Termination, or the ending phase, is the fourth and final stage of counseling when a client enters a transition from assisted to counseling-free functioning. Precisely success and termination are the initial goals of any counseling relationship. The counselor’s theoretical stance or workplace constraints should determine the specific time of beginning the ending phase. In other words, brief therapy counselors orientate on symptom removal, while those with a phenomenological theoretical orientation wait until their client is ready to address significant psychological barriers to their well-being and their long-term goals. Overall, there are three determinants of whether it is the time to begin termination. First, the client should report feeling much better; second, they need to start responding to the therapist in a more direct and reality-based way; third, when their relatives or friends also report positive changes.
One of the concepts the counselor must address during the ending phase is change generalizing. Compared to a simple summary of the progress, this step allows both the counselor and the client to extend the result and its future consequences. For instance, the therapist should test the patient’s ability and willingness to adapt newly learned skills and attitudes to a number of different situations apart from those discussed during sessions. Furthermore, the client will be able to go beyond immediate benefit to potential future benefit to make sure that these changes and new behaviors are actually needed.
Another concept for the counselor to address during termination is follow-up planning. Despite the success of the sessions, all clients need to know that the support from their therapists will continue, and in case something bad happens to them, they can come to their counselors for additional sessions. This link established between them will increase the likelihood of the client’s adherence to new skills, attitudes, and behaviors.