title: Treatment failure in humanistic and experiential psychotherapy.
abstract: In this article, treatment failure in humanistic experiential psychotherapy is defined and explored. I outline several markers that indicate when treatment is not going well. Factors that contribute to failure include client factors, for example, emotional processing capacities, shame, and impoverished narratives, as well as therapist factors including lack of empathic attunement and inflexibility. Treatment failure is illuminated with a case example drawn from humanistic/experiential psychotherapy, and clinical strategies for dealing with failures are recommended.
authors: Counselling Psychology Program, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor St. West, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6. jeanne.watson@utoronto.ca
authors: Jeanne C
authors: JC
authors: Watson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006117:Grief; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D013811:Psychotherapeutic Processes; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012752:Shame; D017211:Treatment Failure