ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the reasons, both positive and negative, that are given by patients for leaving: therapist incompetence, patient’s change of circumstance, money, place, internal changes and goals achieved. Most therapists will have the experience of seeing a patient who has been to someone else before, but has not stayed for a reason which might sound like incompetent practice. A therapist’s marriage or pregnancy, and the patient’s feelings about this, can be one of the most difficult changes to manage. Patients leave because their own circumstances change or those of the therapist change to an extent which they cannot tolerate. When a patient is made redundant in their workplace, the resultant loss of income brings the continuation of therapy into question. Patients may find their own way to an ending for any of the reasons mentioned so far, but can still feel aggrieved and hurt by the process.
