CCC 27-3

CLINICAL PRACTICE

Impasse and Interpretation in Christian Counseling from the Society for Christian Psychology CHRISTIAN PSYCH NOTES Nicolene L. Joubert, Ph.D.

a Introduction An impasse in counseling is the moment a client and counselor experience a stalemate or deadlock in the process. Interpersonal communication breaks down, and the working alliance between counselor and client weakens. According to Werbart et al. (2022), a weakened alliance is one of the main reasons clients drop out of therapy or counseling. Progress is halted, and both par ties feel stuck. Characteristics and Causes of Impasse Ruptures in the therapeutic relationship lead to an impasse or deadlock. Clients generally feel disconnect ed from the therapeutic process and struggle to make progress. Some causes of an impasse include unre sponsiveness and emotional distance in the counseling relationship. It could originate from counselor bias and insensitivity to the client or from a lack of rapport be tween counselor and client. Thus, clients feel unsafe and

limited in what they can reveal (Werbart et al., 2022). Clients who feel they are not making progress despite many counseling sessions might become distant and unresponsive. They may experience the counselor as too distant or passive (Werbart et al., 2022). It consequent ly leads to a deadlock or stalemate in the counseling process. On the other hand, counselors or therapists may experience clients as resistant to change or aversive against closeness. When an impasse goes unnoticed by the counselor, it can lead to a negative counseling experience. Sessions may become emotionally tense, and both parties may experience frustration. This could lead to emotional exhaustion because an intense cognitive and emotion al effort is required to engage with each other to work toward counseling goals. Symptoms of impasse include emotional withdrawal, intellectualization, periods of meaningless silence, or overemphasis on non-psycholog ical problems (Werbart et al., 2022).

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