ABSTRACT
An impasse is a stuck point, where there are equal and opposing forces present. The Gouldings ®rst elaborated impasse theory following their work with Fritz Perls, the originator of gestalt therapy who understood internal con¯ict as being an internal battle between the `topdog' and `underdog' (Perls, 1969). The Gouldings took this understanding and applied TA structural theory to understand the con¯ict as a con¯ict between ego states (Goulding and Goulding, 1979). Ken Mellor (1980) later developed impasse theory to create a consistent model (the Gouldings' model mixed structural and functional ego state models) that incorporated some child development theory. It is Mellor's conceptualization of impasses which is most widely used amongst TA practitioners at present (Figure 85.1).
