Couple Impasses: Three Therapeutic Approaches

Many couples present to therapy feeling trapped in impasses that they do not understand and feel powerless to escape. The impasse causes great emotional distress and may threaten the couple’s connection and commitment to each other. This paper is based on a presentation given at the 2018 annual SEPI conference and reflects the work of three experienced scholar-therapists who presented their approaches to working with couple impasses as the first step in exploring areas of overlap and potential integration. Although each clinical approach developed independently, the emphasis on exploration of emotions and respect for the influence of the past point to the potential for integration.