ABSTRACT

This book is about the difficulty of endings, but it is also about learning from the endings that we know have gone wrong as well as those that have worked well. It sets out how the psychological therapist can help a person to live well while life is available, and to face the endings that confront all of us with honesty, and the acceptance of our human fragility. Therapists suffer through the fears and failures of the people they see as well as through their own endings. These difficulties can either help each one to be more understanding and helpful, or can lead to disaster. This book is about making sure that we use experience as well as theory constructively.

chapter 1|15 pages

Ending causes pain

chapter 2|18 pages

Time in psychotherapy

chapter 3|18 pages

The patient decides to end

chapter 4|14 pages

The therapist’s loss

chapter 5|22 pages

The trouble with ending

chapter 6|16 pages

Therapy is a manic defence

chapter 7|14 pages

Hopes and desires

chapter 8|15 pages

Was there a choice?