What Can Vagueness Tell Us in Therapy?

Have you ever had a client say something like:

“It's just how things have always been.”

“I don't know, it's difficult to explain.”

“We've never really got along.”

These are examples of vagueness in therapy.

Although the client is communicating something, we're left with very little clarity about what they actually mean.

Vagueness is something we encounter regularly in psychotherapy, but there can be quite different psychological processes behind it. Understanding these differences can help us make sense of what's happening and consider how best to respond.

1. Vagueness as a Defence Against Feelings

Sometimes becoming more specific can bring a client closer to feelings that are difficult to experience.

For example, a client describes an argument with their partner as “just the usual stuff.” When asked what happened, they respond, “We just don't see eye to eye.”

We begin to understand that there's a difficulty in the relationship, but we still know relatively little about the interaction itself or how the client experienced it.

From an ISTDP perspective, vagueness can sometimes function as a defence against uncomfortable emotions. Describing exactly what happened might bring the person into contact with anger, sadness, guilt or other feelings that create internal conflict.

This doesn't necessarily happen consciously. The client may genuinely find it difficult to recognise how they're moving away from their emotional experience.

2. Vagueness as a Way of Maintaining Emotional Distance

Sometimes vagueness may be connected to how comfortable someone feels within the therapeutic relationship.

A client might respond with “It's complicated” or “There's not much more to say.” As the conversation develops, it can be difficult to establish a clearer understanding of their experience.

We might become curious about what it's like for the client to share something personal with another person.

Perhaps there's a wish to be understood alongside some uncertainty about what might happen if they become more open.

From an ISTDP perspective, we might consider whether vagueness is functioning as a form of resistance within the therapeutic relationship. Equally, it could reflect understandable caution, particularly when trust is still developing.

The important thing is to remain curious about what's happening rather than assuming we already know.

3. Vagueness as a Conscious Reluctance to Disclose

Not all vagueness happens outside conscious awareness.

A client might say, “Something happened when I was younger, but I don't really want to talk about it.”

They may have a clear understanding of what they're referring to but feel uncertain about sharing it.

Perhaps there's shame, fear of judgement or concern about how the therapist might respond. Previous experiences of criticism or rejection may also influence how comfortable they feel disclosing personal information.

This differs from someone who struggles to identify or articulate their experience in the first place.

However, even conscious decisions about what to share can be influenced by feelings and conflicts that aren't fully understood.

Rather than treating reluctance as something to overcome, we might become interested in understanding what makes disclosure difficult and what the client needs from the therapeutic relationship.

4. Vagueness as a Consequence of Anxiety

Sometimes vagueness develops because anxiety begins to interfere with a client's ability to think clearly.

A client might begin describing an interaction in considerable detail, but as the conversation becomes more emotionally significant, they lose their train of thought, struggle to recall information or become increasingly confused.

Within ISTDP, we pay particular attention to how anxiety affects psychological functioning.

When anxiety becomes sufficiently high, particularly when it disrupts cognitive and perceptual functioning, a person's capacity to organise their thoughts and communicate clearly can deteriorate.

In these circumstances, vagueness may tell us something important about the client's level of anxiety and their capacity to tolerate emotional activation.

Rather than encouraging greater specificity immediately, it may be more helpful to recognise what's happening and support the client in regulating their anxiety.

5. Vagueness as a Difficulty Recognising Internal Experience

Sometimes clients genuinely struggle to identify or describe what they're experiencing emotionally.

For example:

Therapist: “How did you feel when your friend cancelled?”

Client: “I don't know. Just bad, I suppose.”

Even with further exploration, the client may struggle to distinguish sadness, anger, guilt or anxiety.

This may reflect difficulties with emotional awareness, alexithymia or reflective functioning.

Someone who grew up in an environment where feelings were rarely recognised or discussed may have had fewer opportunities to develop the capacity to identify and articulate their internal experience.

In these situations, we might be interested in helping the client develop a greater awareness of their emotional experience, rather than assuming that something is being avoided.

Why the Timing of Vagueness Matters

One particularly useful observation is when a client becomes vague.

Someone might describe an event in considerable detail, only to become vague when the conversation approaches something emotionally significant.

This might raise questions about whether anxiety is increasing or whether a defensive process is beginning to emerge.

Another client might struggle to provide specific information throughout the session, including when discussing relatively ordinary experiences.

This could lead us to consider their general capacity for self-observation, emotional awareness or how comfortable they feel within the therapeutic relationship.

Neither pattern tells us definitively what's happening, but noticing these differences can help us develop a better understanding of the client's experience.

What Happens When We Ask for More Clarity?

Perhaps one of the most useful things we can observe is what happens when we invite a client to become more specific.

Do they become anxious? Confused? Uncomfortable? Do they move further away from the subject, or begin connecting more closely with their emotional experience?

We also need to remain curious about our own contribution. The way we ask questions, the timing of our interventions and the quality of the therapeutic relationship can all influence how easily someone is able to communicate their experience.

The same vague response can reflect very different psychological processes, and these processes may overlap or change throughout a session.

The clinical task isn't simply to encourage greater specificity, but to understand what the vagueness might be telling us about the client's experience.

That understanding can help us respond in ways that are better suited to what the client is experiencing in that particular moment.

Interested in Clinical Supervision?

If you're a therapist interested in exploring these ideas further through clinical supervision, please feel free to get in touch to discuss working together.