{"id":2171,"date":"2012-10-15T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2012-10-15T13:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/?p=2171"},"modified":"2012-10-15T09:30:42","modified_gmt":"2012-10-15T14:30:42","slug":"termination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/?p=2171","title":{"rendered":"Termination"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Termination. \u00a0Such a strong, violent-sounding word. \u00a0I have noticed in conversations with non-therapists that using this word flippantly can cause one of those head cocked to the side, one eyebrow raised, lips pursed and pulled slightly to the side looks on the other person’s face. \u00a0I can only imagine that they think my alter-ego is Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator.<\/p>\n

I forget that this word, “termination,” that we use so often as therapists is not<\/em>\u00a0a normal everyday conversation word that you can just throw around without someone finding it slightly terrifying.<\/p>\n

Let me explain this word, termination. \u00a0You know the phrase, “All good things must come to an end”? \u00a0Well, I like to think of therapy as a good thing (warning: not all people may actually think this), and as a good thing, therapy comes to an end. \u00a0Whether it is a positive last session filled with closure and accomplishment or the client yells at you and storms out of the office or simply stops showing up to appointments, therapy comes to an end.<\/p>\n

In the therapy world, we call this endpoint “termination.” \u00a0Termination indicates that therapy is coming or has come to a close. \u00a0So why is such a harsh word used to indicate this point of the process, you ask? \u00a0Honestly, I do not know. \u00a0I agree that it sounds like a description of a fight scene from\u00a0Kill Bill<\/em>. \u00a0They could have at least come up with something more gentle like “graduation” or “conclusion.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You know what, though? \u00a0The termination process can sometimes be one of the hardest parts of therapy. \u00a0I once \u00a0had a client who at first wanted nothing to do with me (she was court mandated), but after several sessions she formed such a secure bond with me that it was heartbreaking for both of us to think of therapy ending.<\/p>\n

This client went from stone-cold silence to eventually revealing her inner most hurts surrounding her broken relationship with her mom. \u00a0This client went from arms crossed to initiating a gentle hug after each session. \u00a0So, to terminate with this client was almost like what it feels like to break up with someone but not wanting to.<\/p>\n

Actually, it is kind of a weird process if you think about it. \u00a0You form a bond and trust with someone, tell them your secrets, show lots of vulnerability, and then you stop seeing them and move on, and not because something went wrong, but because something went right. \u00a0Improvement was made. \u00a0If we did not know we were talking about therapy right now then this would sound really messed up.<\/p>\n

Termination is a part of therapy, whether it is planned or not. \u00a0It can be something that happens when a client stops showing up without explanation or it can happen because a client has achieved his or her goal. \u00a0Sometimes termination is an easy transition and sometimes it can feel heartbreaking. \u00a0You know, based on my example above, perhaps the word,\u00a0“termination,” is not so far off-base\u00a0after all. \u00a0Food for thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Termination. \u00a0Such a strong, violent-sounding word. \u00a0I have noticed in conversations with non-therapists that using this word flippantly can cause one of those head cocked to the side, one eyebrow raised, lips pursed and pulled slightly to the side looks on the other person’s face. \u00a0I can only imagine that they think my alter-ego is Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[182],"coauthors":[19],"class_list":["post-2171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-therapy-2","tag-termination"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/250px-Terminator-2-judgement-dayNEW.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2171"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2260,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171\/revisions\/2260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2171"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=2171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}