Concepts of termination and post-termination patient-analyst contact

This paper examines the relationship of concepts of termination to the role of post-termination patient-analyst contact. The concept of termination seems to have been derived historically from at least three elements: the conception of the analytic process; the goal of analysis; and the therapeutic outcome of analysis. Evidence from clinical experience fails to substantiate analysts' belief that post-termination patient-analyst contacts are likely to be damaging to the patient. Most analysts structure termination so that subsequent contact with the patient is conditional upon the patient's need for additional analytic help. However, they themselves seek multiple post-termination contacts with their own training analyst. Periodic post-termination patient-analyst contacts as extensions of the analytic situation provide the analyst with an improved perspective for evaluating the prior analytic work and provide the patient with evidence of the analyst's continuing physicianly concern for his/her well-being. The latter extends the therapeutic alliance which had supported the earlier analytic work and which probably enhances the maintenance of analytic gains and facilitates continued self-analytic work.