Losing a client can be a very detaching experience.
The client and counselor have shared many vulnerable moments with one another
upon termination of this therapeutic relationship. Despite many assumptions,
termination is not always for “bad” reasons. Many counselors endorse
termination in response to the client’s improvement (Westmacott, Hunsley, Best, McKean, & Schindler,
2012). Clients may find it difficult to discontinue services with an individual
who has actually taken the time to listen to them.
As preparing
counselors, we have to prepare ourselves with the reality that not every client
will be lifelong clients. So, we have to devote time to prepare the client for
the upcoming termination. We want to make sure we prepare the client at least
three sessions before the last session (Young, 2017). As we are discussing this
upcoming event we as counselors should emphasize the client’s strengths and the
progress that they have made throughout their sessions. Many might assume that
counselors would feel sort of upset about the termination process. However,
research has shown that counselors have positive feelings about termination (Knox
et al., 2011). They report that these health professionals are actually proud
of their client’s achievements (Knox et al., 2011).
In Young’s (2017) literature he offers 7 suggestions
surrounding the topic of preparing for termination. The steps are as follows: “(1)
Bring termination up early. (2) Help the client think of termination as an
opportunity to put new learning into practice. (3) Specify the number of
session at the very beginning, so both helper an client are prepared for termination.
(4) Us a fading procedure; that is, space appointments over increasing lengths
of time. (5) Help the client to see his or her own actions that led to success
and that the client has the personal resources to deal with future issues. (6)
Play down the sadness of termination; play up the sense of accomplishment and
the value of independence. (7) Use reflective listening to allow the client to
express feelings of loss (p.286)”. I
think each of these suggestions are very helpful for aspiring counselors to
know. My personal favorite suggestion would be the second suggestion. This
suggestion involves allowing the client to see termination as an opportunity to
put what they have learned into practice. In this relationship we encourage
individuals to be autonomous. We want them to learn how to navigate their lives
independently from us. This is a great opportunity to create a moment of
empowerment for the client. Reframing the client’s somewhat melancholy emotions
surrounding termination into hopeful opportunities of progression can set the
client at ease.
Knox, S., Adrians, N., Everson, E., Hess, S., Hill, C.,
& Crook-Lyon, R. (2011). Clients' perspectives on therapy termination.
Psychotherapy Research, 21(2), 154-167. doi:10.1080/10503307.2010.534509
Westmacott, R., Hunsley, J., Best, M., Rumstein-McKean,
O., & Schindler, D. (2010). Client and therapist views of contextual
factors related to termination from psychotherapy: A comparison between unilateral
and mutual terminators. Psychotherapy Research, 20(4), 423-435.
doi:10.1080/10503301003645796
Young,
M. (2017). Learning the art of helping, 6th edition.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Thank you for sharing Dominique. I found it very helpful to see some suggestions for termination of counseling with a client. It is probably one of the most important things you will do with a client, because you have no control over what will happen to them afterwards. You don't get to see them again to talk about how they are doing on their own. I think that is why it is so important to empower the client during sessions. It may be important for them to see how their actions have succeeded. It may also be important to offer them resources that they can use after termination with you. I almost see the counseling process as that of Jesus and his disciples. He walked with them, empowering them and helping them learn how to live. When it was His time, He had to leave them, and they had to live out their faith on their own.
ReplyDeleteAt first thought, it is very much like losing a friend. After some thought, it is not quite the same. In a client/counselor relationship, it is very professional and it is clearly a helping relationship. It should be a happy time where both the client and the counselor can observe the progress the client has made. As stated, it is important for the client's strengths to be stated. I would also agree that this is an opportunity for the client to put things into practice "for real" as they were discussed in counseling. The counselor is no longer there to guide the client, but there is a release and the client can take to the sky. In an interview with an LPC, he told me that in his termination sessions, he always tells the client "Look how far you've come" or "Look what you have done." He says this is much better than saying things like, "I'm so proud of you" because the focus is on the client rather than the feeling the client gives the counselor.
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