206 SAMSTAG, MURAN, SAFRAN reflects the emotional investment component of the misunderstanding event. The patient rupture markers included his weak smile and limp hand- shake (this was not captured on videotape because the meeting took place in the waiting room, but it was noted by the therapist). This withdrawal rup- ture episode provided a window of opportunity for the therapist to make the features of their initial interaction explicit and help the patient to voice his feelings of resentment and expectations that she too would leave him. THERAPIST FACILITATIVE INTERVENTIONS: PRINCIPALS OF METACOMMUNICATION One of the key principles outlined in the resolution model for disentangling from the vicious cycle that defines the quality of patient and therapist en- gagement in an alliance rupture and treatment impasse is the process of therapeutic metacommunication. Metacommunication was a term first used by Keisler (1988) in the context of psychotherapy and “is synonymous with impact disclosure” (p. 1). It is employed in “an attempt to step outside of the relational cycle that is currently being enacted by treating it as the fo- cus of collaborative exploration: that is, communicating about the transac- tion or implicit communication that is taking place” (Safran & Muran, 2000, p. 108). This approach represents a particular clinical sensibility that em- phasizes an ongoing experiential awareness of the therapeutic process as it is created and evolves in a moment-to-moment fashion. The skill of mindful- ness (e.g., Epstein, 1995) is cultivated in the tracking of disconnections and fluctuations in relatedness, concentrating on therapist's subjectivity as a way to facilitate the process of metacommunication (Muran & Safran, 2002; Safran & Muran, 2000). Safran and Muran (2000) outlined three general principals of metacom- munication referring to the quality of the therapist's participation with the patient and orientation toward the rupture experience, the focus of the therapist's attention in the context of a treatment impasse, and the thera- pist’s experience of working through an impasse. First, the therapist should approach the experience with a genuine curi- osity, tentativeness, and exploratory attitude, encouraging the patient to collaborate in coming to an understanding of the treatment impasse. Meta- communications are inspired by a subjective experience in the moment and any theme or patterns that emerge in the context of the therapeutic rela- tionship should not be treated as a parallel to outside relationships. For ex- ample, a therapist may use her immediate reactions to a patient's presenta- tion as a starting point for exploration of the patient's experience: “I am aware of my attention wandering just now and I wonder if it might have something to do with the way you are speaking. Are you aware of how you