Ending

In this week’s blog entry I want to discuss the ending of therapy. A good ending to the therapy can facilitate many benefits for the client. Sometimes, clients may feel significantly better than when they first started and decide to leave straight away, feeling that the work is done. In most cases, it would be useful for them to work through an ending even if that is for only one session. Where the therapy has been going on for a number of months or years, more sessions may be useful to work through the ending fully. 

The duration of the ending is something that would be negotiated with the client, e.g. a final review session agreed at the beginning of treatment, or when the client in an open-ended contract starts to consider ending our work together, we would at that point agree how many sessions might be required. Ultimately, as the client, it is up to you when you leave. If you are leaving abruptly, i.e. without the chance of working through the ending, then this may suggest some conflict with the therapist. Next week’s blog will explore ways of dealing with such conflicts.

A properly worked through ending helps consolidate the gains made in therapy by putting the whole process of therapy into perspective – what benefits have been gained, what has yet to be achieved, what was helpful and what was not, what will it be like for the client not to be coming to see the therapist. 

It can also enhance the client’s resilience to issues in the future by:-
- being more aware of the early warning signs of issues, 
- developing support networks so they are better able to maintain their well-being preventing potential future difficulties
- developing good practice in psychological wellbeing maintenance via:-
--- regular exercise
--- a healthy diet
--- improved ongoing self-awareness
--- improved self-soothing: yoga, meditation, relaxation & breathing techniques
--- clearer focus on the client’s own priorities
--- better able to maintain their work/life balance.

Subtle forces may be in play during an ending, whereby the client does not want to acknowledge the importance that their relationship with the therapist has acquired. This may lead the client to request going down to fortnightly or monthly sessions, or a review session at some point in the future. Sometimes this is a denial of the ending, (often unconscious), by fading away, getting used to less frequent sessions. It is much more likely to be helpful to the client to take some time to work through the ending maintaining weekly sessions, facing it explicitly as this can stimulate some fruitful work. An ending can resonate with other endings in the client’s life or with difficult relationship patterns. By being able to work through the ending consciously, directly, a different experience of ending and thus of relationship can be realised.

Clients may feel re-assured by the knowledge that they will be welcome back for whatever reason should they so decide.

The benefits of therapy don’t stop just because the therapy has stopped. Research indicates that many clients continue on their path of increased self-awareness & improved sense of well-being beyond the end of therapy. Therapy may be a platform from which the client develops more fully afterwards.


If you have any questions about this blog or any of the issues raised please feel free to contact me via my website: http://www.garycooktherapy.co.uk