Neutrality or negligence: interpret or act?

The uniqueness of the psychotherapeutic relationship requires the therapists to maintain a careful equilibrium between objectivity at the price of empathy and closeness at the expense of the necessary perspective. Crises in the course of long-term psychotherapy brings about a sudden, unexpected loss of such equilibrium. Uithout sufficient understanding of the crisis within the context of the therapeutic strategy and goals, the therapist might easily over- or underreact, to the detriment of the treatment. In this paper we suggest careful scrutiny and guidelines for dealing with those situations.