Termination During the Counseling

Process: Function, Timing & Related

Issues

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Social Science / Fundamentals of
Counseling

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Lesson Transcript

The counseling process must eventually come to an end and how this
happens is very important. Learn the de!nition and function of
termination, explore the di"erent timings in which a termination may
occur, including natural and unnatural termination, and discover some
ways to mitigate related issues. Updated: 09/28/2021

De!ning Termination
All that is good must come to an end. The counseling process is one
that is deep and requires personal investment. If it has gone well, then
there will be signi!cant personal growth and the next step will come
easily. If there is something occurring that is impeding personal
growth, then the next step will be di#cult. But regardless of the good
or the bad, the end is inevitable.

Termination is the !nal stage of counseling and marks the close of the
relationship. Termination is the counselor and the client ending the
therapeutic alliance. The termination stage can be as important as the
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initial stage in that it is the last interaction many clients will have with
the counselor. If the termination leaves on a sour note, then the client
may look back on the time as a Plans waste of Courses Credit If the
e"ort and resources. Tutoring
termination goes well, then this has a multiplying e"ect, as the former
client sees that their time was well spent and this will be one more
person who is helping reduce the stigma of mental health.

With termination, there may be some safety features put into place.
Many counselors feel the need to check in with their clients after some
time or have their clients check in with them. This is commonly referred
to as a follow up and involves communicating with the client to ensure
stability and well-being. It's no di"erent than a doctor's o#ce calling in
and checking up on you.

If the relationship was not established or the client is a$icted by an

issue that is beyond the skill of the counselor, then a referral is
needed. A referral is a recommendation to the client to seek services
from a suggested counselor familiar with the concern. A suggested
counselor would be someone the current counselor knows can handle
the issue.

Being able to recognize your own limits is a sign that you have
developed a high level of insight and skill. If you think you can work
with everyone about anything, you are likely going to do some harm.

Termination can happen for a myriad of reasons but could be easily

placed under 'natural termination' and 'unnatural termination.' These
are my own terms, and I don't believe you will !nd them in the
literature. However, they will help you easily understand the di"erent
ways termination can occur. Let's look at what quali!es for each of
these.

Natural Termination
The purpose of counseling is to make people better. Yes, it has many
speci!c objectives, but really, overall, you could boil it down to that. A
good counselor will know when a person is better and ready to move
on. The client does not need to be 100% better, since no one ever really
is.

There is no absolute rule on time with the natural termination - it

happens when the client and the therapist come to a consensus. The
question of termination can be approached by the counselor, which is
counselor-initiated termination. This would likely be done when the
counselor feels the client no longer has su#cient reason to stay in
counseling. It should never been done spur of the moment, and
adequate time should be given to ensure open discussion.

Some clients will be resistant to leave the therapeutic relationship due

to this being their !rst positive relationship or because they have a
feeling of being lost or abandoned. These concerns should not be
discouraged or argued. Arguing with a client will just leave them
embittered, and progress that had been made will be jeopardized. The
counselor's best move is to explore these feelings and thoughts and to
show to the client that they have accomplished what they have set out
to do.

The question of termination can be approached by the client, which is

obviously called client-initiated termination. Likely, the client may
feel they are no longer getting anything useful from the therapist or the
initial situation that brought them in is resolved. For example, a client
may seek out a counselor following the death of someone. As the client
improves, they may feel they no longer need the counselor and
attempt to terminate. Just like the counselor-initiated, there will be
some questions and discussion regarding whether this is appropriate.

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Function, Timing & Related Issues
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