ABSTRACT
The relationship between writer and reader is different to that between patient and clinician, though it has an asymmetry reminiscent to some degree. The exact point at which a relationship ends is less clear than one might imagine, as past lovers often find to their dismay. It makes the point that because the physical separation can do violence to the relationship it is important to say goodbye. The clinical relationship has to be different to the common or garden variety, or there would be no point. If there has been previous traumatic loss then the clinical ending should itself be, as a recapitulation, not merely minimally traumatic in its own right, but also therapeutic, restorative, or at the very least informative. Having made the case for taking ending seriously—for saying goodbye—it remains only to do so. Society has evolved a culture of saying goodbye.
