Ending clinical relationships with people with schizophrenia

The potential for the social worker-client relationship to contribute to therapeutic outcomes is not always apparent with clients who have schizophrenia. Their cognitive impairments often make it difficult for these clients to regulate interpersonal boundaries and for social workers to connect with them. Clinical practice is enhanced, however, by recognizing that severely impaired clients have the capacity and desire for relationships with service providers and others. The manner in which the clinical relationship ends is important for maintaining clinical gains and determining whether the client will risk investing in future relationships. The purpose of this article has been to sensitize social workers to the delicate nature of managing the endings of those relationships.