The impact of psychotherapist training and experience on posttermination contact

This study sought to enhance our understanding of posttermination contact, with a particular focus on the role of training and experience in shaping attitudes and behaviors with respect to the posttermination period. We collected anonymous online survey data related to attitudes, policies, and experience of posttermination contact from 144 licensed clinicians. Our sample was composed of an experienced group of clinicians, with 20.7 years in practice on average. Clinicians had a range of clinical orientations and ∼25% of respondents were from outside of the United States. Over 90% of the participants (130) endorsed having had some form of posttermination contact, and 25% (36) reported initiating posttermination contact with a past patient. Only 62 participants (43.4%) reported receiving graduate training related to posttermination contact, and those with graduate training were more likely to have an established posttermination policy that they reviewed with patients. In addition, recent graduates were more likely to report having had training on this topic than older graduates. In terms of attitudes, therapists were more likely to anticipate positive rather than negative consequences of posttermination contact for both patients and themselves, and the longer a therapist had been in practice the less likely they were to anticipate negative consequences of posttermination contact. Additionally, a clinician's contact with their own therapist made them more likely to anticipate positive consequences for both themselves and their patients. Given the ubiquity of posttermination contact, the posttermination period should be given more attention in training programs and research. (PsycINFO Database Record