How to End Therapy with Your Clients

[@lamaelcharif1523]

Clear goals at the beginning help the client have realistic expectations. I love the idea of suggesting referral after five sessions it helps not to become dependent.

[@grumpyschnauzer]

As a therapist I disagree with this message especially in the realm of psychodynamic therapy. We are often healing and helping to play the role of caregivers to meet clients emotional needs. We are not medical doctors with a one prescription or surgery. Therapy is about relationship… is it not? But for the benefit of the client. If a client is benefitting from long term therapy and have chronic depression with a small to non-existent support network therapists can fill that gap… that’s the point. If a person who has been abandoned having no family or friends is being passed around that can be more damaging. I would instead suggest to normalize and make it a part of session to talk about what life after therapy can look like and also suggest that different therapists can serve different goals and needs at different points of the clients life. If it’s time for a client to see a different therapist that can be talked about in terms of the therapists’ limitations.

[@WriterK]

Do you mean that it's okay to stretch the sessions to even a year or two or beyond if the client expects so? I am new in this field, almost towards the end of my Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and I'd love to gather insights and advice from seasoned therapists.

[@Melystra1]

As a mature-student counselor in the Netherlands I found your remarks about the client finding support in their own network/context most helpful. Thanks for this!

[@ratchul]

i mean i have mdd, ptsd, anxiety, c-ptsd, adhd, ocd, pmdd... i have 13(+?) events that i need to do emdr for... i don't think 5 sessions would be enough lololol

[@shellymarandure]

Thank so much. Cleear and precise

[@mrsgrant1106]

His voice is therapeutic

[@BlueHeron654]

I disagree. Helping traumatized patients, and those with personality disorders takes a long time. Sometimes years. It is not like building a house or seeing a lawyer.

[@spacedaze1860]

After decades of living in a chaotic home, it definitely takes more than 5 sessions to really improve. I am glad my therapist didn’t give up on me that quickly….

[@jonsworld5307]

plus if you get disability and do see doctors / therapist when they renew your benefits you get denied

[@renzavala3376]

Loved this video!

[@Winngee]

👏🏾 my point . I have a client who has no realistic goals , remains at baseline and refuses to have me lower their level of care which is outpatient. The goals we gave him he doesn’t work on them . He’s either too quiet during session or is controlling with his mom . It’s a huge waste of space lol

[@Winngee]

@@spacedaze1860 Oh shush I’m sure nobody wants to deal with you . Close your mouth . I bet you are the worse .

[@Winngee]

@@spacedaze1860 You are the worse who would want to work next to you lol.

[@ebonypenguin2899]

My employer allows clients to keep attending sessions for way too long. I wish we could end therapy with clients in a more appropriate timeframe.

[@QuboJuke]

I would imagine that the 5 sessions should be viewed as if there is no progression or establishment of a therapeutic relationship then they would benefit from a different therapist to help them with their issues(s).

[@Bradley9967]

If I was in a car accident I would expect the doctors to diagnose what's wrong and recommend treatment. Why isn't this the same case here?

[@spacedaze1860]

Because you can’t equate everything people seek mental health care for to a car wreck.

[@Bradley9967]

@@spacedaze1860 To take a scientific approach it should be more objective.

[@spacedaze1860]

@@Bradley9967 I agree that providers should be objective, but they should also be accurate. A patient could go see three doctors and get three different diagnoses and three different treatment plans. Some things take more time than others.

[@Bradley9967]

@@spacedaze1860 If 3 fortune tellers give you diametrically opposing readings, then atleast one of them must be wrong. Atleast 1 of your doctors must be wrong too. Yes the human mind is complex. Edit Reading back I think you were saying it can't be seen/analysed like a car wreck can, as it's not physical. I agree. Until it can be, our understanding of the brain is infantile.

[@spacedaze1860]

@@Bradley9967 my doctor didn’t shove me away after 5 sessions, so I do not have three different and incorrect diagnoses. I have one that I believe is correct and my ongoing treatment with my therapist helps me. That is what I am saying. My experience was different than a car wreck.

[@JL-kk9hl]

OMG has he heard of PTSD, C-PTSD? That causes depression, and it's never fixed in five sessions. My god.

[@Madi-dt7bo]

This seems cruel to me - it’s seems like if you are still getting paid and the client is deriving value from it - what’s the problem? It’s seems like a way of reducing liability to me rather than helping the client.

[@komalkarnatak3718]

the whole point of the therapy is to make you emotionally independent. If you keep paying me, and you never really are able to stand on your feet without me, then i am a bad therapist!

[@Zoydian]

He also said that it's fine if you keep paying for chats, but that such should be clear. He''d never refuse a talk or sessions as long as it's clear what the purpose of those are.

[@Tom_Moxon]

I sometimes go 5 sessions barely talking to my therapist 🙈 and I've been seeing him for 2years. To this day I'm still expecting him to decide to end therapy, apparently it's my choice 😳

[@east_coastt]

I’m curious, how does your therapist handle this when you don’t say much? Do you feel comfortable?

[@Tom_Moxon]

@@east_coastt hi, well he approaches it from different angles, sometimes he will talk alot and i'll get angry with him, sometimes he will stay quiet and see what I bring to the 'table', sometimes its more uncomfortable than others, but overall its fine. He's trying to get me to take control of the direction we 'travel' but i find it so hard to do! Doesnt come naturally, at all. If it gets uncomfortable then he will ask to elaborate was to why I find the silence uncomfortable... usually its because by not talking i feel it has been a waste of time being there, or I haven't made good use of the time, for example, so losely speaking im being to hard on myself. its all part of the fun really :-)

[@dawnherbert83]

Surely length of therapy is determined by lots of factors... how complex the case is... how willing the client is to disclose... etc. So saying after 5 sessions you would basically give up on someone isn't going to build the clients self worth/esteem up at all and they will feel bad for "wasting" your time to say the least I really disagree with you

[@east_coastt]

@@dawnherbert83 hi dawn, I think you may have misunderstood Tom. Tom is the client in this situation

[@Tom_Moxon]

@eastcoast @Dawn Herbert yes, correct, I am the patient and he is the patient one (therapist). His more recent method is to plainly say 'it's up to you how you choose to use this time'. Which I truly hate, because it's so true! This instantly hands me back responsibility of the session, to me it feels like a parent saying 'we'll that's up to you!' to their stubborn child (tells you alot) so it feels like a punch in the stomach. So rather than hear him say it (again) I will now often stay quiet yet again. And here you see the predicament. All good fun really.

[@janetnewman5737]

I disagree with this post. I would be so upset if I were referred away after 5 sessions when I still do not feel better or healed after 2times a week for 2 years. My Dr. Level therapist assures me that it’s not time. He’s absolutely wrong.

[@janetnewman5737]

Btw, I have BPD, CPTSD, BP II, MDD, GAD, Social Anxiety, dissociative disorder, oCD..ADHD, all real and diagnosed by 2 psychiatrists and Dr. Level therapist.

[@mac1291]

Yeah, this is good only if skills is all you need, other than that, I see no use in this approach

[@annisahussain6190]

Have ended it don't ring me am not moving on rehana at all am still in love with him same topic move on move on move on move on💧📲 rejected