Chairwork: An Introductory Experiential Workshop (Decision-Making, Grief and Loss, Inner Complexity, and Difficult Relationships)

Are you a clinician who has felt stuck or stagnant in your practice? Are you curious about experiential work but have been unsure where to start?

The Chairwork Psychotherapy Initiative has created an energizing and exciting introductory workshop experience that will give all practitioners a running start to incorportating Chairwork and experiential techniques into their clinical practice. As the creators of Chairwork Psychotherapy and home of the world's first Chairwork certification program, we are excited to bring this beautiful and clinically effective healing practice to clinicians of all...Read more levels who wish to broaden their clinical skills.
This in-person, experiential workshop is a great opportunity for those seeking to level up their experiential therapy skills or those who are curious about experiential techniques.

5 CEs available
Date: October 24, 2025
Time: 10am - 4pm PT (This workshop will include a one-hour lunch break. Exact time TBD on the day of the workshop.)
Location: 606 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 (BLANKSPACES)
**Note: This workshop is a standalone training experience. Attendance at the October 25 event is not required.


Topics covered will include:
Introduction and Foundations of Chairwork
Decision-Making and Polarities
Grief and Loss
Difficult Relationships
Inner Complexity (Working with negative self-beliefs)


DETAILS:
Intro and Foundations and History:
What are the roots of Chairwork? We will explore the rich traditions that inform modern-day Chairwork practice and explore the roles of Dr. Jacob Moreno and Dr. Fritz Perls. Following that, we will outline the basic foundations and framework of Chairwork and Chairwork Psychotherapy, including the Four Dialogues Model.

Decision-Making Dialogues and Polarities
Difficult decisions and inner conflict are a common struggle we all face from time to time. Managing this in clinical practice can be challenging—especially when patients wish we would tell them what we think they should do!
We will introduce the powerful practice of Decision-Making Dialogues and polarity balance exercises. This effective and powerful approach to grappling with decisions will give participants an immediately applicable way to work with patients dealing with these issues. Participants will then have the opportunity to watch a live, unrehearsed demonstration showing this in practice.
Lastly, participants will have the opportunity to practice this dialogue work with each other, with live support from the facilitators.

Grief and Loss
Chairwork is a core component in the world of Grief-centered therapy. We will introduce how to apply Chairwork when supporting patients experiencing grief, including pathological grief. Participants will then have the opportunity to watch a live, unrehearsed demonstration showing this in practice.

Difficult Relationships
Many patients come to therapy presenting issues related to other, sometimes challenging, people in their lives. Using Chairwork, we will demonstrate how we can setup Relationships and Encounters dialogues to explore and manage the complex and painful emotions that come up in response to these difficult relationships and to explore the relational dynamics at play. Participants will then have the opportunity to watch a live, unrehearsed demonstration showing this in practice.

Inner Complexity
It is common to see patients who struggle with their self-concept. They may, at times, see themselves as “bad”, “unworthy”, or “no good.” Directly challenging these beliefs is often unhelpful and ineffective.
We will teach participants how to apply Chairwork to work with inner complexity and allow for patients to organically develop a more holistic, and ultimately adaptive, view of themselves.


This event is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, and MFT's. Grad students and interns are also welcome. Less...

Learning Objectives

• Compare the respective roles of Dr. Jacob Moreno and Dr. Friedrich “Fritz” Perls in the creation of Chairwork Psychotherapy.
• List each of the Four Dialogues.
• Identify two Deepening Techniques.
• Demonstrate how to set up a polarity dialogue.
• Demonstrate how to setup a Grief and Loss dialogue.
• Demonstrate how to work with Inner Complexity.
• Demonstrate how to setup a dialogue for difficult relationships.

Target Audience

Friday, October 24, 2025

10:00 AM PDT - 04:00 PM PDT