In ""Couples at an Impasse"", Dr. Jon Carlson meets with a couple who have been stuck in an impasse for several months. He uses an optimistic approach that builds on the couple's strengths to help them transcend their impasse. This session demonstrates the four stages of therapy - engagement, assessment, insight, and reorientation. Carlson uses confrontation, or what host Pat Love calls ""a velvet hammer,"" to help the couple to understand how they contribute to their own misery and guides them through strategies to help realize satisfaction.