Interrupted treatment and forced terminations

A discussion of "Premature Termination: A Therapist Leaving," by James Beatrice, M.S. The treatment literature offers a plethora of information regarding the beginnings of psychotherapy, but the process of termination is given relatively little attention. The issue of forced terminations, which bring about premature endings, interrupting the treatment in ways often harmful to patients and adding to the negative side of the ambivalence about seeking further help, is even more neglected. This paper examines the nature of forced terminations when they are invoked by the therapist and spells out the variety of circumstances and motivations sparking such endings. Finally, it addresses the nature of forced terminations initiated by patients, and details the conscious and unconscious factors likely to be at work.