Termination: A Case Study

In this article I posit and examine certain criteria and qualities for ending an analysis. The case study describes the end phase of a four-year psychoanalysis in which the patient's decision to move to another area forced the end of his analysis. We continued to explore and work through his core neurotic conflicts that included issues of competitive rivalry, dominance and submission, control, and anxiety about birth and death. A shift in the transference from me as a negative father to me as a supportive but competitive older brother was also examined in the context of ending treatment as well as other aspects of the transference. In addition, we analyzed the meaning of his ending treatment based on an extra-analytic circumstance. In discussing this phase of treatment, the definition and history of the term "termination" and its connotations are reviewed. Various criteria for completing an analysis are examined, and technical observations about this phase of treatment are investigated. It was found that while a significant shift in the transference occurred in this phase of the patient's analysis, conflicts related to the transference were not "resolved" in the classical sense. Terminating treatment was considered as a practical matter in which the patient's autonomy and sense of choice were respected and analyzed.