ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the tasks and skills associated with finishing well to enhance the potential benefits of single-session therapy (SST). In Hoyt and Hoyt and Talmon a schema was presented for organizing the tasks and skills associated with the different phases of treatment and sessions: pre-, early, middle, late, and follow-through. The beginning of each session and each therapy involves the client and therapist forming an alliance, identifying goals, and determining what positive movement may have already occurred since the client originally sought contact. The SST therapist, by highlighting certain events and deemphasizing others, attempts to help the client focus on what will be useful while letting go of whatever needs to be left behind. The conclusion of an SST will likely not put an end to all of a client's problems, but can form a point of departure from the same old problems recurring again and again.
