Transforming negative parent-adolescent interactions: From impasse to dialogue

This treatment development, process research study focuses on resolving ins ession, parent-adolescent conflicts characterized by negative exchanges, em otional disengagement, and poor problem solving. These processes have been empirically linked to poor developmental outcomes, and clinically linked to poor therapeutic progress. Specifically: we examined how a shift of therap eutic focus from behavior management to interpersonal relationship failures could resolve this impasse and resuscitate therapeutic momentum. A task an alysis approach was used to verify the presence of the impasse, to illumina te its core features, and to define the therapist and client behaviors asso ciated with resolving it. In Part I of this two-part series, we presented t he final performance map that represented that family's cognitive, emotiona l and behavioral interactions necessary to resolve the impasse. This articl e, Part II, focuses on the theoretical foundation of the intervention strat egies, the phenomenology of the impasse, and the therapist's skills needed to facilitate it.