To resume a stalled psychotherapy? Psychological testing to understand an impasse and reevaluate treatment options

Clinical wisdom holds that psychological testing is a useful tool for consultation when there is a need to untangle and resolve a psychotherapeutic impasse. However, there has been a lack of empirical research in this area, and only a few cases have been published demonstrating how psychological testing can be used toward this end. In this article, the author offers a case illustration of the application of testing with a patient who sought to resume psychotherapy following a previous impasse and premature termination. Specific referral questions for the evaluation are explicated followed by discussion of the test data that answered each of them. The findings pointed not only to intrapsychic and object relational characteristics of the patient that contributed to the impasse but, importantly, alerted the author-therapist to his contributions as well. Treatment implications of the findings are also highlighted.