Guidelines for effectively moving your clients toward termination

- Remind clients of the approaching ending of the sessions with you. This should be done
at least 2-3 sessions prior to the final one. This provides you an opportunity to ask
clients to talk about relationships that have ended in their past, how they have ended,
and how that might affect the end of this counseling relationship. You can also ask
clients what they would like to focus on during their remaining time with you. A
question to ask prior to the final one, which may help to prepare clients for the reality
of the end, is "If this were our last meeting, how would that be for you?"
- If you and your client are not limited to a certain number of sessions, you have the
option of spacing out your last few meetings. This is a good way to wean your client of
the relationship and foster in them a sense of confidence in their ability to handle
things without seeing you on a weekly basis before the relationship abruptly ends.
- Review the progress that you and the client have made during your sessions. Very often,
clients will forget the advances they have made, or neglect to give themselves credit for
their accomplishments. Doing this with them can instill confidence and provide them
with a positive perspective on what counseling helped them to do. Ask your clients
what they learned, what they intend to do with what they have learned, what they
found helpful about their sessions and how they felt about their participation in the
process.
- Allow clients to talk about their feelings surrounding termination. They will likely have
many emotions to work through and time should be spent acknowledging and
processing them.
- Be aware of your own feelings surrounding the termination process. It is normal to feel
many emotions when ending a relationship with your clients. Acknowledge your
feelings, your ambivalence about termination, etc. Always keep in mind that your
ultimate goal as a counselor is to "put yourself out of business." If you are good at what
you do, people will not need to continue to see you for help. They will have the tools to
help themselves.
- If possible, have an open-door policy. Once termination has ended, clients may want to
return a few months or years later to refocus or to "check-in". This is often impossible
in the training setting, but something to keep in mind for your professional career.
- Review the tools and skills that clients have acquired through the counseling process.
These tools will be critical in helping clients be self-sufficient in handling problems that
might have previously brought them to counseling. If there are additional resources
that you feel your client would benefit from for continued personal growth, make
appropriate referrals and make your client aware of them.

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Titany answered the question on September 13, 2021 at 12:03