Intensification of defense

Definition

The patient may begin by stating a particular life problem that disturbs him; and if silent, he may be asked by the therapist to express his immediate awareness. However he begins, the focus is on his moment-to-moment "here and now" experience as much as possible; intensification and exaggeration of this experience is encouraged by a variety of exercises. Techniques could include:

• The Empty Chair Technique
• The Exaggeration Technique

Fritz Perls used both the Empty Chair Technique and the Exaggeration Technique to assist the client in understanding his/her defenses.