ABSTRACT
The importance of proper session closure cannot be underestimated given the two goals relevant to this subject. First, it is imperative that the client leaves the session in an embodied adult state, with a sense of orientation to time, place and person and specifi c plans to regulate themselves in the face of potential day-to-day triggers. Second, it is benefi cial to create a framework for memory reconsolidation, of solidifying and integrating the transformation that occurred during the session, no matter how big or how small, making certain that these shifts are embodied in a way that promotes the implementation of change in a new and practical way. This has vital implications for optimal session length as the traditional 50-minute psychotherapy session will often not allow for full focus on the resolved issue. The time constraints of 50-minute sessions may lead the therapist to believe “ there just isn’t time ” to end the work in a thorough manner. However, time is lost by having to resource a client between sessions or at the start of the next session as a consequence of leaving a session without proper closure. This emphasises the crucial importance of making time during the session by decreasing the “check in” or “chit chat” time at the start of the sessions, making do with even an abbreviated version of the session closure steps or ensuring that the time available for the session is greater than 50 minutes. It is a lost opportunity of some magnitude when something that has been troubling and disturbing for decades does not get the chance to clear completely because the time for reconsolidation and epigenetic re-scripting is not available at the critical stage of the process.
