ABSTRACT
Th e ethical implications of these therapist misconceptions about termination are the fi rst major focus of this chapter. If clinicians are to act responsibly regarding termination, we must fi rst revise our view of the therapeutic process as a therapist-driven, top-down endeavor, and instead adopt a collaborative construction of therapy that confers
on the client a central and explicit role in decisions about the duration and structure of the therapeutic process. Such a perspective is rooted in the ethical values underlying the codes of ethics and in their specifi c provisions. Th ese values include respect for the dignity and autonomy of the client, acknowledgment of one’s own strengths and limitations as a professional, and a commitment to place the welfare of the client ahead of one’s own interests.
