Inside the Therapeutic Relationship - Ending Therapy Video

Ending can be difficult to accept particularly when it involves a relationship that has been positive and supportive. Therapy is just such a relationship. This video is full of opportunities for discussion and explores many of the issues related to ending counselling. It demonstrates, in two sessions, the process of ending a long-established therapeutic relationship with the same client. In the first session the client (played by an actress) attempts to end the therapy without exploring her feelings about what it might mean for her and the counsellor uses their relationship to challenge this.

This stage of the counselling process can sometimes be difficult for both counsellor and client and may require delicate handling. The session shows that the feelings and concerns of both parties need to be explicitly and honestly addressed. It addresses issues of separation, the difference between friendship and therapeutic relationship and reveals some of the childhood experiences that lie behind the client’s fearful reactions.

In her introduction the counsellor describes managing endings in both long and short term situations. She provides an ongoing commentary to the sessions, reflecting on the interactions, her understanding of the client’s implicit process, and she explains her interventions. We see the client move from a defensive, self protective position to the final session where she is confident and ready to say good bye. Both she and her counsellor can now achieve a real sense of completion and gain profound insight even in the final moments.

The video consists of the following segments:

• Introduction from the counsellor
• First counselling session
• Final counselling session

Running time: 51 minutes