ABSTRACT
When the patient has worked through most of his depression, the communication block in the family has been relieved, more verbal patterns of exchange instituted, the basic pathology of the parents—such as the mother’s holding on and the father’s withdrawal—at least recognized and rectified to some extent, the joint interviews are usually terminated; the patient then passes gradually from the working through phase to the last or separation phase. On occasion, as with George, it may be necessary to continue the joint interviews into this latter phase.
