ABSTRACT
The therapist should continuously monitor the process of therapy and re-evaluate the original diagnostic evaluation, the strategies and the changes occurring both in and out of the therapy room. The evaluation will focus on the following questions: (a) what changes were planned and what changes occurred spontaneously? (b) How can one explain these two types of changes? (c) Which modifications should be introduced into the therapeutic strategies and tactics in light of the changes that have occurred? (d) What new difficulties have appeared? What are their causes and what can one do to overcome them? (e) When has the time for termination arrived and how should the termination be managed? Often changes within sessions and between sessions cannot be predicted. Well-designed interventions can go astray and lead to undesirable results. A therapist can do his or her best to understand such occurrences and make corrective therapeutic moves. A therapist should learn to read the early signs of premature termination, as well as of termination at the right time. Various techniques for preventing premature separation are proposed. There are signs of approaching spontaneous (not premature) termination. Some of these signs are subtle. The therapist should know how to read and interpret them. Various techniques for facilitating termination are proposed.
