from the imagined other’s perspective.
• This creates a dialogue between different parts of the self, or between the client and someone important in their life (past or present).

Why it works:

• It helps externalise inner conflicts and “unfinished business” like guilt.
• Clients can gain new perspectives, self-understanding, and a sense of closure.
• The process supports emotional regulation by allowing feelings to be felt, named, and integrated.
• For adolescents especially, this technique helps make sense of overwhelming emotions, giving them space to reflect and heal in a structured, supportive way.

The study explains that by giving form to difficult emotions and allowing safe expression, adolescents are better able to let go of guilt and move forward with greater self-acceptance.

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The Study

• Location: Yayasan Rumah Tumbuh Harapan, Bandung, Indonesia
• Participants: 3 adolescents identified with high levels of guilt
• Method: A-B single subject design (baseline vs. post-intervention)
• Tools: A “Guilt Instrument” measured feelings of guilt before and after therapy

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Results

All three participants showed a notable decrease in guilt after the intervention:

• Participant ES: Guilt score dropped from 67.01 → 50.19
• Participant FLO: 85.79 → 76.72
• Participant PK: 77.64 → 63.91

This indicates that Gestalt therapy with the Empty Chair Technique effectively reduces guilt in adolescents.

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Context & Relevance

The study highlights how:

• Lack of parental warmth, exposure to violence, peer pressure, and sexual misinformation can contribute to risky behaviours in teens
• Many adolescents in Indonesia and globally face early pregnancy, abortion, psychological distress, and social isolation
• Feelings of guilt often go unresolved and can lead to poor mental health outcomes

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Conclusion

The Empty Chair Technique within Gestalt Counseling is a promising approach to help adolescents at risk process and reduce guilt, supporting their emotional well-being and personal growth.

Reference:

Trijayanti, Y. W., Nurihsan, J., & Hafina, A. (2019). Gestalt counseling with empty chair technique to reduce guilt among adolescents at risk. Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal, 2(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.25217/igcj.v2i1.302

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