Do all therapists do that when saying goodbye? A study of commonalities in termination behaviors

This study aimed to identify core termination behaviors of psychotherapists across theoretical orientations in a successful course of treatment. Sixty-five experts from diverse theoretical traditions reported the frequency with which they used 80 tasks in a planned, mutually agreed termination of individual psychotherapy. Fifty-one items reached a positive consensus, 27 items did not obtain consensus, and 2 items were consensually employed infrequently. Termination behaviors/tasks achieving the strongest consensus concerned supporting the client's progress, promoting client growth posttermination, following the ethics code, consolidating gains made, and highlighting patient's recognition of competence. Only a few differences in self-reported use of termination behaviors were found across theoretical orientations, indicating some uniqueness but largely commonality in practice. Principal components analyses of all tasks identified 8 robust factors: process feelings of patient and therapist, discuss patient's future functioning and coping, help patient use new skills beyond therapy, frame personal development as invariably unfinished, anticipate posttherapy growth and generalization, prepare explicitly for termination, reflect on patient gains and consolidation, and express pride in patient's progress and mutual relationship. These findings integrate multiple models of termination and provide a pantheoretical consensus that can inform practice, training, and research. (PsycINFO Database Record