How to terminate therapy with your clients

 

3 ways to signal the end of therapy

 

These days, knowing how to terminate therapy elegantly is a core therapeutic skill. Gone are the days when psychotherapy was supposed to continue maybe twice a week for decades. In fact, the international guidelines for the treatment of depression suggest that if your depressed client doesn’t feel significantly better after five sessions you should refer them on to another professional (1).

 

It’s not right to keep someone in therapy when they no longer need it. And remember – they’re paying! If someone sometimes wants to ‘catch up’ or ‘just talk’ once in a while, that’s fine, of course. But who was it who said: “A therapist should assist where they can but not leave footprints in their client’s life”? Therapists supply a service.