ABSTRACT
What is termination, and how does termination occur in therapy? Or how do therapeutic relationships end? Chapter 3, “Definition, Types, and Duration of the Termination Process,” explores different types of termination, for example, planned and unplanned terminations, mutually agreed terminations, and premature terminations (premature terminations that are initiated by therapists and endings that are initiated by patients), and it highlights the ways that therapists may think about their own thoughts related to terminations and why they may strive to avoid premature terminations.
This chapter explores the termination or ending process of therapy, distinguishes between terminations initiated by patients, for example, dropping out of therapy or moving to another state, and endings initiated by therapists, for example, retirement or illness, and differentiates between terminations that are full and terminations that end prematurely. Chapter 3 offers examples that show how patients’ responses to ending therapy surface as their own personal styles of coping with challenging situations. It underscores therapists’ processing of patients’ styles of reacting that play out during the end phase of therapy, highlighting the connection between ruptures and termination, and conveys that it is possible for new material to emerge during termination; themes that include experiences that illustrate patients’ styles for coping with loss and/or ruptures along with other conflicts that may emerge at the end of therapy.
