ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the principle of independence and explains how it is woven throughout the skills of therapeutic relationships. It applies the skills of planful endings through natural and arbitrary endings. The chapter implements the skills of reviewing for client progress, satisfaction, and decisions toward ending within psychotherapists core therapeutic relationship skills. It recognizes in review varied forms of progress for clients. The chapter describes the problems that arbitrary endings can bring and how to empower psychotherapists clients through arbitrary endings. It discusses common difficulties for beginning counselors around endings. The chapter also describes commonalities of the great majority of endings of therapeutic relationships. When a therapeutic relationship has been well built, often the client knows that it is time to end, and doing so can be more joyous and satisfying than difficult. The endings of therapeutic relationships in counseling come about in different ways. In some situations, after ending individual counseling, psychotherapists and their clients will have ongoing relationships.
